Yancey County Government

The Expansion of the Yancey County Board of Commissioners

On June 8, 2009, the North Carolina legislature passed a bill that will significantly change the way Yancey County is governed. This bill will expand the Yancey County Board of Commissioners from three members to five members serving staggered four- or two-year terms. It also eliminates the separate election for the chair of the board. The bill passed the N.C. House by a wide margin with bipartisan support; it passed the N.C. Senate unanimously.

The bill was introduced at the request of the Board of Commissioners, who had included initiating this process as an item in their campaign platform. Yancey County is currently one of only three North Carolina counties with three-member county commissions (the others are Clay and Cherokee), and it is the only county in the state that elects its members to two-year terms. All of the other counties have larger commissions serving longer terms.

What is behind this change?

The current system often results in a complete change in the membership of the board every two years. The intent of this new structure is to create greater continuity and expertise on the board by electing members to longer, overlapping terms. Changing the board structure was identified as an economic issue in 2005 by the independent Sanford Holshouser Business Development Group, which created an economic development plan for the county.

The Sanford Holshouser plan said, "Political divisiveness sometimes stalls economic development. A great concern is the county government structure of two-year terms and a three-person board of commissioners. A five-member board with longer, staggered terms would provide for greater consistency. Consistency is crucial to carrying out long-term economic development initiatives. Economic development is a process, not an event, and as such requires that a comprehensive plan be carried out consistently over time for success."

The change in governing structure was also supported by the Local Government Commission of the North Carolina State Treasurer's Office, which has been advising the county on its financial situation.

How will it work?

The new system is based on the one adopted by Mitchell County several years ago and, after it has been phased in, it will work as follows: Elections for county commission will be held every two years. Each election will select three commissioners. The two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes will be elected to four-year terms. The candidate receiving the third-highest number of votes will be elected to a two-year term. The result will be a five-member commission that will always have at least two members with two years of experience.

The chair and the vice chair will be chosen by the board.

How will the new system go into effect?

The new system will be phased in during the 2010 and 2012 elections. In 2010, five commissioners will be elected in a multi-seat race. The top two vote getters will serve four-year terms. The next three highest vote getters will serve for two years. In 2012, the three serving two-year terms will face another election. In this election, the top two vote getters will be elected to four-year terms and the next highest vote getter will serve for two years.

After 2012 there will always be four commissioners serving staggered four-year terms and at any given time, three of the five commissioners will be facing an election within two years.