The Planning Director and the Assistant Administrator for Community Development have resigned from Cumberland County government, setting off speculation among those paying attention what was behind their exit.
Andrew Sorrell and Michael Cooper no longer work for the county. Sorrell was the Planning Director, and Cooper was the Assistant Administrator for Community Development. Sorrell has taken a position in Albemarle County with their Planning department. It is unclear what the future holds for Cooper’s employment.
Both men were in pivotal positions to help make decisions about a USDA-funded project, an anaerobic chicken waste power generator. USDA Rural Development pilot funds for the project were received, work moved ahead on the project. More USDA grants were awarded, the most recent for $300,000, in order to provide capital for the project to continue past the pilot stage.
The county had made plans for a business park near the site of a prior landfill, with this project being the only tenant currently. Zoning and an unknown sum of money was secured, although at the same time, the county was in financial straits and could only fund half a year’s budget. The property tax rate was raised $.18 to $.70, ostensibly to pay debt service on the loan(s) obtained to build new schools in 2006-2008.
Mr. Cooper’s response to me when I asked where the money had come from for the business park, he told me Tobacco Indemnification Commission funds, and an amount designated in the CIP (Capital Improvement Plan.
There is much more to this story, and I am looking into it. For roughly 5 years, I have been asking the county government questions in an effort to get more transparency about their operations.
This isn’t over by a longshot. An election year just makes it more interesting and pressing.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 