NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WECT) - A New Hanover County Commissioner's salary is not much more than a part-time job, close to $17,000 annually. However, the county also covers other costs, like health insurance and cell phones expenses. WECT.com requested a list of expenses for all five commissioners and made a few noteworthy discoveries.
Overall, numbers show that Commissioner Jonathan Barfield racked up the most expenses last year.
Chairman Ted Davis makes $23,994 a year while the other four commissioners each make $16,283 – this totals to $89,000 for the year, and the costs don't stop there.
The five county commissioners are paid a total of $18,850 for in-county travel, whether or not they use it.
Additionally, four of the five commissioners have county-issued laptops which each have an air card that allows them access to the internet at any time, at a total cost of $1,824 a year.
Commissioner Brian Berger also has a county-issued iPad with a data plan that costs the county $30 a month.
Not all commissioners take advantage of the perks that come with the office.
Commissioners Catlin, Thompson, and Davis do not accept the $75 monthly allowance for cell phones.
Commissioner Catlin also does not take part in the health insurance plan which is offered to all county commissioners, and has a yearly cost of $38,000. Catlin said the plan that the county offers is better than the one he offers his employees at his business, so it would not be fair to them.
Since Jan. 2011, county commissioners have attended several conferences outside of New Hanover County, including the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners' Legislative Goals Conference in Durham. Four of the five commissioners attended the conference at a total cost of more than $1,500.
Chairman Ted Davis did not attend.
Commissioners Barfield and Berger attended eight conferences each last year, the most of the commissioners, but Barfield tells WECT.com that the chairman of the board is expected to attend more events than the rest of the commissioners.
County commissioners regularly attend events and fundraisers in the community.
Most of these events charge a fee that is used as a charitable donation towards whatever cause they are sponsoring. Most commissioners attend these functions on a regular basis, but Commissioners Berger and Barfield are the only ones that expensed those ticket prices.
Since January 1 of 2011, Barfield has spent $685 of taxpayer money to attend these events.
This includes $250 for the NHRMC Foundation Benefit, $100 for the Pink Ribbon Luncheon and $75 for the Red Dress Project Benefit. In total, Berger and Barfield have spent $835 to attend these fundraisers.
Barfield says it is fair the county reimburses commissioners for appearances when they represent the county. He said anytime he attends an event, it takes away from time he could be spending with his family or his business.
"You have to look at the bigger picture and consider how much commissioners sacrifice," said Barfield.
Commissioner Jason Thompson said he does not attend many fundraisers, but the money comes from his own pocket when he does.
Commissioner Catlin added that he pays for his own fundraiser tickets because he does not want to donate county money to a specific cause without tax payer input.
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Overall, numbers show that Commissioner Jonathan Barfield (far right) racked up the most expenses last year.
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