INSIDE Volume 62/ Number 19 Southport, N.C. December 30,1992 / 50 cents Zoning, solid waste, jobs Important issues face Brunswick in '93 By Holly Edwards County Editor Although Brunswick County com missioners are predicting that the next two years will be rocky and discor dant ones for board members, all seem to agree on the most weighty issues currently facing the county — zoning, solid waste disposal and job growth. The former board passed a countywide zoning ordinance last month, but new commissioners chair man Don Warren said he is certain that zoning will be discussed repeat edly by the new board. He said the definition of "farm" was not adequately explained by the previous board, and that many county residents do not understand that a state statute exempts all farms from zoning requirements. "We didn't do a good job clarifying to the public the farm exemption," Warren said. "That will be clarified at our next meeting." ‘This county has a lot of things going against it in terms of siting a landfill. So much land is either wetlands or swamps. About one-third of the county is chopped out at the start.’ Robert Tucker County engineer Commissioner Donald Shaw said zoning will be the "hot topic" for the next two years. "I don't know if (the new commis sioners) are happy with it or not," said Shaw, who is serving the second half of a four-year term. "But I'll continue to support keeping it intact." 1 Newly elected commissioner Wayland Vereen has several times said that he belie ves the county should repeal the entire ordinance and start over, but commissioners Tom Rabon, Sr., and Warren both agree the ordi nance simply needs to be reviewed. Commissioner Jerry Jones, who Property listing changes this year By Holly Edwards County Editor About 18,000 personal property tax listing forms will be mailed from the Brunswick County tax office Thursday, and property owners will have until January 31 to list their mobile homes, boats, motors, farm equipment, airplanes, mopeds and untagged motor vehicles. Tax deadline next Tuesday The Brunswick County tax office will be accepting per sonal and real estate property taxes through Tuesday, Janu ary 5, at 5 p.m., tax collector Nancy Moore announced this week. Ihnperty owners who are paying by mail must have their payments postmarked on or before January 5. After January 5. Moore said, a two-percent penalty will be added to all late payments, and a three-fourths of one percent penalty will be added for each additional month the tax remains unpaid. Second notices for unpaid taxes will be mailed during the last week of January, and the tax office will have the i authority to garnish the wages and attach the bank accounts I of delinquent taxpayers. Many addresses throughout the county have been changed with the initiation of the 911 system, Moore said, and it is important for property own ers to send the address correc tion form enclosed with their tax bill in order to receive proper credit. Moore estimated that 89 percent of the county's prop erty owners will pay their taxes on time, and by year's end about 95 percent of the current year’s taxes will be : collected.Lastyearthecounty took in about $27.3 million In personal and real estate prop* erty taxes. Since registered motor ve hicles will now be taxed sepa rately, those who have previ ously listed only a registered motor vehicle will not re ceive a form this year, and should notify the tax office if they have acquired other tax able personal property, said tax supervisor Boyd Williamson. The penalty for late listing will be ten percent of the total taxes due. Personal property will be taxed at a rate of 68 cents for every $ 100 of assessed prop erty value, which is down from this year’s rate of 68.5 cents per $100 of value. Tax bills for real estate property will be mailed in August and will be payable through January 5,1994. While mailing out thou sands of tax bills may sound like a daunting task, Williamson said it is a small part of the entire process. "Ninety percent of the problem is enforcement," he said. "We will be enforcing the listing of mobile homes through building permits, boats through the Depart ment of Natural Resources and rental propeity through information relative to the room occupancy tax." County residents over age 65 and residents who are per manently or totally disabled may qualify for tax relief on their real estate or mobile homes if they earn less than $11,000 annually. Those who belie ve they may qualify should apply for relief by April 15. The first $12,000 will be subtracted from the total property value listed for qualified persons, which amounts to a savings of See Listing, page 6 also serves on the county planning board, indicated a willingness to lis ten to "legitimate complaints" about the zoning ordinance, and said he would not object to making changes in it for "legitimate reasons." While zoning has been the most publicized issue facing the county, commissioners Vereen, Rabon and Jones agreed that a more pressing concern is solid waste disposal. The state will require the county to have another landfill in operation by 1998, and the county engineering depart ment has already begun to look for possible locations — not an easy task in coastal regions like Brunswick County. "This county has a lot of things going against it in terms of siting a landfill," said county engineer Robert Tucker. "So much land is either wet lands or swamps. About one-third of the county is chopped out at the start." Landfillsarealsoexpensive. Tucker See Issues, page 6 N.C. Attorney General Easley swearing-in ceremony is Friday EASLEY Mike Easley will be sworn in as state attorney general at 11 a.m. Fri day in the board of aldermen’s cham ber at Southport City Hall. Easley, who resigned from his dis trict attorney's post two years ago to run for the U. S. Senate, was elected to the top state law enforcement post in November and normally would have taken his oath of office in Raleigh, but instead chose the venue of the board chamber where — when it was the county courtroom - he prosecuted his first case. The oath will be administered by SuperiorCourt judge William Gore.a law school associate of Easley who also served alongside him as assistant district attorney. Friends have been urged to attend the ceremony by general invitation. Harrelson is honored by U.S. 17 dedication Transportation Secretary Tommy Harrelson will be honored January 6 when the segment of U. S. 17 from Winnabow to the South Carolina line will be dedicated in his name. Gov. James G. Martin will participate in the 9:30 a.m. ceremony at Town Creek Township District Park at Winnabow. In case of rain the dedication will be held at Brunswick Community College. Harrelson, a Southport native, is an appointee of Martin. He was named deputy secretary in 1987 and secretary of transportation in 1989. Forecast The extended forecast Thursday through Satur day calls for mostly cloudy sides with showers likely. Highs generally will be in the 50s and 60s, with lows in the 40s. Tide table HIGH LOW THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31 12:17 a.m. 6:30 a.m. 12:33 pm. 6:57 pm. FRIDAY, JANUARY 1 1:12 a.m. 7:29 a.m. 1:29 p.m. 7:53 p.m. SATURDAY, JANUARY 2 2:07 am. 8:29 am. 2:25 p.m. ’ 8:49 p.m. SUNDAY, JANUARY 3 3:06 a.m. 9:32 a.m. 3:22 p.m. 9:43 pm. MONDAY, JANUARY 4 4:02 a.m. 10:30 am. 4:21p.m. 11:39 p.m. TUESDAY, JANUARY 5 4:57 a.m. 11:25 a.m. 5:17 p.m. 11:30pm. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6 5:50 a.m. 12:16 a.m. 6:11p.m. —pm. The following adjustments should be made: Bald Head Island, high -10, low -7; Caswell Beach, Ugh -5, low -1; Southport, high +7, low +15, Yaupon Beach, high -32, low -45; Lockwood Folly, high -22, low -8. Sitting on a dolphin, watching his ship steam away, this Coast Guard line-handler is hopeful that a small boat is on its way back for him after he helped cast off during a recent visit to the Southport city pier. Hospital audit says operation is in the black By Holly Edwards County Editor "Life is a relative animal, but the folks in Smithville Township don't know how lucky they are to have a first-rate facility like Dosher hospi tal," hospital administrator Edgar Haywood, III, declared Monday night after reviewing the facility's financial audit. The audit, prepared by Brock, Padgett and Chandler, showed the hospital had a $93,000 income from operations last year and a fund bal ance of over $9 million. However, assistant hospital admin istrator Jim Shoemaker stressed that the fund balance does not reflect the amount of money the hospital has to spend, but the total net assets of the facility, which includes over $7 mil lion in property, plant and equipment. The audit also showed the hospital had a working capital ratio, or assets to liabilities ratio, of 3.7 to 1. A busi ness is considered to be in excellent financial shape if it has a working capital ratio of 2 to 1, said Wayne Berry, a certified public accountant See Audit, page 6 ’Pilot’closed The State PanPUotvttil he I closed this week on New • Year’s Day only. The office will reopen for