Robeson County vote on Project Apple may not have complied with state meetings law

The Fayetteville Observer is reporting that the Robeson County Board of Commissioners voted to offer 75 percent tax relief for a four-year period for “Project Apple,” but refused to disclose the party behind the project.

The article quotes SMVT attorney Amanda Martin on the possible violation of the open meetings law.

The vote violated the state’s transparency laws, according to Amanda Martin, a Raleigh-based lawyer for the North Carolina Press Association, because the Robeson County Board of Commissioners considered a specific incentives package without properly identifying the company.

Robeson County commissioners voted unanimously, and without discussion Monday night, to approve the Project Apple incentives package.

The commissioners voted to give the company until Aug. 17 to consider the incentives offer.

Martin said public boards are not allowed to “act by reference” when casting final votes on a project.

“A public body cannot actually take the final vote without disclosing the identity,” Martin wrote in an email Tuesday.

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