| VOLUME 63/ NUMBER 49SOUTHPORT, N.C.50 CENTS |
Sports
Cougar football drills
opened this week with 40
candidates on hand — 10B
Our Town
Water, water everywhere,
but does Southport have a
drop to drink? — page 2
Neighbors
Would-be investigators
take to the woods to help
search for clues — IB
County math: $5 million = ten-cent rate hike
Chairman: We're all happy for the children’
By Terry Pope
County Editor
The amount needed to adequately fund the
Brunswick County schools has taken one giant step
forward.
Last week’s decision by a Brunswick County
Superior Court jury to give the schools $5 million
more than what county commissioners allocated
for 1994-95 may have surprised both sides.
"I'm just finally glad that someone really be
lieved us.” said Donna Baxter, chairman of the
Brunswick County Board of Education. "This is
something that the board has said all along. We're
all happy for the children."
It will take a ten-cent increase in the county's tax
rate to pay for the $14 million awarded to the
schools, payable through a special add-on assess
ment to be mailed in December. Regular 1994 tax
bills are already calculated and w ill arrive sometime
in August.
The judgment will drive taxes up for every prop
erty owner in the county. For example, on a $50,000
home taxes will be an additional $50 per year. A
one-cent jump generates about $500,000 in revenue.
"I think all of the commissioners were shocked,”
said Don Warren, chairman of the Brunswick County
Board of Commissioners.
Not happy with the $8.7 million in local funds the
county gave, school officials petitioned the courts
and headed to an immediate trial when a mediator
wasn't available. The two boards entered mediation
last year, and ended 14 hours of negotiations with
the schools receiving an extra $500,000 to begin
construction of a new elementary school in the
northern attendance area and $325,000 in additional
current expenses.
"I thank the jurors." said Ms. Baxter. "I'm just very
happy with the outcome. I think it was a fair case."
School board attorney Glen Peterson wanted the
jury to consider two visions and two futures for
education. One, he said, was the "actual needs of the
school system," but one county officials disagreed
with. In his closing argument, Peterson attacked the
county's claim that what was offered was adequate.
"They want to give a sum of money and say,' Here,
make it do,’" said Peterson. "That’s not the way to do
business. What they failed to do was, they failed to
look at what the actual need of the system was.”
He argued that 86 percent of all local money is
spent on instructional items or on programs to support
the classrooms. The system now operates with a zero
fund balance while the state mandates that local
See Rate hike, page 8
County considering
appeal of judgment
By Terry Pope
County Editor
County officials want last week's jury verdict that gave the
schools an extra $5 million in local funds set aside.
But commissioners still are not certain if they will appeal the
case if judge Jack Thompson doesn't throw it out of court.
"Our reasoning for this,” said Don Warren, chairman of the
Brunswick County Board of Commissioners, "is that here we
have a school budget increased by 50 percent by a jury. It would
be an economic hardship, with the taxes they would have to pay,
on many of the people."
. Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to instruct in
See Appeal, page 8
Rec center
ideas sought
from public
How big should it be? What should we
do there? How much should it cost? How
can we pay for it?
These are some of the questions that
will be put to Long Beach residents in a
survey of needs, wants and plans for the
Long Beach Recreation Center. The sur
vey will be sent to residents as part of the
Town of Long Beach newsletter, town
manager Jerry Walters said.
"In summary, we've listed all of the
programs offered now," Walters said.
"Second, we've listed programs that could
be offered. We've tried not to foreclose
any particular idea. We'll see what the
survey says and take it from there."
In the current fiscal year. Long Beach
councilmen have appropriated funds for
planning needs. Walters said results of the
survey will be brought before the town's
recreation advisory board and the plan
ning board for review. The manager will
then put together a staff task force to
See Rec center, page 9
Forecast
The extended forecast calls for
partly cloudy skies Thursday and
Friday with a good chance of after
noon thundershowers. Highs will rise
again to the low 90s, with nighttime
lows between 70 and 75. On Satur
day, expect fair skies and less humid
ity, with highs in the 80s and a low
near 70.
The State Port Pilot
&Pilot Line
THE TALKING NEWSPAPER
Weather updates are available on
Pilot Line. Dial 457-5084, then ex
tension 191.
Tide table
HIGH LOW
THURSDAY, AUGUST 4
6:17 a.m. 12:22 a.m.
6:45 p.m. 12:25 p.m.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 5
7:06 a.m. 1:09 a.m.
7:31p.m. 1:13 p.m.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 6
7:52 a.m. 1:53 a.m.
8:13 p.m. 1:59 pm.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 7
8:36 a.m. 2:35 a.m.
8:55 p.m. 2:44 p.ni.
MONDAY, AUGUST 8
9:21 ».m. 3:16 a.m.
9:37 p.m. ■ 3:29 pm.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 9
10:06 am. 3:58 a.m.
10:20 p.m. 4:15 pjn.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10
10:53 am. 4:40 am.
11:05 p.m. 5:03 pm.
The following adjuitmenti should be made:
Bald Head Island, high -10, low -7; Caswell
Beach, high -5, low -1; Southport, high +7,
low +15; Yaupon Beach, high -32, low -45;
Lockwood Folly Inlet, high -22, low -8.
Photo by Holly Edwards
Who is this wet man, and why is he smiling? Roy Anderson, CP&L’s vice-president in
charge of the Brunswick plant, that’s who; and he smiles knowing that each dunking he
receives helps raise money to support needed community services. Brunswick employ
ees and friends raised over $11,000 in the United Way Fair at the plant last week.
r
Service tax plan
could rescue city
from rising costs
'91 straw vote
mrt.t* ■Of.1 ',->1^; ,-w . . . .. - .
requested board
create districts
By Richard Nubel
Municipal Editor
A 1991 effort to provide municipal fire and
rescue units in Brunswick County with funds
to serve residents of unincorporated areas died
on the vine. But, the City of Southport this year
may seek to revive a service tax district plan to
finance emergency services to non-residents.
"It hasn't been forgotten," Southport city
manager Rob Gandy said this week of the fire
and rescue service district plan. "It’s one of
those things we keep saying we've got to get
cranked up on."
A fire and rescue service district, if estab
lished by county commissioners, would allow
Brunswick County to levy an additional prop
erty tax on residents receiving fire and rescue
service from the city. Proceeds from the spe
cial levy - much like the property tax paid to
the Dosher Memorial Hospital tax district -
would be returned to municipalities providing
these emergency services.
As the City of Southport enters fiscal year
1994-95 with little cash in reserve and mount
ing costs for providing fire and rescue services
-- in and out of city limits - city staff and
elected officials may soon look once again to
creation of service districts to bolster general
fund revenue.
Southport closes the books on 1993-94 with
a paltry unappropriated general fund balance
of about $130,000. The meager unappropri
ated balance - monies used in the event un
foreseen costs arise and to pay the cost of
See Rescue, page 6
Cost, need
are factors
in decision
By Richard Nubei
Municipal Editor
Should city and county officials
agree to create a special tax dis
tricts which recipients of fire and
rescue services living outside
Southport would be taxed, state
law offers two options, according
to County Government in North
Carolina, a publication of the ln
| stitute of Government at UNC
Chapel Hill, edited by A. Fleming
Bell.
Either kind of tax district is a
creation of county government,
but proceeds of the special prop
erty tax would be returned to the
city.
County commissioners could
: support a tax-supported Rural Fire
District, The establishment of this
kind of district requires an affir
mative vote of those residing in a
proposed tax district
A second option is the creation
of a County Service District.Com
missioners can create this kind of
tax district by adoption of a reso
See Factors, page €
Towns, district weigh their options
Northern area sewer plan on tap
By Terry Pope
County Editor
Three northern towns that hope to build a regional sewer
system are searching for the most politically correct route
to take.
They want the referendum to pass.
Some are plotting careful strategy so that it does.
"There are a lot of things we have to take into consider
ation, from a political standpoint and from a voter stand
point," said Leland mayor Franky Thomas. "Once it is
spread out to more rural areas, it could dilute our voting
strength. The people's way of thinking might possibly
change, and they may look at a sewer system as being more
of a municipal project, something they may not have a need
for."
Sewer committee members from Belville, Leland,
Navassa and the Leland Sanitary District were scheduled to
meet Tuesday night to pick one of three options for estab
lishing the North Brunswick Regional Sewer Authority.
The options would form a commission to run the author
ity under one of the following plans:
•One member each from Belville, Leland, Navassa and
the Leland Sanitary District, boundary within the sanitary
district;
•One member each from the three towns, boundary of
the three towns, commission will purchase services from
sanitary district; or
•Commission run by sanitary district, boundary the
entire district, electoral districts with representatives from
each town, areas serviced first would be the towns.
Leland officials like the second option and believe it
would easily pass a vote. The district includes a lot of rural
property not within the three towns, or the more populated
areas and where conventional septic tank systems often
See Sewer, page 6
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