Gaston County sends BofA a message

Awards account to Wachovia over immigrant credit card, but at a cost of $120,000

GASTONIA -- Two weeks after rejecting a better deal from Bank of America because of a controversial credit card, Gaston County leaders on Thursday awarded a banking contract to Wachovia.

The county's board of commissioners spurned Bank of America because it offers a credit card that can be obtained without a Social Security number and could be used by illegal immigrants.

The vote follows one last fall in which the commissioners directed county staff to cut funding for programs and services used by illegal immigrants.

Bank of America officials say their card, which is being tested in Los Angeles, is intended to introduce customers to banking and help build a credit history, but they acknowledge it could be used by illegal immigrants.

Wachovia has no similar credit card program. Like Bank of America and many banks, however, Wachovia accepts IDs issued by Mexican consulates from customers who don't have Social Security numbers when they're opening accounts.

The county likely will have an average daily balance of about $10 million. By picking Wachovia, Gaston will lose about $120,000 in interest over four years, based on the proposals.

But County Manager Jan Winters said that cost will be offset by savings from trips to the bank. The nearest Wachovia branch is much closer to the county administration building than the nearest Bank of America one, he said.

"If we put a dollar value to staff time," Winters said, "there is not a difference."

The all-Republican board approved the contract without discussion and despite criticism from a resident who said the board should focus on more important issues.

Bill Toole, a lawyer from Belmont, said growth, education and public safety were bigger concerns. He also noted the different reactions to two drunken-driving crashes that killed Gaston residents in recent years.

Scott Gardner, 33, died in 2005 when his car was struck by a vehicle whose driver was intoxicated and in the U.S. illegally.

Afterward, Toole said, public outcry focused on illegal immigration, not drunken driving.

There was no such outcry, he said, when Ashley Rose Griffin died this month after the 18-year-old's car was hit by a drunken driver in Belmont.

"He happened to be a Gaston County resident," Toole said of the other driver. "We heard nothing about that."