Op-Ed: Commissioner Burns’ Statement on Termination of County Manager Wendell Davis

It is incumbent upon Durham’s residents to keep a record of what has transpired and to challenge the hypocrisies that can sometimes be easily forgotten due to the passage of time. I will outline a few here so that this lapse in public memory does not keep us from moving in the right direction.                     – Commissioner Nimasheena Burns

Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.” The decision to move forward with the dismissal of Durham County Manager Wendell Davis on last week lacked both consensus and leadership.

Neither Chair Howerton nor I were ever consulted on what can only be categorized as a poorly laid plan that left a world-class county and an industrial juggernaut without public administration leadership during a global pandemic, a fuel crisis, the rebuilding of security system after a malware attack and a budget cycle during a worldwide economic downturn.

Additionally, poor motions were made that day around the termination which will open our county to further litigation. Lastly, Durham County residents should ask how many businesses removed themselves from our site selection process immediately after this vote was cast. How many jobs have to be lost and lawsuits have to be filed against the same county commissioners before movement is made to put the over 300,000 Durham residents ahead of one’s personal feelings?

This was not the will of the majority of people in Durham but a small group of individuals who made false statements about budget allocations and false statements about phobias. None of which can be proved by any empirical data.

This was not the will of the majority of people in Durham but a small group of individuals who made false statements about budget allocations and false statements about phobias. None of which can be proved by any empirical data. It is my hope that the newest Interim County Manager does not fall prey to such falsehoods.

While the task at times seems insurmountable, I am dedicated to seeing that this does not happen to another manager during my tenure. There are those in Durham who have in their adult lifetime observed this same occurrence three times. One has to ask, why does history continue to repeat itself for African American’s who helm the leadership of Durham County Government. How is the average life cycle of a Caucasian County manager 17 years, yet that of an African American is only five?

As a newly elected official to watch democracy be dismantled and promises not kept without any form of accountability is not only alarming for the staff but for the public. A public that has been clamoring for change for years, but has felt no relief. Our board promised to be different. I often ask myself, why have only a few of us worked towards a standard of honesty, transparency, and equality?

I am reminded of another statement from a preacher like King, “People are like sponges. Whenever you squeeze them, whatever is inside will surely come out.” I have observed what happens when my colleagues are squeezed behind closed doors about their abusive behavior towards staff. The racially charged comments and removal of multiple Black personnel members, are all veiled in comments like, “That’s a personnel matter and I am not at liberty to discuss that issue” or “I cannot discuss what was stated in closed session.” It takes cunning to destroy people inside of systems.

Individuals who found out about the ousting of their leadership not via email or through formal communication from leadership but through a series of alarming text messages that swept through our agency like a wildfire engulfing their already tattered morale.

Destroyed is the best way to describe the current state of the 2000 employees I have grown to love and support. Individuals who found out about the ousting of their leadership not via email or through formal communication from leadership but through a series of alarming text messages that swept through our agency like a wildfire engulfing their already tattered morale. A group of people who for weeks on end worked through a malware attack manually during a global pandemic; a group of people who have vaccinated our community; worked without praise to bring in jobs; who hand cleaned books for those still wanting access to our public libraries; who registered our deeds; who maintained public safety; who put out fires and resuscitated victims; who managed our budgets and kept our children safe; who worked with little staff during a hiring freeze and who went without pay increases for multiple cycles all in an effort to keep the county budget in place; and most of all, a group of people who have over 4 to 8 years respectively watched in horror as their colleagues are questioned, verbally abused or openly chastised for no reason in a workplace that grows increasingly toxic.

Despite several failed attempts by some county commissioners to terminate the county manager, Wendell Davis and staff continued to provide a high level of service to the residents of Durham County in the areas of public administration, fiscal stewardship, employee welfare, public schools and facilities, and community enrichment to name a few. Based on the history of Durham’s previous five County Managers dating back to 1930, Wendell Davis is the most progressive County Manger to date when looking at various metrics in administration & fiscal stewardship, employee welfare, public schools & facilities, and community enrichment:

Administration & Fiscal stewardship

• Seven Consecutive Years of Clean Financial Audits & secured the lowest financing rate for any debt issued in the State of North Carolina on record with an all in TIC (Total Interest Cost) of 1.25% in 2021 which is a significant benefit to Durham taxpayers.
• Seven Consecutive Years of Maintaining the County’s Triple-A Bond rating; Even during the Pandemic, malware cyber-attack, and a highly volatile economy. Despite Durham County having a median family income which is lower than the national average for medium-sized Triple-A communities; and furthermore, having a debt load that is higher than the average medium size Triple-A community. It is noteworthy that Durham County is credited by Bond Rating Agencies, the Local Government Commission, and our Financial Advisor for having solid Management.
• Lead the successful implementation of a Managing for Results Business Model. For the first time in the County’s history, Durham has more than 2,300 performance metrics across the enterprise. Program Budgets have been implemented; new software was acquired and implemented to manage and analyze data. Also developed a public-facing dashboard (Transparency Portal) that is accessible to residents, researchers, and private enterprises alike.
• Successfully developed a weekly Online Newsletter that provides citizens with current and relevant information pertaining to County operations. The publication is released each Friday.
• Successfully worked in concert with the City Manager to institute Racial Equity Training throughout County and City Government.

Employee Welfare

• Successfully worked with the Board of Commissioners to be the first local government in the Southeastern United States to move all County employees to a $15 minimum wage.
• Successfully worked with the Board of Commissioners to be amongst first in the Country to implement Family and Parental Leave Policy for new parents.
• Re-bidded and Renegotiated the County’s Health Care Plan, which saved the County approximately $8 million in premium increases, while at the same time moving the employee participation rate in the health care plan from 56% to 94% at present for 2,100 full-time county employees. Today, Durham County has more employees, families, children, and retirees with health care coverage than it’s had in modern history.

Durham Public Schools & Public Facilities

• Implemented multiple Capital Improvements Plans for County facilities and other public facilities to include Durham Tech, Museum of Life and Science, and Durham Public Schools totaling over $1 billion dollars. o Completed State of the Art Downtown Library that was part of the 2016 Bond Referendum.
• Completed State of the Art Class A Office Complex for County Administration – Admin II Building.
• Currently completing Interior Renovation of the Old Court House – Admin I
• Successfully worked with the Board of Commissioners & Durham Public Schools Board of Education to move all classified employees to a $15 minimum wage.
• Successfully worked with Durham Public Schools to implement their first major comprehensive capital improvement plan to include over $700 million dollars in maintenance requests.
• Provides funding to Durham Public Schools which is ranked 3rd out of 100 counties for local per-student funding which is doubled the state-local funding average ($1,676/student) according to the non-partisan Public Schools Forum of North Carolina Local School Finance Study.

Community Enrichment

• Led the successful implementation and funding support for both Bull City United and My Brothers Keeper.
• Led the successful implementation of the Annual Resident Satisfaction Survey which is conducted each year: Under the County Manager’s Leadership the following has resulted:
  • Durham County is ranked higher than the national average with 81% of its residents rating the County as a positive place to live.
  • Durham County, in our most recent Resident Satisfaction Survey, ranks 16 percentage points above the national average in County services.
  • Durham County ranks 29% higher than the national average in customer service from employees.
  • Durham County ranks 30 percentage points higher than the national average as a place to live.
  • Durham County is 14 percentage points higher than the national average in respect to citizen’s perceptions that the community is moving in the right direction. 
• For Seven Consecutive Years, worked with Strategic community partners to decrease Durham’s poverty rate. In 2014, Durham’s overall Poverty rate was as high as 18%. Today even, in a recessed economy, the poverty rate is 14% and has been declining since 2014.
• Worked with key partners in the community to consistently grow the tax base and create new job opportunities. Worked with key partners to produce the following value for the County’s tax base in economic development announcements:
  • 2018 – $189 Million: 317 New Jobs
  • 2019 – $1.25 Billion: 1717 New Jobs
  • 2020 – $1.4 Billion: 3438 New Jobs

Mostly, I am grateful that he built a world-class staff of creative, innovative professionals that can continue to helm, this at times, rocky ship that we call Durham County Government. This goes triple for our General Managers. For all these reasons and so many more, I want to publicly thank you County Manager Wendell Davis. Manager Davis worked tirelessly to develop a multi-month orientation for newly elected officials like myself despite not always having his invitations reciprocated. Our success was his goal. His love for Durham and its children was heard in every speech he gave and every policy he discussed. For him accountability was key. He knew that money could not solve every problem if the culture nor the learning environment never changed. This was and still is especially true for Black and brown boys in this county. Those who know him knew that that fight was in his marrow above all else. I know that we have not seen the last of Wendell Davis.

I will end with these final thoughts. It is incumbent upon Durham’s residents to keep a record of what has transpired and to challenge the hypocrisies that can sometimes be easily forgotten due to the passage of time. I will outline a few here so that this lapse in public memory does not keep us from moving in the right direction.

I, as well as Chair Howerton, are often requested to attend meetings with constituency groups that both support us and oppose us. We go to those meetings with honest words and open hearts. The same can be said for all African American politicians ranging from the school board to the city council to our General Assembly Delegation. Why has it been an acceptable practice for my other colleagues to ignore or refuse to meet with The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, The NAACP, The Black Caucus of the Democratic Party, Durham’s Chapter of Organizing Against Racism, or any other Black clergy or high-level stakeholders/activist in the Black Community of Durham? Not one meeting has been held with any of these groups by my colleagues in over a year despite numerous requests. When did it become proper to ignore the most cherished institutions of almost 40% of one’s residents?

Why have all of the requests for racial equity training by multiple groups been ignored or met with forceful opposition or obstruction by my other colleagues?

Why have all of the requests for racial equity training by multiple groups been ignored or met with forceful opposition or obstruction by my other colleagues? The past and current board have received recommendations from the UNC School of Government, The Coleman Report, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the International County Managers Association, the Durham Racial Equity Taskforce, and the County’s own Racial Equity Officer (yes even the employees).

Why are requests on every issue given every consideration, except racial equity, racial bias, and cultural competency? To this date, none of these requests have been met.

Examples of requests:

• Recommendations of the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People: (March 22)

  1. We ask again that Commissioner Heidi Carter is recused from any discussion pertaining to the renegotiation of County Manager Wendell Davis’ contract. The initial complaint levied against Commissioner Carter in early 2020 has yet to be resolved and Commissioner Carter has failed to take the necessary steps to regain the community’s trust. As such, her participation in any contract renegotiations presents a clear conflict of interest and is a great liability to the taxpayers and this board.
  2. We request a public verbal and written apology from Commissioners Jacobs, Carter, and Allam to members of the Robert Bobb staff. These Commissioners were instrumental in leading a derogatory campaign against this consultant agency by making harmful allegations in absence of the appropriate context regarding the previous performance or endeavors of this company. Further, it is inappropriate to allow a consultant to share proprietary information publicly only to then request the submission of additional proposals; a request that should have been made in a more timely manner. This results in a clear inequity for any organization in any further review and selection process.
  3. Finally, we request that Commissioners refrain from utilizing obstructionist tactics to further prevent this board from receiving training by a qualified third party. The board cannot survive in this state of fragility and must immediately prioritize individualized diversity, equity, and inclusion board training. It is clear that the current state of dysfunction cannot be addressed by the board in an autonomous fashion.

• Recommendations of former members of the Racial Equity Task Force: (April 4th)

1. 1. Commit to halting decisions about County Manager Davis until the Commission no longer operates out of the current dysfunction, but as a county commission should properly operate for the people of Durham.
   2. Attend racial equity training as a body, specifically the REI training that our task force members completed. Racial equity must be at the center of work processes and procedures, training, and work culture.
   3. Engage in a meaningful racial equity audit with the county Chief Racial Equity Officer to examine and change policies and processes that have produced this toxic environment. We ask that you appropriately use the experts and resources already at your disposal.
   4. We call on the Board to be transparent and accountable in moving forward and to center racial equity as an urgent imperative. We and the community are watching and we stand in solidarity with County Manager Davis and all Durham County employees.

• Durham Racial Equity Officer: (April 14th)

  1. Enhance Board of County Commissioners’ training and orientation to racial equity, institutional and structural racism principles, and anti-racism practices.
  2. Facilitate meetings using a racial justice and equity lens to elicit input from those most impacted by inequities.
  3. Encourage input from Black Indigenous people of color (BIPOC) to guide decision-making on policies and programs related to improving outcomes among those most impacted by inequities; utilize a racial equity tool to guide BOCC decision-making.
  4. Include a racial equity-related item on the BOCC public agenda semiannually.

To the Durham Community, I hear you and I see you, but I cannot do this alone. We have to ask ourselves for all the flags being flown in front yards, hashtags, empty rhetoric, toothless resolutions, and social media posts, how can you accept the belief from some politicians that Black Lives Matter when it is clear from many of them that Black voices do not? I Love You Durham County. I ask that you join me in telling the truth. Telling the truth takes courage and it at times, in this environment, can put one’s very safety, security, reputation, and livelihood at peril. It is the choice I have made in an effort to make the same good trouble as the late great Rep. John Lewis. I look forward to the day that we open the chambers so that your silenced voices can finally be heard.

To the Durham County staff, I say thank you in advance for continuing to do what you have always done and that is to serve the people of Durham County. My support for you is unwavering. My defense of your work is unwavering. My concern for your safety and well-being is unwavering. Let us all move forward with doing the good work. We must ignore those who majored in mediocrity and moved forward towards the continued mark of excellence. The residents depend on our good works and we cannot let them down. Yours in Service,

Commissioner Nimasheena N. Burns