County commissioners on Monday turned down a request from the sheriff’s office to replace an open staff position with a civilian grantwriter.
Logistics Capt. Robert Creech of the Columbus County Sheriff’s Office told the board that replacing the unfilled lieutenant’s slot would save the county around $8,000 in salaries, plus the benefits that are required by state statute. He noted that the CCSO had previously shared a grantwriter with the Bladen Sheriff’s office, but “Bladen was getting a bunch of grants and we weren’t.”
“It takes a lot of time to do these grants and to manage these grants, and we really need somebody to do that,” Creech said. “We really don’t really get any help from anybody else in the county.”
Creech said the grantwriter’s salary of $50,000 a year was necessary, since the CCSO has had no luck finding someone willing to work on a percentage-based salary. When asked by the commissioners if the department had a potential applicant in mind, Creech said one potential hire has had proven success writing grants for fire departments.
“It’s time-consuming,” Creech said, noting that a CCSO employee who wrote and managed grants as part of her job had recently retired. Creech said it is impractical to have a uniformed officer doing grant work part-time.
“It’s a specialized skill,” County Manager Eddie Madden said. “…It takes someone with a specialized skillset to handle these duties.” He noted that after a grant is approved, the job shifts to more of an administrative and accounting role, since all grants require audits.
Robeson, Bladen and Brunswick sheriff’s offices have dedicated grantwriters who submit applications as well as managing the grant funds, Creech said.
Several commissioners were concerned that removing a uniformed position from the CCSO would weaken the department, which is struggling to keep employees.
Commissioner Giles “Buddy” Byrd questioned if the sheriff’s office could find someone willing to work on a percentage basis, as other county departments often do with grants.
“We don’t need to take a man off the road,” Byrd said. “We need more men on the road than what you have right now.”
Madden said that other county agencies have used percentage-based grant administrators who wrote and oversaw grants, but the sheriff’s office has not done so.
Commissioner Scott Floyd made a motion to approve the request. The motion died for a lack of second.
In an unrelated matter, County Health Department Kim Smith updated the board on plans to test wells in the wake of Tropical Storm Debby. She said testing will be free for residents whose wells flooded during the storm.
“We have already ordered the test kits,” Smith said, “and some have come in. I need to get with Emergency Management to make sure we have the right sites that we can test for free.”
The board also approved accepting a $148,000 grant from the Streamflow Rehabilitation Assistance Program (SITRAP) for drainage improvements. The money comes from a state grant for stream clearing and debris removal.
