Carteret County’s vote to sell water system raises questions

CARTERET COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) -The Carteret County Board of Commissioners voted Monday night in favor of selling the county water system.

“We accept the offer from Carolina Water Company,” Ed Wheatly, Carteret County Commissioners chairman said.

Some people within the Carteret County for Public Water organization are not pleased with this decision as they’ve been urging commissioners not to sell for months.

“I’m not surprised how it ended up!”

A contract was not presented at the meeting, but a decision was made.

“Well, I haven’t seen a contract, so if I had to vote right now, I don’t know exactly what I’m voting for,” Chuck Shinn, Carteret County commissioner said.

“There is no contract and that’s what I’m confused about. How do you vote on something when there is no contract?”

Clark Patton is one of the 1,200 people that live in the special water district. He said a few things worry him about the sale, like Carolina Water’s customer service.

“With the county, I called and that day, they came out and hooked me up. So, the customer service is outstanding,” Patton said.

Patton is also concerned about the future of Carteret County’s water system employees.

“If it gets sold, is Carolina Water going to absorb them? Are these folks out of a job? Now we have local people that are out of work.”

Before the sale is finalized, it must be approved by the North Carolina Utilities Commission.

The board also voted to apply for state loans or grants to support the county system, if the sale falls through.

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