NC sheriff demands county manager resign over ‘red tape’ linked to Helene relief efforts

LOUISBURG, N.C. (WNCN) — The sheriff in Franklin County is asking the county manager to resign after claiming she is trying to add “red tape or roadblock” Hurricane Helene relief efforts in the North Carolina mountains.

Franklin County Sheriff Kevin White wrote on social media Tuesday about Franklin County Manager Kim Denton, saying she has “displayed a grotesque lack of leadership.”

The issue appears linked to a letter that Denton sent to county management on Thursday, Oct. 3 about reimbursements for funds spent on Hurricane Helene relief.

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The letter said that Denton would need to approve spending “in advance of deployment” — or Franklin County might be denied financial reimbursement of money spent to help in western North Carolina.

“There are strict reimbursement guidelines and financial policies,” the letter from Denton said. Click here to read the letter (pdf document)

Soon after Helene hit North Carolina on Sept. 27, White and his team have been helping people in the mountains where two feet of rain led to flooding that wiped out entire communites.

“Bureaucracy often interrupts people’s lives, but it should never cost people their lives,” White said about Denton’s letter. “To say I am disappointed would be a tremendous understatement.”

White said that Denton’s letter was an effort to “stonewall hurricane relief under the vail [sic] of ‘doing their job’.”

The letter from Denton was released to CBS 17 Tuesday afternoon by a spokesman for Franklin County government. White did not include the letter in his social media post on Tuesday.

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