“In the last year, Mr. Forbes has been instrumental in guiding the board through multiple legal issues. He has done an excellent job advising us on legal matters and we look forward to working with him in this regard,” shares Chairman Jamie Caudle.
Lauren Monica | Anson Record
WADESBORO — Commissioners decided to retain Scott Forbes for another six months as the county’s attorney at the first board meeting of the year held on January 2.
“I know there has been some discussion in the past of the County Attorney’s [salary] not aligning with our fiscal budget, so is it of the pleasure of the board that we, I guess, extend this contract for six more months to get it aligned with our fiscal contract of July 1,” suggested Chairman Jamie Caudle, kickstarting the discussion.
Following Commissioners’ Robert Mims and JD Bricken motion to discuss the matter, Commissioner Jarvis Woodburn pointed out County Attorney Scott Forbes’ current contract is not scheduled to run out until June of 2024.
Agreeing, Caudle responded, “The copy we have here says it was approved January of 2024 but it goes through June. In the past it has always been a one-year contract, so this contract would just be making it effective through June of 2024, and then at that time, we could renew it for one year and it will align with our budget.”
Acknowledging that, like himself, some commissioners, have had budget accountability concerns, Woodburn pointed out, “I guess the other thing too is that there was some conversation here and there about the amount that was paid to the county attorney this past year. I think that came from all the things the county was dealing with and the amount of time they had to put forth. On top of that, I guess for some of those things there were additional attorneys brought in, so that was additional funding. How do we stand as far as the budget is concerned as to what was paid to the county attorney so far?” questioned Woodburn.
Responding to the commissioner’s question, County Manager Leonard Sossaman reminded Woodburn of the budget approved at a previous commissioner meeting where he stated the issue of Forbes’ pay had been accounted for within that voted on budget.
Having looked into the current rate to retain a lawyer prior to the meeting, Commissioner Lawrence Gatewood remarked, “Wow, attorneys are expensive!”
“I went back to 2021 and those rates have not changed,” Gatewood shared. “The hourly rate and the meeting attendance rate have been the same for four years.”
Through a veneer of cautious joviality, Gatewood seconded the motion initially made by Mims. The motion was unanimously passed to renew Scott Forbes’ contract to remain as Anson County’s attorney for the next six months.
Following the meeting, Chairman Caudle shared that, “In the last year, Mr. Forbes has been instrumental in guiding the board through multiple legal issues. He has done an excellent job advising us on legal matters and we look forward to working with him in this regard.”
For his part, Forbes wished to share his gratitude with the board, saying, “I am very honored that y’all updated my contract again, I really do appreciate it.”
