Register of Deeds’ behavior at commission meeting is latest evidence she is unfit to serve

A change needs to be made at the courthouse, right now.

It isn’t going to be easy and there are bureaucratic roadblocks along the way.

And the same old sirens are going to sound the same old race-baiting battle call.

But there is no more time to waste. No more. It is time to do what is right — and to learn a lesson.

If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to watch the nearly seven minutes that Register of Deeds Constance Coram spent in front of the Wayne County commissioners this morning.

And yes, you need to watch it.

We have a lot to say about Coram’s speech to the commissioners.

But before we do, we want you to see it for yourself.

So, please, watch the snippet of video below.

That, Wayne County voters, is your Register of Deeds.

You might wonder how we got here.

For those of you who have not had to record a land transfer, to get a birth, death or marriage certificate, or who haven’t applied for a marriage license since Coram has taken over the Register of Deeds office, you should know that the office in charge of those things has been in shambles.

And no, that is not an exaggeration.

Here are just a few of the concerns that have been brought to our attention since she took over:

• Erratic office hours, with residents required to make appointments to come in to request a county record. Officeholders and community members have reported that the office was not always open and could sometimes be closed early at random. The county commission addressed this issue at a recent meeting, requiring the Register of Deeds office to be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily (like every other county office). State statute does not allow them to order the Register of Deeds around because she is an elected official, but the commissioners can set hours her office must be open. So, they did.

But they should not have had to.

• Ridiculous waits to get items recorded and processed, which has impacted everything from estate settlements, property sales and other business county residents need to get done. You can imagine the havoc that has caused.

• Funeral homes have complained about the time it takes to get death certificates, which influences not only burials and services, but impedes families from getting access to money that might be needed for final expenses or for a surviving spouse to be able to get access to a loved one’s assets. Imagine the undue stress and worry that has caused local families.

• Such a backlog for marriage licenses that residents are going to other counties, one of which had to hire additional staff to pick up the extra work coming from Wayne County. It is also alleged that Coram and some of her staff have been giving residents’ incorrect instructions about Register of Deeds procedures, advising them that they cannot go out of county for certain Register of Deeds tasks. News flash: They can and they are.

• Improper indexing that could affect residents’ and others’ abilities to look up important public records information for generations to come — just one of more than a dozen violations of state statutes detailed in an August letter/formal complaint sent to District Attorney Matthew Delbridge, the commissioners and the Secretary of State’s office by local resident Linda Jordan, calling for Coram’s removal. Jordan cited everything from improper recording to backed up records.

• A September letter from the Local Government Commission notifying the county that fees that are required to be paid to the state monthly had not been remitted for July — a violation of General Statute. The Register of Deeds office is required to submit paperwork to the county, which in turn makes the proper payments to the State Treasurer’s Office. The county employee hired through the Finance Department that Coram mentions in her rant to the commissioners was engaged to make sure bills and paperwork were filed on time.

The county is liable for fees that have not been remitted properly.

County officials say Coram has been offered repeated training and assistance before the decision was made to put an employee in her office to handle the tasks. The county also assists with the preparation of the Register of Deeds office’s budget.

• Bills that have not been paid in a timely manner.

• An inability to keep staff. Some resignations in the office are understandable — after all, when an officeholder changes, there are often staff resignations or removals as well. But there have been multiple reports of employees saying they were treated disrespectfully and that Coram’s chaotic operation of the Register of Deeds office made it a hostile work environment. Even an increase in her salary did not help.

• Questions about Coram’s hours. Reports have been made that she spends little time in the office, sometimes just an hour or two, on a regular basis.

And these are only a few of the concerns, questions and complaints that county officials have been fielding almost from the moment Coram took office.

We had a couple questions ourselves, so we sent an email to Coram, asking to meet with her to discuss her side of the issue and her plan for fixing the problems at the Register of Deeds office.

Here was her response:

Professional, huh.

It is time for someone to do something about Constance Coram. And right now, that decision is in the hands of Delbridge.

She is having trouble running the office for one very simple reason — she is not qualified to run it.

Coram said she had experience when she ran for the office, that she knew how to operate a Register of Deeds operation and that she was qualified to do so.

As you can see, she wasn’t and isn’t.

Coram’s appearance at the county commissioners’ meeting was embarrassing — especially for a public official charged with running a county office that is so critical to the lives of the residents she pledged to serve.

Her statement was erratic and incomprehensible at times, as was her demeanor.

The fact that she did not know that she could ask to be put on the agenda to speak is surprising. But when she was repeatedly told that all she had to do to extend her time was to ask for a spot on the commissioners’ agenda — they meet again in a week — she continued to behave in a manner that is not just unprofessional, it was shocking.

No, the public comment period could not be extended — even though it was. That was not the proper place for a discussion of this magnitude. Coram should have known that without being told.

And the claims she made against her former employee — that was well, disgraceful, and possibly on the edge of violating personnel rules.

Chairman Wayne Aycock did absolutely the right thing by putting an end to Coram’s rant. He was patient and respectful at first, and then direct and firm when it was time to stop being nice.

He had nothing to apologize for — even though he did.

Commissioners Bevan Foster and Antonio Williams also tried to diffuse the situation, to their credit.

Coram’s parting shot about contacting the State Attorney General was nothing but a stunt. Just like her call to the community to help her “get her Register of Deeds office back on track.”

Keeping her office in good operating order is her job. Staying in budget, getting records input in a timely manner, meeting state statutory requirements and keeping up on procedures for her office and knowing how to run it, that is the minimum that residents should be able to expect.

Coram is not qualified for the position she is in. That is clear.

But she is not responsible for being in the office in the first place.

That is our fault — all of us.

No one voted in the primary election that put Coram on the ballot. No one.

Her opponent likely took the race for granted, so when Coram won, there was no challenger in place.

A last-minute write-in campaign for a qualified challenger, Tina Arnder, brought in a lot of votes, but there were not enough.

Apathy put Coram in office.

And that is a lesson we should learn now.

All elections are important. Someone in an office like the Register of Deeds can have a profound impact on a community.

And just because we have you thinking about it, ponder this, too.

Less than 1,000 people decided the city of Goldsboro’s mayoral race and commissioners, city council and school board members often face very, very low vote counts.

We have to start paying closer attention to the people we put in charge of our communities, our children and our future.

It is time to get informed, to get active and to be a part of the decision.

No more low vote counts. It is too important.

One of the people we elected is District Attorney Matthew Delbridge. He has the power to start an investigation and, if the findings hold up, to do the right thing. He has a reputation for being a straight shooter who is fair and tough.

Let’s hope that was a vote that was well-placed.

And just in case it starts, and you know it will, reject any of the grenades that are about to be thrown.

This is about an officeholder who cannot do her job.

It is not because she is black. It is not because she is a woman.

To assume so is to disrespect the many black (and female) community leaders going back generations who have stepped up, served with distinction and honor and who have made a profound difference in Wayne County for all citizens.

There is quite a list.

Coram is an embarrassment who is fast-becoming a real catastrophe in the making.

Her constituents saw that today — with their own eyes.