On February 17, 2014 at 9:00 a.m. I attended a meeting of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners. Regular meetings are held twice a month at the historic New Hanover County Courthouse, Meeting Room 301, at 24 North Third Street in Wilmington, North Carolina. Commissioners present were Woody White, President, Beth Dawson, Vice President, Jonathan Barfield Jr., Thomas Wolfe and Brian Berger was absent. Also in attendance were County Executive Chris Coudriet, County Attorney Wanda Copley, Board Clerk Shelia Schult, and community members who were there to present and/or observe. The meeting began at 9:00 a.m. with the meeting called to order by the President. There followed a moment of silence, the Pledge of Allegiance, which was recited by all, and the approval of the agenda items agreed upon by all commissioners present. The first item on the agenda was presented by District Attorney Ben David for a $30,000 funding request for the continued employment of a federal prosecutor, which was originally funded by the Crime Commission of the governor. In his presentation, he repeated several times that he would not come before the council again with this request. He used the number of convictions, which was 260, and the amount of money seized totaling four million dollars. He pointed out that the seized money was distributed to local law enforcement and none was kept by his office, although they are allowed to keep fifteen percent of it. I agree that his numbers are compelling, but my concern lies in the mention that a conversation took place prior to the meeting with Commissioner White regarding the need and possible outcome. I was somewhat pleased when the first...... middle of paper...... speaking normally, the speaker turns his back to the audience. Additionally, time is allocated for each agenda item, but I don't think speakers are informed of their allotted time, thus extending the length of the meeting. I do not agree with every aspect of how the meeting was conducted or how funds were allocated. The little time I spent observing the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners helped me see how funds are allocated within the community. The money is spent frivolously in my opinion. The money can be used in more productive ways, such as helping the homeless in the community. My recommendations would be to re-evaluate the money allocation and change the room layout. I believe these changes would be adopted if the suggestion was brought to the attention of the community and the Board of Commissioners..