Sunset Cuts Tax Proposal, Lectures Audience
BY SUSAN USHER
An early budget debate that re
sulted in a 3-2 decision to cut the
proposed property tax rate by a pen
ny set the tone for a drawn-out
Sunset Beach Town Council meet
ing Monday night characterized by
flaring tempers, defensive posturing
and acrimony.
The barely-contained hostility
wasn't limited to those around the
conference table, as council admon
ished audience members on their be
uiViui.
At several points. Councilwoman
Cherri Cheek, who repeatedly at
tempted to find grounds for compro
mise between argumentative fellow
council members, characterized
nearly continuous mumblings,
spurts of coughing, laughter and
occasional outbursts from the audi
ence as "rude and unsuitable". She
said the background noise was af
fecting her ability to concentrate on
the business at hand.
"Sitting on council is not a real
easy job; a lot goes on here that is
important to the town." she said.
"But it is difficult for me to concen
trate on what I'm doing when peo
ple are laughing and cackling in the
background. It really upsets me to
see adults display some of these be
haviors. We're talking about com
mon courtesy."
"We can bring a policeman in
here to usher them out in the future."
suggested Mayor Mason Barber,
with Mayor Pro-tem Ed Gore adding
his agreement to "take whatever ac
tion is needed."
Instead, council asked that Battel
read a statement at the next meeting
prepared by town staff four months
ago at his request which he read
Monday night that calls for courte
ous behavior on the part of atten
dees.
A public hearing will be held at 7
p.m. June 20 on a 1994-95 proposed
budget based on * 13 5 cents per
$100 of real property valuation, ex
pected to generate $429,715 with a
96.7 percent collection rate and a
property tax base of $329 million.
After doing some "homework" on
the budget. Councilman Herb Klin
kcr proposed several amendments to
reduce the tax rate to 12.5 cents per
$100 of valuation without "any seri
ous effect" on town operations. But
council members would only agree
to two changes that dropped the rate
one cent, not two cents.
Finance officer Julia Thomas and
Klinker voted against the 13.5-cent
rate, for widely differing reasons.
Klinker pushed for a deeper cut,
saying council was "taking advan
tage" of revaluation, while Thomas
has advocated no reduction in the
16.7-cents tax rate, saying the town
needs greater reserves and that a tax
rate is difficult to increase once cut.
Klinker proposed reducing funds
budgeted for the South Brunswick
Islands Chamber of Commerce from
SI 2,000 to $2,000 (already down
from $14,000 last year) and line
items for butch strand clean-up and
disaster clean-up and sidewalks, and
transferring a drainage project iu the
water fund. The cost of the water
tank overflow containment project
would be paid out of unappropriated
water department funds, then the
town would seek full or partial reim
bursement through Powell Bill
funds later in the year.
"In most towns I've lived in the
chsmbcr of conuncrce was just
that," said KJ inker. "It vltk fijaded
by local commercial establishments,
not by the towns to such an extent."
"Herb, you're in Brunswick
County now," advised Mayor Mason
Barber.
When most members balked at
any further cut in the chamber con
tribution Klinker agreed to keep it
intact, but recommended that cuts be
made elsewhere instead, without
success. "I don't see anything in the
economic environment to account
for an 18.7 percent average rate of
increase," he said. "It doesn't make
any sense to me. This council hasn't
examined this budget to see how it
can keep the tax rate down."
"We looked for six hours," inter
jeeted the mayor. "You're doing it
with the numbers and not with the
experience of a lot of people in this
room."
In a compromise motion by
Councilwoman Cherri Cheek, who
also explained how the chamber
contribution is used, council agreed
to transfer the drainage project to the
water fund and to cut the sidewalk
line item, but would budge no fur
ther.
The chamber contribution comes
from the town's accommodations
tax levy. The 3-percent tax paid by
occupants of rental units such as va
cation cottages, condominiums and
motel rooms ? of approximately
$300,000 a year and is used by the
chamber to promote tourism and
jiicucraic even more accommoda
State lawmakers created the tax in
1991 as an added source of revenues
to promote travel and tourism and to
offeet the "special service burdens"
placed on local governments by
transients, such as increased levels
of services such as police protection,
and higher-capacity water and sewer
utilities, and to support travel and
tourism development.
The money can be used for sus
taining those higher levels of service
as well as for supporting advertising
and promotion of the community;
cultural, recreational and historical
activities; sponsoring tourist -orient
ed events and activities; and financ
ing tourist-related capital projects.
A strong state hotel/motel own
ers' association lobby has threatened
restructuring of the state accommo
dations tax law, saying the sums
spent for promotion of tourism
aren't "reasonable."
The lion's share is being used by
towns for purposes outside the spirit
of the law," Gore said Monday.
Shallotte Aldermen OK 37-Acre Annexation
BY DOUG R UTTER
The Town of Shallotte loosened
is be!: Tuesday night and gobbied
up about IS acres of Main Street
commercial property and another 22
acres of residential land on Pender
Street.
Town aldermen voted unanimous
ly in favor of two landowner re
quests for annexation. They didn't
hesitate to bring in the planned resi
dential community owned by Alvin
"Buddy" Milliken.
However, some board members
were reluctant to annex the five
commercial parcels at the north end
of town owned by Jo Ann Simmons,
Bobby Long, William Powell.
Wallace Smith and James Mulhol
land.
The property is not contiguous to
the existing town limits, and alder
men have said repeatedly in recent
months they don't want to add to the
number of unincorporated lots
around town.
Faced with a sewer system expan
sion project and the nrnrf tn mlargc
the town tax base, aldermen decided
to go through with the annexation.
Th?y jvrnf ih# rw try*# SCJJ2
rates the annexed property from the
town limits will eventually be an
nexed as well.
"If the town doesn't expand we're
going to be a little town like Bolivia
stuck on the other side of the by
pass," Alderman Carson Durham
said in support of the annexation.
Alderman Bill Allen said he gen
erally opposes iron-contiguous an
nexation, but he agreed to make an
exception in this case.
"We're talking about Main Street
commercial area. I could not bypass
that at all," he said
Annexation of the commercial
tracts even got the support of board
members Roney Cheers and David
Gause.
Both admitted Tuesday that they
haw made statements :a the past
that they would never vote for non
contiguous annexation, but both
men changed their minds.
Before the vote. Cheers asked two
of the property owners at the meet
ing, Poweii and Long, what the
town could hope to gain from an
nexation.
"I think it's important for the
town to grow, not by leaps and
bounds perhaps but by the amount
we're seeking tonight" Powell said.
He said the annexation will allow
the town to increase its tax base and
coilcct more water and sewer user
fees. In return. Long said the busi
nesses will take up very little of the
town's limited sewer system capaci
ty
Long predicted that the one tract
separating the commercial area from
the ccrpora'.c limits will ucuimc pari
of the town "in the very near fu
ture." The land is owned by
f iMaiitwul >?
State Loaa Contender
Shallotte officials heard some
good news Tuesday night concern
ing their planned sewer system ex
pansion.
Public Works Director Albert
Hughes teamed from a state official
that the town stands a "good cha
nce" of receiving a State Revolving
Fund loan, which could be used to
fund expansion rather than slate
bonds.
The interest rate is around 3 per
cent for State Revolving Fund loans,
while the rate on bonds is closer to 5
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percent.
If Shallotte gets the loan. Durham
estimated the town could save at
least Si 5,000 per year in interest
payments. That would mean a
$300,000 savings over a 20-year
payback period.
"He said we stand a good
chance." Hughes stressed. "He's not
calling us for nothing, but you still
can't count your chickens."
Mayor Sarah Tripp and several al
dermen, possibly the entire town
board, will travel to Raleigh June 23
for a meeting with state officials to
discuss the proposed loan.
"Oh that's great. We'll rent a bus
and take everybody up there," Allen
said.
As part of its ongoing effort to
raise money for the system expan
sion, the town board voted Tuesday
to sell the timber growing on the
sewer plant's existing spray irriga
tion fields.
Board members accepted the high
bid of $23,000 from Twin State
Forest Products Inc. of Green Sea,
S.C. Their bid was nearly 40 percent
higher than an offer from Federal
Pwpcr Board CGuipsny>
Aldermen approved a minor
change in the capital reserve fee or
dinance Tuesday that will allow the
town to collect more fees if the use
of a property is changed to the ex
tent that it creates a greater burden
on the sewer system.
Under the revision, a businessman
who builds an office and later con
verts it into a restaurant will pay
more fees. The rule will apply when
ever a land use is changed and mom
sewer system capacity is needed.
At their June 21 meeting, town
officials plan to discuss possible
changes in the acreage fees that in
dustries must pay before they re
ceive water or sewer service.
Allen said Tuesday he would like
the board to consider eliminating the
industrial fee, which is $2,000 per
acre for water and sewer or $4,000 if
the property is outside the town.
Doing away with the acreage fee.
Alien said, would help lure industry
to Shallotte and help bring down the
area's high unemployment rate.
"I think our obligation is to help
establish as many jobs in this end of
the county as possible," Allen said.
"It's something 1 would like to see
us look at to put people to work in
this area."
Hughes suggested the board
check with Town Attorney Mark
Lewis before it decides to charge
businesses and not industries.
"rrc just need io be safe i think,''
Hughes said.
Budget Workshop
Aldermen recessed Tuesday
night's meeting until Wsdnesday at
2 p.m., at which time they planned
to resume discussion of the 1994-95
proposed budget A public hearing
on the budget is slated June 21.
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