482-4418
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
The
Spring
issue of
Albemarle
Magazine
HITS
STANDS
THURSDAY
Council to debate salary study
state averages are
higher than town pay
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
AND REBECCA BUNCH
Chowan Herald
A salary study could be on the
horizon for the town of Edentori
employees. At issue is whether
department heads are overpaid
while rank and file employees
are underpaid.
In the wake of attempting
to hire a new fire chief for the
Edenton Fire Department at a
salary as high as $70,000 yearly,
questions have surfaced whether
that salary is too steep for a one
station department with seven
firefighters and 18 volunteers. It
also prompted a call for a review
of all of the town’s salaries. •
Councilman Steve Biggs,
chairman of the administrative
committee, said he favors a sal
ary survey Biggs said that he’s
concerned salaries for depart
ment heads are higher than they
need to be and that sanitation
workers, meter
readers and oth
ers who have
worked for the
town for 20-plus
years are under
paid.
“I think when
a study is done
we’re going to Biggs
find out we’re lower in terms of
what some workers are being
paid than we need to be,” “Biggs
said. “I also think we’ll find that
we have some employees that are
in the wrong pay
grade.”
Town Manag
er Anne Marie
Knighton said
questions about
the new fire
chief salary has
caused her to
step back and re- Knighton
assess. She defends the fire chief
salary recommendation, adding
that there is more to consider
than population comparisons.
“The fire department protects
an area larger than 5,000 people,”
Knighton said.
Before setting the salaries,
Knighton said she confers with
the N.C. League of Municipali
ties to compare positions with
similar responsibilities. Because
Edenton’s population hovers just
below the 5,000 mark, Knighton
said she reviews two sets of com
parisons, those towns with popu
lations between 2,500 to 4,999 and
See SALARY, 3A
State OKs
E-Chowan schools
calendar waiver
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer .
■The Edenton-Chowan school system is one of 91
out of the 115 school districts in North Carolina to
receive a waiver from adding five additional class
days to its calendar next fall.
Superintendent Allan Smith briefed the local
school board concerning the new development at its
regular monthly meeting on Monday night. Board
member Jean Bunch was absent.
The state Board of Education authorized the
waivers last week based on meetings held in Febru
ary where its members had the opportunity to hear
from school districts about the potential impact of
adding more school days. Educators across the state
told the state board that those extra five days would
cost already finally strapped school systems more
money and remove needed training time for their'
teachers.
Smith said that the local schools would have had
to spend an additional $22,000 next year for trans
portation costs if it had not been granted a waiver.
There would also have been small increases reflect
ed in the child nutrition program as well as addi
tional pay required for custodial staff, he said.
Statewide, school districts estimated it could cost
as much as $14 million in additional funding to op
erate schools for those extra days.
In a March 27 story published in the News & Ob
server, state Senator Jerry W. Tillman, R-Montgom
ery, who co-chairs the Senate Education Committee,
See CALENDAR, 6A
Not These Eggs!
PHOTO BY RITCHIE E. STARNES
A Canada goose blends into the landscape as she sits atop her nest located in the wetlands of Filbert’s Creek.
Chowan County nixes property tax discount
By RITCHIE E. STARNES
Editor
No longer will Chowan County
property owners get a discount
for paying their taxes early.
By a 6-1 margin, the Board of
Commissioners voted Monday
night to eliminate any discount
for paying property taxes in July
and August.
Since 2009, Chowan taxpayers
have been eligible for a 2 percenj,
break if they paid their property
taxes in July and 1 percent for
payments in August. That benefit
has evolved into an increasing
annual loss for the county’s cof
fers.
; Between shrinking interest
rates on its money investments
and the growing number of tax
Chowan County Tax
Discount Analysis
Curr. Yr. Levy*
Collections
2009: 3,640,238
2010: 4,353,249
/ 2011:4,589,717
Interest
‘ 2009:6,235
2010:4,083
2011:3,929
Cumulative: 14,247
Discount Allowed
2009: 68,659
2010: 83,317
2011:88,782
Cumulative: 240,759
Loss
2009: 62,424
2010: 79,234
2011:84,853
Cumulative: 226,512
*Fire District and other spe
cial district taxes not included.
payers capitalizing on the dis
count, Chowan experienced a
near $85,000 loss last year by keep
ing the program. The loss has con
tinued to mount each year since
its inception, including a net loss
of more than $79,000 in 2010, and
$62,424 during its first year. Com
missioners first implemented the
discount as a means to raise im
mediate cash when Chowan was
on the brink of bankruptcy and
possible state takeover.
“They did have a cash flow
problem with loan payments and
they needed the cash,” said Coun
ty Manager Zee lamb earlier in
the day Monday. “Given the de
creased interests earned off the
money and we’re no longer hav
ing cash problems, I no longer
think it’s beneficial.”
Lamb shared those thoughts
with the board at its regularly
scheduled meeting.
Keith Nixon, vice chairman,
questioned how dropping the dis
count would impact the tax office
at the end of the year, since the
majority of taxpayers would like
ly wait until December to settle
their tax debt.
“Come December we’re prob
ably going to be overwhelmed,”
countered Kep Kepley, tax admin
istrator.
Lamb acknowledged the late
year push, but said the difference
in money saved and worth the
hassle.
“I cannot tell you the lines (tax
payers) will not be long in Decem
ber. They will be,” Lamb said. “I’d
argue that for $88,000 (prior to
interest earnings), we could hire
part-time help.”
He added that many taxpay
ers would still pay early anyway.
Most early payments come from
financial institutions, taking
advantage of the discount.
See DISCOUNT, 6A
Police nab shooting suspect
from staff reports
: The man suspected of
shooting into an 86-year
old woman’s North Oakum
Street home was arrested
Monday morning while
©2009 The Chowan Herald
AH Rights Reserved
traveling in the same neigh
borhood.
Skyler
Jevelle
Holley, 27,
was arrest
ed around
11:30 a.m.
after a
Chowan
County
sheriff’s Holley
deputy spotted the suspect
traveling in a Cadillac on
Whitemon Lane and in
the vicinity of two recent
shootings, according to
Edenton Police Chief Jay
Fortenbery. Police had ear
lier received information
that Holley and another
man were in the area and
armed with handguns,
Fortenbery said.
Police arrested Holley
and Harold Melvin Jones
Jr. on charges of weap
ons violations after two
See HOLLEY, 6A
Commission backs anniversary
Town to vote
on its role
By REBECCA BUNCH
Staff Writer
The 300th anniversary
of the town of Edenton
may yet be celebrated this
November.
Despite confusion over
whether it would be ap
propriate to celebrate the
300th anniversary of the
town’s founding — which
occurred in November,
1712 — or the 300th an
niversary of the town’s
incorporation in 1722,
which wouldn’t be for an
other 10 years, it seems
likely a celebration will
happen this year.
During its quarterly
meeting on March 29 the
Edenton Historical Com
mission adopted a resolu
tion that calls on the town
to officially sanction a
celebration of the 300th
anniversary of the found
ing of the town, accord
ing to its chairman, Jerry
Climer.
The Town Council is ex
pected to discuss whether
to support the proposal
at its April 10 monthly
meeting. However, during
the council’s committee
meeting last month, some
councilmen questioned
See ANNIVERSARY, 3A
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