Meet Nick Boyd: The man saving Lenoir County homeowners' money
You’ve probably never met him and there’s a good chance you won’t recognize his name, but Nick Boyd has done something personally for you if you’re a homeowner in certain parts of Lenoir County: he’s saved you some hard-earned money.
Boyd grew up in Acton, Mass., a city near Boston. He is a fellow in the Lead for North Carolina program, which is a fellowship in local government for recent college graduates. He graduated from Davidson College last summer with degrees in political science and Arabic studies. He speaks English, Spanish, Flemish/Dutch, Arabic and has studied Latin.
Boyd came to Lenoir County last July. In the short amount of time he’s been here, he’s worked with Lenoir County government in human resources, maintenance and sustainability, the planning and zone department, transit and with the tax department, among other responsibilities.
Lenoir County Assistant County Manager Adam Short said the county has been blessed to have someone with Boyd’s talent level.
“He’s been an integral part of our management team and a lot of our higher-level, big picture projects that we’re trying to push and promote as an organization,” Short said. “Nick’s been an important part of that and has provided some incredibly valuable feedback during that process.”
Boyd has made arguably his biggest splash, though, with the Community Rating System program — CRS, for short. According to Short, FEMA has the National Flood Insurance Program; if one owns a home in a floodplain and has a mortgage, the bank will require flood insurance for that home.
“Alongside the National Flood Insurance Program, they have an outreach education piece through units of local government,” Short explained. “You can get certain credits or points and that helps reduce insurance premiums on the flood side. That is the CRS program.”
Jurisdictions are audited every five years and Lenoir County was at a Class 8 level before Boyd arrived. As areas go lower in the CRS program, there is a percentage reduction on flood insurance for all policy holders in a jurisdiction. With Boyd aiding the CRS program this cycle, Lenoir County dropped from a Class 8 to a Class 7 level.
Tangibly, that means Lenoir County insurance policyholders in floodplains moved from a 10 percent discount to 15 percent reduction in their premiums, thanks to Boyd’s hard work. The additional five percent is more money in the pockets of Lenoir County citizens.
“It’s all through the efforts of what Nick did,” Short said. “We appreciate it and it’s why we’re proud of his work.”
Boyd’s hard work with the CRS program is a microcosm of his personality, Short said.
“If there’s something I appreciate the most about Nick is that he is a self-starter,” Short said. “He has touched a lot of different departments in the county.”
Linda Rouse-Sutton, the Lenoir County Commissioners chair, expressed her support for the CRS program and Boyd as well.
“We are so glad to participate in the Lead for North Carolina program,” she said. “We appreciate all the work that Nick has performed for our organization, particularly for the CRS program. It is very important to me personally that we do everything we can to help our citizens, and this is one more program that helps to serve their needs.”
Sutton continued, “A program like this is so important. It puts more money in the pockets of our citizens and furthers our board’s strategic plan to meet the public safety needs of our community.”
The Lead for North Carolina fellowship is an 11-month program, so Boyd will be wrapping up his time in Lenoir County early this summer. He said he’s learned a lot about local government in his Kinston tenure.
“Ninety percent of the words I hear around the office now, I wouldn’t have understood them a year ago, outside the general English meaning,” Boyd said. “The key lesson I’ve learned, though, is the importance of real relationships and cordiality.”
Boyd said he’s enjoyed his time in Kinston and Lenoir County, specifically Eastern North Carolina barbecue and county leaders.
“I didn’t grow up with barbecue at all, so it’s been fun trying out King’s and Whiskey Pig,” he said with a laugh. “But I have really liked working for Lenoir County; Adam is a good supervisor, the county manager (Michael James) has been really helpful … and everyone has been fantastic. It’s been a really good educational experience for me.”
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