WADESBORO — Holding a special town council meeting Monday inside a packed courtroom, the Wadesboro town council heard and addressed citizen concerns regarding its new town manager Wiley Ross Jr.’s recent prime time TV appearances, the town’s shrinking police force and funds missing from the budget.
Beginning the meeting with public addresses, Stephen Green appeared before town council members first. Top of mind for Green was why Wadesboro officers are being forced to enter dangerous situations without back-up. Green addressed the majority of his comments to Ross.
“No matter your resentment towards the current chief, defunding the police, or whatever you want to call it is not a viable or very smart solution. You state that this is not the case and has not been done, but your actions prove otherwise. You continuously make the council take on the chief’s responsibilities and then claim them as your own, micro managing every aspect of every department,” said Green, who later adding. “… The dedicated tax paying men and women of this town are hardworking and committed to working hard at enhancing the community for the benefit of our future generations. Our citizens and property owners expect, deserve and demand that their safety needs be met. It is our right as citizens and owners to receive protection.”
Green also addressed concerns with allegations of special treatment for local business owners.
“We have a business owner who expects the citizens to pay officers to sit outside of his business when they are not running a call. Do the businesses of this county not deserve protection? Do the citizens not deserve police presence? If you are going to make our officers cater to unscrupulous businesses, then I hope that they do leave, in your [Ross] words, ‘Let them walk.’”
Green describes a police department that has gone from 18 officers down to 10 in less than three months, which he said does not include officers that have put in for retirement.
“Anyone with sense knows that every police department in America is hiring and giving sign on bonuses and benefits. Any officer can go tomorrow and find a job with any other agency. At this point and in the extremely dangerous situation you created for them, I don’t blame them for leaving,” Green said.
Following Green, Debbie Smith echoed his concerns regarding Wadesboro’s new town manager.
“I want to know what the city manager’s grave concerns about wage are and how he has addressed those concerns. I know he has been concerned about the car wash bucket being moved from outside to inside. You know, police officers are responsible to wash their own cars and they still get calls and have to leave the department right now. This is how he [Ross] spends his time micro-managing, this is just one example of his micro-managing,” Smith said.
Smith reminded the public that it is not Ross’ job to worry about the police department’s car wash bucket being brought inside.
“He needs to be rolling up his sleeves, researching and calling the state to figure out how to prioritize his responsibilities. He doesn’t need to be calling the police department to have an unmarked police car delivered to city hall, but he got it and drove around town. That is not his job but because he signs the leases. He told an officer ‘I can drive any blank car I want to,’” Smith said.
Smith later questioned why Ross required a patrol car and what will happen if police need the vehicle, and it is not available due to Ross using it. Smith believes Ross should be looking at abandoned or neglected buildings and homes.
“Why not get these eye sores and sites cleaned up and removed so someone will be attracted to it and will improve the property and the tax base?” said Smith, later adding she believes the structures are unsound, dangerous fire hazards. “… I haven’t heard one single thing he has implemented to increase our tax base. He needs to be replaced with someone with experience. We cannot afford to keep him. Lets see, he makes $125,000 a year and the financial employee he needs for help cost the city $8,000.”
Lifetime Wadesboro resident John Johnson finds the town’s financial struggle to be very concerning.
“We just came out of summer and in Wadesboro summertime is our bushel basket, revenues increase and we have tourists coming through. How can we go through a summer that is going to support our winter if we are coming out of summer broke? I don’t understand where that money went,” Johnson said.
Expressing frustration, Johnson shared that since the town’s water rate hike, his water bill has climbed from $55 to $90 a month.
“If that is going to help the people who work in Wadesboro then I don’t have a problem with it, but my problem is where is that money going next? I hear that employees that work for the city of Wadesboro are uncomfortable and unsatisfied. The work has got to be a team effort, guys. Per capita Wadesboro has the worst crime record in the United States. That’s scary,” Johnson said.
Wadesboro resident Terry Helms is particularly bothered by the town’s potential inability to protect its citizens.
“I have watched the council change over the last 8 years and the fact of it is this problem still hasn’t been straightened out yet. There is problems with the leasing and there is a problem with the water system now. You are looking at people who make $20-25,000 a year combined income,” Helms said. “… You think it really wouldn’t bother some of y’all to pay an extra $25 a month, but it bothers me. I like this town but it makes me a little more skittish about our police protection and now we have a water problem. We have a small amount of policemen right now to monitor this whole town and it is almost impossible.”
Referencing an Anson Record article regarding the county’s $300 million water and sewer project, Helms questioned how many cities and towns can afford a $300 million water project.
”I want to say this, I am concerned for me and my wife’s protection. It would worry me to have to go spend a night knowing that I have to protect myself if a person comes in my house and I say, ‘Well, I’m a Christian, but I gotta shoot that man because he’s coming in my house.’ That is what worries me because if we need that protection,” Helms said.
Next to address town council, Mitchell Huntley’s main concern related to the town’s allegedly missing $1.5 or $1.9 million from the budget.
“So you wonder where the money is, why you can’t fund the police department, why he couldn’t hire the people he wanted? Not because of Mr. Ross, but because the board put a freeze on the money and they pointed at him,” Huntley said.
Huntley shared his belief that racism is another major problem the town is facing.
“We know the mentality of Anson County is based on racism. That’s all it is. Anson was better in the 70’s than it is now, so who’s driving the bus? The bus drives fine, the taxes are being collected and so who is driving the bus to put this county and Wadesboro in the condition that it is in? We have been divided since day one, we just stay in our own lane … Who stole the money?” Huntley said.
Maresa Dutton Phillips owns two properties in the county and is a former educator and principal followed Huntley. Growing up in Wadesboro, Phillips shared how her father has lived on Morven Rd. for close to a 100 years. She came before the council Monday night to speak in her father’s stead, as well as to represent her nine-week old grandchild’s future in Anson County.
“Two weeks ago today I had to pull my own gun in my daddy’s house at 1:30 in the morning while he walked out of his bedroom at 96-years old in his little tighty whites, pulling his own gun as well, because someone was breaking into our home. I was faced with having to put a gun in someone’s face for the first time in my life. You think it is going to be easy but it is not,” said Philips, who later credited the WPD for their fast response. “I just wanted to thank the Wadesboro Police Department for responding as quickly as they were able to. I want to thank Chief Brandon Chewning and all the Wadesboro Police Department. It is not the first time we have had to call them, but I hope that it might be the last and it is nice to know that when I need them they are there.”
Life-long member of the Wadesboro community and a resident of the county, Steve Lear spoke next.
“This is home to me and this community, so I understand that we have some financial difficulties and with the things I have heard I am disturbed by what I hear, by what I see, and by what I feel,” Lear said, who later emphasized how all of his interactions with Wadesboro town employees has always been positive. “The people who work for the town of Wadesboro are the most dedicated, professional, passionate, and pleasant people that I have come in contact with. I know that most of them are underpaid and they probably know that, but they choose to stay here because this is home for them as well. Folks don’t mind working for a little bit less than what they are worth as long as they are appreciated.”
Small business owner Ahmed Chasah said he hopes for an uptick in police activity as the holiday season approaches.
“Law enforcement is important in every season, but especially during the upcoming holiday season. We all know what happens during the holidays, a lot of businesses get broken into. We cannot afford to lose our law enforcement. As a business owner we need good officers and more officers around. I have been in this town for twenty-two years, it was never like this,” Chasah said.
Following public speeches, the Wadesboro Town Council took time to answer some of the charges leveled against them by their concerned constituents.
“The one thing I got out of it is unity, both sides want unity,” Mayor Fred Davis said.
Davis made the surprising comment despite the majority of public addresses to the town council having involved public safety, mismanagement of town funds and an allegedly micro-managing new town manager. Turning to Wadesboro’s finances, Davis said he hopes hiring a finanance director will remedy Wadesboro’s financial concerns.
“I have sat on the board the longest and this is the first year we have had to go out and hire a financial officer to make sure every line is where it needs to be and that is what we have done. We are looking at correcting that, we have been late several times with our audit. This last year we were late, we had to do some corrections, and the state took us off the list because we committed to doing corrections,” Davis said.
Mayor Davis next addressed the town’s dwindling police force.
“We do know we want to give our officers more money, it is been a topic at every meeting we have. But if there is no money there… this is just what we inherited,” Davis said.
Shedding light on the allegedly missing money, town council member Chipper Long reminded citizens the audit is available at Town Hall for public perusal.
“It’s not missing, it was there, it is just in the wrong place. It still doesn’t put us in a good financial position but it does answer your questions,” said Long, who encouraged citizens with questions regarding last year’s audit to review and scrutinize the audit findings, believing doing so will put to rest a lot of the questions raised by citizens.
Responding to the criticisms leveled at him, Wadesboro Town Manager Wiley Ross began by attempting to inject some levity into the proceedings, saying “I am from Ohio and I come in peace.”
He then went on to assure the citizens of Wadesboro how integral he believes the law enforcement community to be for a thriving town.
“Law enforcement is very important to me, I am a retired police officer, your safety is the upmost importance to me, so yes, I definitely want to have a police force that is viable and about serving the community, but that takes funding,” Ross said.
Ross informed citizens that law enforcement across the country is facing staffing shortages and Wadesboro is no different.
“When I got here in June there were seven vacancies, in March of 2024 three people left at one time and now we have several more folks that have left. We have some hard decisions to make in reference to funding our police force,” Ross said.
Ross agreed Wadesboro needs to pay officers more, but it comes down to funding. Referencing two proposals he pitched to the Wadesboro Town Council.
“We have a $554,000 deficit right now. Proposal number one is going to add $149,000 to that number and proposal two is going to add $101,000 to that number. That is paying the folks that we have here more money to keep them here,” said Ross, later adding. “So, mayor and town council that is the proposal and it is tough, it is going to be rough. I’m going to need all of you to help me get through this because this is your police department. You guys are the ones that benefit from having a great police force and we need that, but it is going to take funding to do it.”
Agreeing with Long’s earlier statements regarding missing funds, Ross said, “There is no money missing, there were funds placed in the wrong account. We have corrected that. It happened before I got here.”
Ross finished his comments without addressing why he had an unmarked police car delivered to city hall, why he may have drove the car around on unofficial business, or citizens’ belief that he may have a personal vendetta against current Chief of Police Brandon Chewning leading to his alleged micro-managing of county departments.
