website claims, “the best barbecue in Eastern North Carolina” and “rich history and heritage.

”
Demographically, it has over 50% Black population, approximately 37% White population, and
the remainder population is Other. For the time period relevant to this investigation, the City
Council has been composed of 6 council members, 3 Black and 3 White, and one elected mayor
(White), all of whom as Male. The previous City Manager served for over 7 years,
until September 14, 2018, at which time he retired and was replaced by as Interim.
A review of the City Council work session and meeting minutes and audio and video reveal a town
with racial and socioeconomic divides but with citizens and city council members actively
listening and searching for common ground to make the City of Goldsboro a better place to live
and work. There is no question but that both Ms. Simpson-Carter in her position and Council
Member Williams in his position care deeply about the citizens of Goldsboro.

Ms. Simpson-Carter dates the beginning of her negative interactions with Council Member
Williams from February 20, 2017, after she presented information she was asked to provide
information on Summer Youth Jobs by Council Member Antonio Williams for the City Council
Retreat. However, Ms. Simpson-Carter also documented a source of additional friction with
Council Member Williams resulted from a controversy that arose regarding a post by the
Goldsboro Police Chief that had occurred earlier in the year, in January 2017, and her
eventual support for the City Manager and the Mayor with regard to their actions in dealing with
the controversy. After being tasked to look into the creation of a summer jobs program for youth,
Ms. Simpson-Carter worked on the project during February and March in consultation with the
Mayor and City Manager and with other community organizations
identified by Staff as having some expertise and experience with job training and employment
programs.

February 2017 (Exhibit 1)

The City Council minutes for February 6, 2017, indicate that Council Member Williams asked
Manager to place on the agenda for the Council Retreat scheduled for the second
meeting in February (February 15-16, 2017) the matter of “summer youth employment” and
“Council salary and benefits.” The minutes of the council retreat for February 15 and 16, 2017,
indicate that then Parks & Recreation Director, presented a proposal regarding
the program and Ms. Simpson-Carter presented information on the City of Raleigh’s Summer
Youth Employment program. Council asked staff to proceed with planning a program and to look
for grants. The minutes of this meeting also reflect as stated above the City Council’s attempts
to deal with issues that divided the City.

Ms. Simpson-Carter was aware from the beginning of the consideration for the summer youth
jobs program that Council Member Williams had what she described as an unusual amount of
interest for a council member in the program from the beginning because of his frequent
inquiries and his statements to her that the program was very important to him. As a result of
his statements and his frequent inquiries, she indicated that she felt some pressure from him.
At the February 20, 2017 council meeting, the minutes indicate that Council Member Williams
remarked about the summer youth jobs program and a “lot of good opportunities coming here.”

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March 2017 (Exhibit 2)
At the March 6, 2017 Council Meeting, the minutes indicate that Council Member Williams asked
for an update on the summer youth employment program and Mayor indicated that
he had met with Manager Ms. Simpson-Carter, and with the Housing Authority
and that there were plans to meet with the Community Colleges because they had a similar
program and they planned to provide additional information at the next Council meeting. After
the March 6, 2017 meeting, Ms. Simpson-Carter mentioned her concerns regarding Council
Member Williams’ unusual amount of interest in the program to Manager Mr.
does not recall the specifics of their conversation. The City Manager decided to place Ms.
Simpson-Carter on the next Council Work Session due to Council Member Williams’ persistent
inquiries.

During the Council Work Session on March 20, 2017, Ms. Simpson-Carter presented information
on the logistics and structure of the SYEI program as the City had developed it and the City’s
intention to partner with other groups in the community to carry out the program. Ms. Simpson-
Carter stated that Council Member Williams grew very upset with the information she presented
and was aggressive about expressing it in front of the entire audience towards her, the Mayor,
and the City Manager. The written minutes reflect significant criticism by Council Member
Williams of the specifics of the city program and his disagreement with how it was being
conducted. The audio of the work session (04:55 to 27:16) confirms that Council Member
Williams engaged in extended discussions of the details of the program to which Ms. Simpson-
Carter and the Mayor responded with concerns about the fact that the program was a pilot, they
needed to run it well, and adding additional jobs without having proper supervision was not in
the best interests of the City or the youth.

Ms. Simpson-Carter documented that after the work session Council Member Williams
approached her again in what she believed to be a very combative manner, and stated “you know
and I know you could’ve done better than what you presented to us, I expected better, I asked
you to look into a Summer Youth Job program, not those other Councilmen, and this is not
acceptable to me.” Ms. Simpson-Carter stated that she tried to reassure Council Member
Williams that she knew how important the program was to him and that the program she was
presenting was the most realistic way to conduct a pilot program. She reported her feelings
about these interactions again to Manager and shared them with some of her colleagues.

At the same meeting on March 20, 2017, Council Member Williams and Council Member
along with some members of the NAACP, called for the City Manager to be fired at
the Council Meeting for failing to take appropriate action regarding the police chief. Ms. Simpson-
Carter had been a part of meetings prior to the March 20, 2017 City Council meeting with the
NAACP as a group, and individually with the NAACP President Ms. Ms.
and other community activists trying to in her words “bridge the divide from a post
[the] Police Chief had put on Facebook.” Ms. Simpson-Carter stated that it was her belief that
Council Member Williams and Council Member knew of her work in the community to try
to settle the unrest and resented that she did not take their side. Ms. Simpson-Carter
documented that Council Member Williams made comments to the effect that she “was using

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[her] pull in the black community to manipulate them so [she] could protect the Mayor and City
Manager.” As stated above, she believed that this resentment, coupled with Council Member
Williams’ belief that she was not deferring to his wishes with regard to his desires for how the
summer youth jobs program be administered, was the source of the hostility that Council
Member Williams demonstrated to her during this period of time. Subsequent to the meeting,
she and with Parks and Recreation conferred about the program further and how
to develop it.

April 2017 (Exhibit 3)

At the work session on April 4, 2017, Ms. Simpson-Carter was placed on the Agenda to present
information of the SYEI program that would incorporate some of Councils’ recommendation. Ms.
Simpson-Carter documented that Council Member Williams immediately began to become
combative with her and made a statement “I see you keep looking at the City Manager, is there
a reason? [is it because] you really don’t know the details.” Mr. confirmed the gist of
this remark made by Mr. Williams. During the extensive discussion, Council Member Williams
also remarked to Ms. Simpson-Carter that the program was “supposed to be Parks and
Recreation and you got this at the last minute, that’s why everything is all over the place and I
am upset about that.” These remarks are also confirmed by the audio of the work session and
the minutes of the city council meeting. Ms. Simpson-Carter believed that Council Member
Williams wanted the youth program to be directed by the Parks and Recreation Department, and
not her department, because he thought he should have more involvement in and control over
the program. Council Member Williams confirmed that it was his belief and desire that the
program should be run through the Parks and Recreation department. then
assistant Parks & Recreation director, also understood that Council Member Williams had wanted
the program run through the Parks & Recreation department. Eventually, the discussion was
ended by Mayor Ms. Simpson-Carter documented that a community member, Ms.
approached her and expressed that she believed that Council Member Williams was
“wrong for how he acted towards you” and also expressed support for the program as presented
by Ms. Simpson-Carter. Ms. also attended the regular Council Meeting that same
evening and spoke during the public comment period to express support for the SYEI program as
developed by Ms. Simpson-Carter.

Along with Sponsoring Partners (Goldsboro Housing Authority, Wayne Community College, & NC
Works Career Center), the City of Goldsboro, under Ms. Simpson-Carter’s direction, launched the
Summer Youth Employment Initiative Program (SYEI) on April 6, 2017.

Subsequently, before the Council Work Session on April 17, 2017, Manager informed Ms.
Simpson-Carter that Council Member Williams and his girlfriend had made
several visits to his office to complain that Council Member Williams was not being kept informed
about the Summer Youth Jobs program by Ms. Simpson-Carter. Ms. Simpson-Carter also stated
that she was told that they alleged that she was not putting an 100% in the SYEI program, which
was making Council Member Williams have to do Ms. Simpson-Carter’s job. The City Manager
reassured Ms. Simpson-Carter that he knew that she was doing her job and that she was sending
out emails on the program in the proper manner and to the appropriate parties. Ms. Simpson-

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Carter stated that she and Manager agreed that it was unusual that Council Member
Williams and his girlfriend Ms. seemed to have an unusual amount of interest in the
program. Ms. Simpson-Carter also informed the City Manager that negative remarks by Council
Member Williams and Council Member about the summer youth jobs program were
remarked upon by the program’s sponsoring partners and caused Ms. Simpson-Carter to have to
reassure the partners of the City’s commitment to the program.

During the Work session on that same day, Council Member Williams and engaged in
extensive discussion and questioning of the particulars of the SYEI program. During the Council
Work Session on April 17, 2017, Council Member Williams indicated that the Council could use
surplus funds from GWTA in the amount of $20,000 to employ more youth for the program and
to approve the employment of youth at GWTA Bus Transfer Station. The Council did not
specifically agree to approve either of these items.

Ms. Simpson-Carter also documented an event which she believed contributed to a hostile work
environment involving Council Member Williams and Ms. and which occurred on April 25,
2017, at 6:00 pm during a Mandatory Information Session at Wayne Community College for
potential students and parents as part of the eligibility requirement for applicants to be eligible
to move into the interview phase of the SYEI program. The program was presented by sponsoring
partners’ staff, with speakers being Mrs. (WCC) and two of her staff, Mrs.
(Housing Authority), and Ms. Simpson-Carter. Ms. Simpson-Carter documented, and Ms.
confirmed, that Session Council Member Williams and his girlfriend were standing in the
back up against a wall of the auditorium and appeared to be upset with the presentation. At one
point, they came to the front of the auditorium. Ms. Simpson-Carter discussed with Mrs.
and Mrs. whether the program should be altered to allow Council Member Williams to
speak, but it was determined that since the program had already gone on for three hours, the
welcome and remarks period had passed, and no other officials had been recognized, they
decided that the session should be concluded. Ms. Simpson-Carter documented that Council
Member Williams and his girlfriend Ms. appeared to be very upset, and that as all the
youth and parents were getting ready to exit the auditorium, Council Members Williams took the
microphone from the podium and announced to the departing audience that he was responsible
for the summer youth employment program and that he was glad to see everyone, and that he
was going to get more jobs for the youth. Ms. Simpson-Carter relayed the events which had
occurred to the City Manager. She also saved screen shots of Facebook posts by Council Member
Williams which highlighted his work on the program.

May 2017 (Exhibit 4)

On May 5, 2017, Ms. Simpson-Carter documented that the City Manager called her into his office
and stated that she should be prepared to answer any questions from Council Member Williams
and the rest of the Council at the next Council meeting and that Council Member Williams and
his girlfriend were very upset with Ms. Simpson-Carter for not giving him the credit they felt he
deserved in the community. Former Manager is not sure whether he heard this directly
from Council Member Williams or from others. He asked Ms. Simpson-Carter to prepare a report

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that could be shared with Council. She did so and that report was sent to the Council via email
on May 5, 2017, at 4:06pm by City Clerk,

[Note: Council meetings, but not work sessions, began broadcasting on Facebook Live on
May 8, 2017, and thus were easily accessible to Investigators.]

Prior to the next Council meeting scheduled for Monday, May 8, 2017, Ms. Simpson-Carter left
voicemail messages for Council Member Williams and to inform them that The
Ice Storm was ineligible to be a work site for the SYEI because Council Member Williams voted
on the project. She was not able to speak to them before the meeting.

On May 8, 2017, the day of the Council meeting, Ms. Simpson-Carter, Mr. then City
Attorney, and then Manager engaged in email correspondence concerning the
application of the Council Member Williams’ business, The Ice Storm, for 12 summer youth job
workers. (Emails at 9:01am, 10:07am, 10:12am) Apparently, there was confusion regarding the
number of workers that were requested by the Ice Storm and for what location due to the
formatting of the list provided by one of the SYEI community partners, NC Works. This formatting
led Ms. Simpson-Carter to believe that The Ice Storm had requested 6 workers for The Ice Storm
and 6 workers for a different address, which she assumed to be a renovation project in the 100
block of Center Street and she relayed this information to Manager who included it in
his 9:01am email to City Attorney who then stated in his email “The city summer
project cannot be used for improvements to private property by the participants.” In fact,
Manager understood Mr. position to be that regardless of what the youth
were being used for, they could not work for a business owned by an elected city official
responsible for voting on the appropriation of the funds for the project. In fact, The Ice Storm
application for summer youth employees requested Cart Attendants and Ice Cream
Attendant/Cashier, not workers for a renovation project. These matters did not come up at the
work session or meeting because Ms. Simpson-Carter had not reached either Council Member
Williams or before the council meeting to provide any information regarding the
possibility of a conflict.

At the next Council Work Session on May 8, 2017, Council Member Williams was listed on the
Agenda to discuss the Summer Youth Employment Program. He began his remarks by calling on
Ms. Simpson-Carter to give an update on the SYEI program. Because she had been given advance
notice by the manager that she needed to be prepared to discuss the program, Ms. Simpson-
Carter was able to present her report. Ms. Simpson-Carter documented that Council Member
Williams made numerous unfavorable comments regarding the report during the work session,
and that after the Council Work Session had concluded, Council Member Williams as he exited
the room looked at Ms. Simpson-Carter and stated to the effect of “this is the problem too people
like her not wanting to do their job, trying to please the Mayor and City Manager.” Council
Member Williams also made a comment on the SYEI program and called on citizens to contact
the members of Council to complain about Ms. Simpson-Carter’s running of the program, making
a statement to the effect of “I am tired of saying this, I want to see some action. So call all of

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these gentlemen and let them know how important it is, I am not saying they don’t understand
but you can make them understand a little bit better. Thank you.”

Subsequent to the May 8, 2017, council work session and meeting, Ms. Simpson-Carter drafted
a document responding to Council Member Williams’ remarks during the work session and
council meeting. This email was sent to Manager for distribution to the City Council and
contained information about the Mandatory Information Session conducted on April 25th and
how many individuals inquired about program after the session and the decision not to conduct
an additional information session. Council Member sent an email on May 9, 2017 to Ms.
Simpson-Carter stating the following:
I'm in receipt of your message clarifying the answer to Council Member Williams summer
hire question and extend my appreciation for same.
Additionally, I want to commend you for the sincere and professional manner in which you
have undertaken this task. I fully support the program and understand the challenges of
trying to fold it into the other two programs. Each component has its own objectives and
apparently Mr. Williams doesn't understand or is unwilling to accept the agreed
procedures. I also support the organization's desires not to include any elected official in
the decision making process.
Please know that you have my support in this activity and if I can be if service to you,
please do not hesitate to call on me.
This message appears to substantiate Ms. Simpson-Carter’s belief that she was under attack and
criticism by Council Member Williams. On May 9, 2017, Council Member Williams posted on his
Facebook what was taken by Ms. Simpson-Carter to be an allegation that she was not working to
make the summer youth program a success: Summer Youth Jobs we can do better. Stop the
excuses.”
On May 11, Ms. Simpson-Carter drafted for Manager approval (3:09p email), which was
received, an email message to Council Member Williams informing him in writing on the
existence of the conflict of interest if The Ice Storm was used as a worksite for the SYEI. On May
11, 2017, at 3:52 pm, Ms. Simpson-Carter sent the email confirming the voicemail messages she
sent and informing Council Member Williams that a conflict of interest would occur if his business
were selected as an employer site and receive funds from the City for youth jobs.

Council Member Williams made a public records request after receiving the email from Ms.
Simpson-Carter, to which City Attorney responded at 4:02 pm on the same day (May
11, 2017). Council Member Williams and interpreted the statement by Manger
that stated they were seeking employees to work on a renovation project to be an
intentional attempt to disparate their reputation in the community, by implying that they were
seeking youth to work on a construction project.

Ms. Simpson then sent an email to with the NC Works program (4:47 pm)
attempting to determine the source of the error and when she reviewed the formatting for the

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report, she discovered that she had misread the address on the form. At 7:01pm that evening,
when she figured out how the error occurred, Ms. Simpson-Carter sent another email explaining
that the address list formatting was what led to her erroneous conclusion about purpose for
which the youth were requested by The Ice Storm. (“When reviewing the list in printed form the
way The Ice Storm was document[ed] the addresses were off and appeared to be two different
locations.”) Ms. Simpson-Carter also clarified that the location mistake did not change the
ultimate conclusion that it was a conflict of interest for The Ice Storm to serve as a worksite,
regardless of the location. She also clarified that she had not communicated her mistake in the
addresses to anyone other than the City Manager and the City Attorney.

Ms. Simpson-Carter received several calls between May 12, 2017 and May 15, 2017, from Mrs.
staff from one of the sponsoring partner NC Works, indicating that Council
Member Williams and his girlfriend Ms. had visited her at NC Works in addition to calling
her and were making allegations about Ms. Simpson-Carter. Specifically, Ms. Simpson-Carter
documented that she was contacted before the Council Work Session on May 15, 2017, at 3:16
pm by Mrs. requesting her cell (email – Re: Number), which she provided. Ms.
Simpson-Carter spoke to Mrs. later that evening after Council Work Session and Council
Meeting. She informed Ms. Simpson-Carter that earlier that day Council Member Williams and
Ms. had approached her making statements to the effect that Ms. Simpson-Carter and
the City were doing things to make Wayne Community College and the whole program look bad,
and they needed to watch Ms. Simpson-Carter. She also told Ms. Simpson-Carter that Council
Member Williams and Ms. had complained to her with not being able to be a worksite in
the program and had accused the City and Ms. Simpson-Carter of spreading falsehoods about
their business. At some point, a meeting was scheduled for May 18, 2017, to discuss the
allegations with Council Member Williams and Ms. Ms. Simpson-Carter, Manager
and Attorney

In response to learning of the accusations of Council Member Williams and Ms. Ms.
Simpson-Carter sent an email – Re: City of Goldsboro Summer Youth Employment Initiative
Program – Worksite Designated at 11:04 pm on the evening of May 15, 2017. In addition to the
information received from Ms. Ms. Simpson-Carter also received information from Ms.
indicating that Council Member Williams and Ms. had stated that Ms. Simpson-
Carter was “out in the community and to the City directly telling lies on them and their business”
and that they “did not apply to be a worksite for the City’s SYEI program, they applied for another
program.” Ms. indicated verbally to her supervisor, Mrs. and Ms.
Simpson-Carter that she did not feel comfortable with the interactions with Council Member
Williams and Ms.
On May 15, 2017, Council Member placed an item on the Agenda for him to discuss the
SYEI program at the Council Work Session. During the discussion, Council Member Williams made
remarks, as documented by Ms. Simpson-Carter to the effect of “he and his business was being
prevented from participated in the program so people needed to double check or be careful.”
The written minutes reflect that questions were raised about how local businesses could
participate as employers in the summer youth program. Ms. Simpson-Carter answered questions

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regarding the application process. Council Member Williams again indicated that more youth
should be brought into the program. Council Member pointed out that the program
should not take on too much its first year. Council Member Williams stated that more jobs should
be created and more kids should be hired. Mayor also stated that it was not a matter of
money, but proper supervision for the youth.
Note: It should be noted that during the investigation, Council Member Williams and Ms.
maintained multiple times to the investigators that they had not sought to
participate in the City’s summer youth jobs program, but instead had attempted to
participate in a summer jobs program for youth run by another entity. It was never made
clear which entity (the County, the Community College, or NC Works) was sponsoring the
program they sought to participate in, nor how the applications filled out by Ms.
which were on the City of Goldsboro letterhead were submitted or processed by this
different entity.
During the public comment session, a citizen praised Ms. Simpson-Carter for her work with the
summer youth employment program. Ms. Simpson-Carter then spoke at the public comment
session and deflected credit for the program to the community. The Mayor then stated that Ms.
Simpson-Carter had done remarkable work on the program and deserved thanks.
Nevertheless, as a result of Council Member Williams’ behavior prior to and at the May 15th
meeting, Ms. Simpson-Carter stated that she felt bullied and personally attacked by Council
Member Williams and she felt he and Ms. were engaged in an intentional campaign to
show that she was not competent in her job. Another co-worker ( forwarded
to her an email at 6:14pm on the 15th which contained a report that had been sent to all of the
City Council concerning the Summer Youth Employment program to show her that Council
Members Williams and actually had received on May 5, 2017, the information they were
claiming not to have at the May 15 work session and asking questions to make it appear that she
was not doing her job.
Ms. Simpson-Carter also documented that on May 17, 2017 at 6:59 pm through (email – FW
Request) she sent the Manager the email request from Ms. asking that she have
no further contact with Council Member Williams and Ms. Ms. Simpson-Carter also
expressed in that email her concerns with the upcoming May 18, 2017 meeting scheduled with
Council Member Williams and Ms. to discuss the summer youth program and Ms.
Simpson-Carter’s running of it.
The meeting scheduled for May 18, 2017, began with the City Manager (Mr. the City
Attorney (Mr. and Ms. Simpson-Carter waiting in the Mayor’s Conference Room to
meet with Council Member Williams and Ms. When Council Member Williams and Ms.
entered the Mayor’s Conference Room, they were accompanied by Council Member
who had not indicated that he was attending the meeting, nor had he been formally
invited to attend the meeting. The meeting lasted for over an hour and Ms. Simpson-Carter felt
that gist of the meeting consisting of accusations that the City and Ms. Simpson-Carter were
conspiring against Council Member Williams and his business, and that the fact that Ms.
was the majority shareholder in the business obviated any possible conflict. Mr. stated

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that Council Member Williams and Ms. were much more interested in clarifying the
number of workers requested and where they would be working than trying to understand why
a conflict of interest actually existed. At one point, when Ms. Simpson-Carter attempted to
explain that it did not matter who was the majority shareholder, Council Member Williams held
up his hand to Ms. Simpson-Carter’s face while sitting beside her and stated to the effect of “be
quiet, no one asked you anything, just be quiet.” When she made a second attempt to explain
the conflict of interest, Council Member Williams raised his voice and pointed at her saying words
to the effect of “be quiet you don’t need to be talking we have our City Attorney in here, let him
speak and you just be quiet now.”
When Ms. Simpson-Carter explained that she had misread the addresses and had assumed that
the second address on the list was the location where Council Member Williams was doing some
building renovations, Ms. stated to her words to the effect of “you assumed and made an
ass out of yourself.” Council Member also made allegations that the City Manager and
the City Attorney were not qualified to do their jobs and that they and Ms. Simpson-Carter were
all three of us tarnishing Council Member Williams’ reputation. The City Manager, the City
Attorney, and Ms. Simpson-Carter attempted to explain why the conflict of interest existed, that
they were not trying to harm anyone’s business interests, and that the interactions of Ms.
and Council Member Williams with the community partners of the summer youth employment
program were concerning.
At one point, Council Member Williams raised his voice at Ms. Simpson-Carter and accused her
of “picking on” him, of disrespecting him, and not helping him as a council member. Ms.
Simpson-Carter perceived the behavior of Council Member Williams as different from and much
more aggressive than the way he interacted with both the City Manager and the City Attorney,
who were white and male. After the meeting, the City Manager attempted to reassure Ms.
Simpson-Carter that he knew the allegations against her were not true.
Ms. Simpson-Carter was very shaken by the incident and felt that the entire meeting’s purpose
was to “paint [her] as a female that was not capable [of doing] her work.” Ms. Simpson-Carter
conveyed her feelings and reaction to the meeting to Ms. who was at that time
a mutual friend of both Council Member Williams and Ms. Simpson-Carter. [The relationship
between Ms. and Council Member Williams later deteriorated according to all accounts
after a residency challenge was made and after a rent dispute occurred between the two. Ms.
had worked in the community to elect Council Member Williams and Council Member

Ms. apparently spoke to Council Member Williams on May 23, 2017, because Ms.
Simpson-Carter noted that Council Member Williams made a post on his Facebook which she
took to be directed at her.
On May 24, 2017, at about 7:30 pm, Ms. Simpson-Carter had scheduled an Orientation for the
SYEI program for all approved worksites, youth employees and parents. Sponsoring partners
and staff were aware of the Orientation and Ms. Simpson-Carter later came to believe that Ms.
of Rebuilding Broken Places had alerted Council Member Williams and Ms.
of the meeting. walked into the meeting room at Wayne Community College. After the

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presentation, as worksite participants left, Council Member Williams and Ms. were
greeting them and speaking to them. Ms. one of Ms. Simpson-Carter’s staff,
approached Council Member Williams and Ms. in the back of the room, and Ms. Simpson-
Carter joined heard, at which point they heard Council Member Williams telling a worksite
representative how much Ms. Simpson-Cater was doing wrong with the program, how he was
being pushed out of a program that he created by people jealous of him. In addition, they heard
Council Member Williams allege that the City was not doing what it needed to do, so he has had
to do work that staff should be doing and that was the reason he had to be more hands on.
Council Member Williams also told the worksite representative that she should call him if she has
any problem with the SYEI program. Ms. Simpson-Carter reported her observations of the
Council Member and his remarks to the City Manager. As a result, Manager and Ms.
Simpson-Carter agreed that she would draft an email to be sent to worksites and their supervisors
asking for feedback to be provided directly to the Manager and Ms. Simpson-Carter in case of
issues.
On May 25, 2017, the Goldsboro-Wayne Transportation Authority (GWTA) met. Council Member
Williams and Ms. Simpson-Carter were both members of the GWTA board. During the GWTA
Board meeting, Ms. Simpson-Carter felt Council Member Williams acted aggressively towards her
in an attempt to intimidate her. (During the Council Work Session April 17, 2017, Council
Member Williams had mentioned that the City Council could use surplus funds from GWTA in the
amount of $20,000 to employ more youth for the program and to employ additional youth at the
GWTA Bus Transfer Station.) The Board Minutes of the meeting indicate that Council Member
Williams advocated that the surplus funds could and should be used for the summer youth jobs
program through the Parks and Recreation Department with the Parks and Recreation
Department providing supervisors. Ms. Simpson-Carter indicated that she had not been advised
by the City Council to have Parks and Recreation supervisors oversee additional youth jobs with
the GWTA. Council Member Williams stated that he believed the Council made it clear at the
Council meeting that it was approved. Ms. Simpson-Carter indicated that she would check with
the City Manager and the City council to see if it was in fact approved. The meeting adjourned
at 11:05 am.
Immediately following the meeting, Ms. Simpson-Carter went to the Goldsboro Event Center for
Base Community Meeting. Upon entering the Event Center Mayor Council Member
and Council Member were standing at the entrance. As Ms.
Simpson-Carter was explaining to them what she perceived to be Council Member Williams’
verbally aggressive remarks at the GWTA meeting, Council Member Williams entered the Event
Center and approached the group. Council Member Williams greeted each of the Council
Members and shook their hands and did not speak to Ms. Simpson-Carter, but then positioned
himself to be standing right next to her on her right side. Council Member Williams stood with
the group for a few minutes, and then left the group. All of them agreed that Council Member
Williams’ behavior was unusual.
Also, on that same date, the first of several public records requests was received by the City of
Goldsboro Manager and Ms. Simpson-Carter from Mrs. of the Goldsboro News
Argus. The May 25, 2017 (9:31am) email request asked for the list for worksites for an update

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story on the progression of the SYEI program. A list was provided the same day via email
(3:43pm). A follow up email (8:28am) on May 26, 2017, requested additional information.
Another follow up email (12:06pm) was also sent by Ms. Simpson-Carter
responded to the first follow up email via email (12:12 pm) that same day. Ms. Simpson-Carter
deferred the responses to the second follow up email to the City Manager and City Attorney in
an email (1:24pm).

On May 26, 2017, (2:19pm), wrote Ms. Simpson-Carter, copying Manager

and Clerk, and requested additional documentation and asked additional
questions about Council Member Williams and the summer youth jobs program.
provided a response to the email that same day (4:19pm).

June 2017 (Exhibit 5)

On June 3, 2017, (4:49 pm) Ms. Simpson-Carter provided additional responses to
On June 11, 2017, wrote an article for the Goldsboro News Argus which ran on
the front page, titled : Council Member’s business cannot use Summer Jobs Program Youth
https://www.newsargus.com/news/councilman-s-business-cannot-use-summer-jobprogram-
youths/article_8c270861-a151-59dd-a5ac-e2d261986589.html On that same day, Ms. Simpson-
Carter noted that Council Member Williams posted on his Facebook page comments which she
took to be directed at her: “Keep your distance from people who will never admit they are wrong
and always try to make you feel like it’s all your fault.” She also stated she believed that it was
directed at her because she was aware that Council Member Williams had been making
statements to sponsoring partners, the City Manager, the City Attorney, among others, that it
was Ms. Simpson-Carter’s fault that he was not allowed to be a worksite.

Because Council member Williams’ statements were perceived as damaging to the SYEI program
by some, Ms. Simpson-Carter and Manager scheduled a meeting for June 15, 2017, at
4:30 pm with Dr. President of Wayne Community College and Mrs. of
Wayne Community College to address the allegations made by Council Member Williams and Ms.
in an attempt to reassure them that the program was going to be a success. Dr.
reassured Manager and Ms. Simpson-Carter that the Community College wanted to
continue as a sponsoring partner.
July 2017 (Exhibit 6)
Ms. Simpson-Carter documented that as a result of Council Member Williams’ allegations against
her made in the community and at council work sessions and council meetings, that she had to
prepared at least 18 additional data reports and had provided updates at virtually every work
session and council meeting regarding the 12-week SYEI program that employed 60 youth in
2017.

In addition, at some point, Ms. Simpson-Carter learned that Council Member Williams had
implied to citizens in the community that Ms. Simpson-Carter had “moved up the ladder” in city
government by sleeping with city officials and she informed the City Manager of Council Member

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Williams’ allegations against her in this regard. The City Manager expressed his belief that
Council Member Williams had reached a new low.

As a result, a letter was drafted and sent by the City Attorney to all Council Members which put
them on notice that engaging in conduct which could be viewed as harassing City employees was
not permitted and could put the City in legal jeopardy. Email correspondence dates this
distribution on or around July 10, 2017. Specifically, the letter provides the following:

Mayor and City Council Members,

I have been contacted as City Attorney regarding concerns of some employees who feel
that they are being subjected to a hostile work environment. The allegations/concerns do
not stem from comments or actions of City employees but from statements that have
been attributed to elected officials of the City of Goldsboro which the employees feel are
untrue, harassing and/or threatening in nature. While I have not investigated the veracity
of the allegations, the statements if true are concerning.
Remember that your statements and actions as elected officials expose you and possibly
the City to potential litigation. If in dealing with your constituencies you come across
complaints regarding the work performance or actions of City employees, please inform
the complaining party that you will look into the matter and will do your best to address
the individual's concerns. Remember to be careful in the way in which you respond so
that the individual does not misperceive your willingness to investigate the matter as an
endorsement of his/her thoughts, statements and beliefs. Any concerns regarding
employee's actions and/or performance should be addressed to the City Manager in
private so that he may look into and properly investigate the matter.
Remember that the authorization to act and speak on behalf of the City of Goldsboro is
derived from the collective agreement of the Mayor and Council Members, whereas your
individual statements and actions potentially subject you to liability for libel, slander, and
other claims of action.
Please feel free to call me or to schedule a time to meet with me if you have any questions
or concerns.

No witnesses recall that the memorandum was ever discussed either individually or publicly with
the council members. Manager does recall that at one time he spoke individually with
Council Member in 2016 regarding his questioning of a City employee and asked him to
consider his tone when doing so. reported that after that conversation, in his opinion,
Council Member made an effort to be respectful in his questioning towards all city
employees, with the exception of the city manager.

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 Regardless of whether there was any discussion of the contents of the letter from Mr.
City Attorney, there was no discussion during the City Council work session or meeting on July
17, 2017, which was the only meeting in July, of the summer youth jobs program.
August 2017: Removal of from Advisory Committee on Community
Development (Exhibit 7)

The council engaged in multiple discussions of the city’s board and commissions in the spring,
and summer of 2017:
• March 20 (citizen remarks)
• April 4 (call by Mayor Pro Tem to structure boards/commissions properly)
• April 17 (citizen remarks)
• May 8 (additional call by Mayor Pro Tem for proper board structure and reporting process)
• June 26 (five boards reported Chairpersons in place)(Mayor Pro Tem expressed concern
about lack of diversity on the Planning Commission)
• July 17 (Mayor Pro Tem raised the issue of a lack of racial diversity in board membership;
Council discussed appointments, term limits; Mayor asked staff to verify on every board
that its members are legitimate; citizen comment about board diversity).
As a result of the staff charge, Ms. Simpson-Carter worked with Deputy City Clerk to
review the composition of the board staffed by Ms. Simpson-Carter, the Advisory Committee on
Community Development. Ms. Simpson-Carter indicated that the Committee did not meet often
due to the lack of attendance of the members and was later combined with another Board to
have more active participation. Ms. CEO of Second Act Communities
verified to Ms. Simpson-Carter that Ms. was an active director for Second Act
Communities. It was determined that because of a contract with Second Act Communities with
which Ms. was involved, it would be a possible conflict of interest for her to serve on the
Advisory Committee on Community Development because of the flow of federal grant funds
through Ms. Simpson-Carter’s department to Second Act Communities, with oversight by the
Advisory Committee.
On August 3, Clerk asked Ms. Simpson-Carter whether she had notified Ms. about
the conflict. Ms. Simpson-Carter responded and stated that she had a draft of the letter ready
to go. On Monday, August 7, Ms. Simpson-Carter provided Ms. via email with a copy of the
letter she sent to Ms. When the email sent on August 7, in addition to the US Mail letter,
was returned to Ms. Simpson-Carter, she discovered that she had used an incorrect email address
(acourt1@aol.com instead of acourt11@aol.com). Using the correct address, Ms. Simpson-
Carter then attempted to confirm receipt of the mailed copy with Ms. on both August 31
and September 7, using two different email addresses, with no response. Although Ms. Simpson-
Carter never received any formal communication from Council Member Williams or Ms.
she was made aware that the two of them where upset about the notification and that they had
described it as “another one of [her] tricks to undermine Councilman Williams” for the “White
Man,” as relayed to her by a citizen.

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During the investigation, Council Member Williams and Ms. confirmed that they believed
Ms. removal was motivated by ill intentions on the part of Ms. Simpson-Carter. They
also stated that Ms. was completely unaware that she was even on this Committee and
believed that she had never been notified that she was on the Committee. Emails and meeting
minutes indicate that she was notified of the meetings via email, however at least two of those
notifications used an incorrect email address (acourt1@aol.com instead of acourt11@aol.com).
This event seems to have increased the animosity between Ms. Simpson-Carter and Council
Member Williams and Ms.
August/September 2017 (Exhibit 8)
The only discussion at the August 7, 2017 meeting was a comment by Council Member Williams
thanking all who partnered with the Summer Youth Program and a comment by Mayor
complimenting the Summer Youth Program. The investigation revealed no discussion between
Council Member Williams and Ms. Simpson-Carter regarding the Summer Youth Program during
the August 21, 2017, September 5, 2017, or September 18, 2017 council work sessions or
meetings.

There was discussion of a proposed project which Council Member Williams supported called “24
Hours of Peace” which was proposed to address concerns with violence in the community. At
the request of Council Member Williams, Staff pulled together numbers to determine the funds
expended on Community Cares events for FY 2016-17 and to evaluate the availability of funds
for the proposed project in FY 2017-18. Ultimately, it was determined that no funds were
available to fund the project and Ms. Simpson-Carter drafted a memo to Council Member
Williams to this effect. She learned that Council Member Williams was angry that she had sent
him a written memorandum copied to others instead of dealing with him directly.

October 2017 (Exhibit 9)

At the October 2, 2017 council meeting, Council Member Williams brought up the Summer Youth
Employment Program and made suggestions for improving it in 2018. Council Member
indicated that when Ms. Simpson-Carter’s report was finished, the Council should incorporate
the contents of her report into planning for the next year. The Summer Youth Employment
Initiative was not discussed at the October 16, 2017 meeting.
During the investigation, the Planning Director, indicated that Council Member
Williams dealt with her in a demeaning and authoritative tone which corroborated Ms. Simpson-
Carter’s complaints about his tone with her. Her conflicts involved difficulties that Council
Member Williams and regarding work being done on the exterior of The Ice
Storm. Council Member Williams and Ms. confirmed that they had conflicts with the
planning department and the Historic District Commission and its guidelines. Ms.
indicated that Council Member Williams had been observed doing work on the exterior of his
business without the approval of the Historic District Commission and which would not have been
approved under the then applicable guidelines because it did not conform to Historic District
guidelines. While the investigation was unable to date these precise timing of the conflicts,
appeared at the October 2, 2017, city council meeting and complained about the
difficulty she as a business owner of The Ice Storm was having with her treatment by the planning

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department during the summer and early fall of 2017. A brief account occurs in the written
minutes and the video of the meeting provides more detail.

At the October 16, 2017 work session, Ms. Simpson-Carter had on the consent agenda the matter
of filling a board that she staffed, the Community Affairs Commission. While not reflected in the
meeting minutes, Ms. Simpson-Carter alleges that Council Member Williams interrupted her
presentation with questions and concerns to such an extent that the Council unanimously agreed
to remove the item from the Consent Agenda. She stated she felt bullied and intimidated by this
exchange. Audio of this exchange was not available to be reviewed.

November/December 2017 (Exhibit 10)

Ms. Simpson-Carter presented the Summer Youth Employment final report at the November 6,
2017 meeting. Extensive discussion took place. Council Member Williams made critical remarks
about:
• how many youth applied and how few actually were able to participate
• how unclear Wayne Community College was on the requirements
• that the youth were disappointed
• that he wanted to be more involved in the program
• that he had asked to be on the committee

A planning meeting was initiated with previous partners via email on November 7, 2017, and
included recommendations made by council members and others. On November 20, 2017, Ms.
Simpson-Carter emailed the council about Council Member previous request for
information about funding through the Community Development Block Funding Grants received
by the City.
The Summer Youth program did not appear on the November 20, 2017 agenda nor was it
discussed at the work session or council meeting. At the December 4, 2017 meeting, the program
was not on the agenda or discussed at the work session or meeting, but Council Member Williams
did make remarks during the Council Member report period to the effect that 60 jobs were not
adequate for the summer program and he called on citizens to put pressure on the city council
to create more jobs.

Also of note at this meeting, Mr. City Attorney, indicated that he was stepping down as
City Attorney. This engendered much discussion, which was abbreviated in the minutes. The
audio of this meeting reveals vocal opposition by Council Member Williams to the continued use
of Mr. law firm as attorney for the City.

Ms. Simpson-Carter provided agenda materials for the December 18th meeting via email on
December 13, to include a proposed timeline and additional form documents to be used in the
program.

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At the December 18, 2017 meeting, the attorney situation was discussed and a vote passed to
retain the current services of Mr. law firm, with Council Members Williams and
voting against. There was significant discussion regarding obtaining the services of a different law
firm. Ms. Simpson-Carter also provided an update on the 2018 Summer Youth Employment
Initiative. She reviewed the hiring process. Council Member Williams complained that he was
hearing a lot of talk and no solutions and he stated that 47 jobs was inadequate. He reiterated
his desire to be involved in the committee work on the program and questioned the manager as
to who was creating the jobs. Manager responded that council members should not be
involved in the hiring of the employees because that was a staff responsibility, but if the Council
wanted staff to hire a dramatically larger number of youth, staff would have to go back and create
another proposal and work with additional businesses. Staff was requested to bring back a
proposal at the first meeting in January. End of the year emails between Ms. Simpson-Carter
and community partners on December 29, 2017, focused on the issues raised at the council
meeting.

January/February (Exhibit 11)

The Summer Youth program was not on the January 8, 2018 agenda nor was it discussed at the
work session or council meeting. Behind the scenes, Ms. Simpson-Carter rolled out the program
on January 9 via email, learned that the Air Force Base would be participating, was asked about
using Community Development Block Grant Funds and conflicts of interest if Council Member
Williams was allowed to pay for his summer youth positions himself, conducted orientation
sessions on January 9 and 11, and corresponded with community partners regarding the
orientation sessions.

The program was not on the January 22, 2018 agenda nor discussed at the work session.
However, during council member remarks on the 22nd, both Council Members Williams and
encouraged parents to bring their youth to the January 31, 2018 orientation for the
program. Staff learned around January 24 that the income restrictions that Council Member
Williams had advocated were of concern to parents. A third orientation session was conducted
on January 31.

On February 5th, a “parent of interest” sent an email with a memo objecting and questioning the
household salary restriction. On both February 16 and 19, Ms. Simpson-Carter provided updates
on the number of applications for the program. At the February 19, 2018 meeting, the Summer
Youth program came up when, during the public comment period, Ms. was
asking the council for their response to the report on poverty in Goldsboro and asking the council
to read it and take a leadership role in addressing the issue. Council Member Williams responded
to Ms. that he had taken on a leadership role when he pushed for the Summer Youth
Program. Ms. responded that the program was a start but what was needed was more
than one council member selecting one problem. There was no discussion of the effect of the
household salary restriction on the number of applicants.

March/April 2018 (Exhibit 12)

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There was no discussion of the summer youth program at the work sessions or council meetings
on March 5, 2018. The decision was made to re-open the application process effective March 6,
after a review of the number of applicants (130). Email correspondence with a citizen (
on March 7, 2018, thanked Ms. Simpson-Carter for her “persistence in getting the income
eligibility removed.” On March 9, Ms. Simpson-Carter provided a report on worksites. There was
no discussion of the program at the March 19, 2018 work session or meeting. On March 20 and
21, 2018, additional emails were sent by Ms. Simpson-Carter reminding recipients that the
application had re-opened and that it would close April 6. On March 22, 2018, Ms. Simpson-
Carter provided another report on the program to both the manager and community partners. It
was determined that another orientation session was needed, and it was scheduled for April 6.
On March 23, Ms. Simpson-Carter received email correspondence from someone in charge of a
similar program to whom she had previously reached out.

The program was not on the agenda nor discussed at the work session on April 2, 2018, and only
came up at the council meeting during council member remarks when Council Member Williams
reminded youth and parents that there was one week left to submit an application for the
program. On April 12, Ms. Simpson-Carter notified applicants of the orientation session, and on
April 13, Ms. Simpson-Carter distributed the latest program reports both for the council meeting
on the 16th and to community partners in the program.

At the April 16, 2018 work session, Ms. Simpson-Carter presented an update including the
timeline for the program (two application periods: January 9-February 9 and March 6 to April 6.
Orientation sessions were held on January 9, 11, and 30, with an additional session scheduled for
April 24. A possibility of between 69 and 93 positions had been requested from 17 worksites.
Council Member Williams suggested that the selection process be a lottery, as advocated by a
citizen. Ms. Simpson-Carter advised the council to continue to use the interview process which
had been used the previous year to ensure that youth were willing to work and qualified for the
potential worksite. Council Member also agreed the youth should go through the
interview process to prepare them for the future.
April 2018: Residency Controversy (Exhibit 13)
On April 25, 2018, the City Council held a special called meeting to address an anonymous
allegation that Council Member Williams did not reside in the District he was elected from. Upon
inquiry to the School of Government, City attorney was advised that making
inquiry of Council Member Williams was necessary. Mr. met with Council Member
Williams to discuss the matter. Council Member Williams stated that he lived in his district. Mr.
asked him his address, which he declined to provide. Mr. informed the
council of that discussion. The council members, excluding Council Member Williams, who was
unable to attend the meeting, voted unanimously to ask Council Member Williams to provide the
Clerk two legal forms of verification of where he lives by Friday, April 27, 2018.
On April 30, 2018, the City Council re-convened. Council Member Williams’ attorney
spoke on his behalf and indicated that Council Member Williams had safety concerns
about releasing the address at which he temporarily resided during construction on the property

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