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PROGRESS SENTINEL
USPS 162-860 KENANSV1LLE. N.C. 28349 JUNE 23.1983 16PAGESTHISWEEK 10 CENTS PLUS TAX
Budget Vote
Will Increase
Duplin Taxes
Duplin County residents
will face a property tax
increase of 5 cents per $100
assessed valuation for the
next fiscal year. The new rate
will be 75 cents.
? While the county commis
sioners failed to vote on a tax
resolution as they have done
in previous years, the in
crease was mandated in the
1983-84 fiscal year budget,
which the board approved in
a split vote late Tuesday
night.
Minutes of the budget
meetings of recent years
show the board has usually
? first approved a tax rate
resolution and then a separ
ate budget resolution.
Making the budget motion
was Chairman W.J. Costin of
Warsaw. Dovie Penney of
Wallace seconded it. Others
voting for the resolution were
Allen Nethercutt of Chinqua
pin and Calvin Turner of
eastern Duplin.
Opposing the budget was
D.J. Fussell of Rose Hill.
a "I'm opposed to the tax rate
* increase," Fussell said. "If
we cut the fat out, we won't
need a tax increase. "
The increase will bring in
about $320,000 next year.
The full levy will fund 14.84
million of the $8.3 million
budget, based ona 95 percent
collection rate and an as
sessed property valuation of
about $674 million.
If 100 percent of the levy
9 were collected, revenues
would total $5,055 million.
Each penny of tax levy will
bring in $64,000 at the 95
percent collection rate.
The county usually collects
more than 95 percent of its
levy, with anything above
average going into a reserve
fund.
Under the new rate, a
person with $50,000 worth of
^ real and personal property
^ will be billed $375 this fall in
county taxes, up from $350
last year.
The new budget is about
$200,000 less than the bud
get approved a year ago for
the current fiscal year, but
that budget included reven
ue-sharing money. Because
of the uncertainty surround
ing the federal revenue-shar
^ ing program, no funds from
w that source were included in
the new budget.
' If Congress appropriates
new revenue-sharing money.
some will go to the school
system and to James Sprunt
Technical College in
Kenansviile. The county
expects to receive $431,000
in the current fiscal year,
which ends June 30.
County officials try to
maintain a cash reserve of
$500,000. The reserve has
been depleted to just under
half that amount.
The new budget provides
no money for Duplin General
Hospital, although the
county will have money avail
able in reserve funds and
through an intensified effort
to collect delinquent taxes.
"We need to see what
develops (at the hospital)
over the next few months,"
Costin said. "We need to see
what support the physicians
will give the hospital. The
new physicians will support
it if they stay any length of
time, lite lease is up in
September and it's hard to
make any decision right
now."
Mrs. Penney said, "We
spent tax money to get ihe
consultant's report and we
should follow that report as
closely as possible."
County Manager Ralph
Cottle said the budget pro
vides a pay increase only for
employees who have served
for four years without an
increase, h provides $5,000
for an employee reclassifica
tion project to be undertaken
in January by the N.C.
Institute of Government.
The board rejected the
Sheriff's Department's
request for six new automo
biles and the county indus
trial development commis
sion's request for one car. It
reduced a $5,000 budget
increase request for the
Mental Health Department
to $1,500, providing the de
partment with $96,500 for
next year.
The Sheriff's Department
will be authorized to replace
some failing television
cameras and monitors at the
county jail.
The county school system
will receive $1,890,586 for
operating expenses, the
same as in 1982-83. The
system's capital budget will
be reduced to $200,000 from
$235,664 requested.
James Sprunt Technical
College will receive $282,550
for operations and $46,364
for capital projects.
f"
SCHOOL IS OUT...BUSES WAIT. Duplin county garage in Kenansville. They are
County School buses are all lined up at the awaiting repairs and the first day of school.
The Duplin unit has 138 buses running spares. The buses run about 120 million
routes during school and about 10 extra or miles a year transporting students.
Rose Hill Won't
Budge Tax Rate
The town's 1983-84 fiscal
year budget of $477,300 will
reduce expenditures $29,400
from the current fiscal year.
The budget, adopted
Tuesday night, retains the
tax rate of 70 cents per $100
of assessed property value.
The owner of property
valued at $50,000, for
example, will be billed $350
in town taxes this fall. That
property owner will also re
ceive a bill for $375 in Duplin
County property taxes, based
on a 75 cents per $100 of
property value. The total city
and county taxes onthe $50
000 property would be $725.
The tax rate of 70 cents per
$100 of property value would
bring in $115,500 if the full
amount were collected. Offi
cials estimate the town will
receive 90 percent of the
taxes, amounting to $103,
950, said Town Clerk C.G.
Fussell. The town's as
sessed valuation is $16.5
million.
The new budget assigns
$81,000 of the property tax
returns to the general fund
and $22,000 to the debt
service fund.
The new general fund of
$223,300 is $11,100 higher
than the 1982-83 general
fund.
Other major funds are
these: $140,500 for water and
sewer services, financed
from services fees and carry
over money; $32,000 for
streets, financed with $31,
000 in state Powell Bill
allocation plus $1,000 in g|
.arry-over money; szz.ouu in
Jebt service, financed from
>22,500 in property taxes and
:arry-over money; and $59,
NX) for public safety, health,
ransportation, recreation,
ibrary, environment and a
garbage truck body, finance
torn revenue-sharing money
ind carry-over money.
Major general fund
income, in addition to the
property tax. will be $39,000
in garbage collection fees;
$30,600 from the local-option
sales tax; $26,000 in carrv
jver money; $16,000 from
ihe state franchise tax;
$3,000 from the state intan
gibles tax: $6,000 in delin
ijuent tax collections: $10.
)00 from federal revenue
iharing, and $4,000 from
>ales and gasoline tax
efunds.
Major general fund ex
yenditures will be $71,400
For police; $39,000 for sanita
ion;$24,000 for streets; $18,
XX) for town employee pay
oil taxes and retirement;
115,000 for the town ad
ninistrator; $13,000 for the
ire department; $7,200 for
own employee health in
>urance; $7,000 for the re
rteation department; $5,000
or utilities, and $4,500 for
he library.
Major water and sewer
txpenditures will be $41,473
:or capital outlay; $48,527 in
salaries; $20,000 for new
:quipment; $10,000 for utili
ies; $5,000 for contracted
services, and $4,500 for pro
essional services and audit J
Sewage Treatment
? Upgrading To Begin
Improvements to the Wal
lace sewage treatment plant
will begin late this ye; r and
be completed about the end
of 1984. if preparatory steps
go according to plan.
Mayor Melvin Cording
said Monday the project's
cost will be slightly more
) than SI million, of which the
town's share will be about
1109,000.
Local officials were in
formed Friday that funds for
the project were available
immediately from the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency. The EPA grant will
be approximately $880,000.
Officials of the N.C. Divi
sion of Environmental
Management briefed the
^ mayor and a representative.
of the town's engineering
firm on the grant Monday.
Cording and the rej.-esen
tatives of Henry von Oesen
Associates of Wilmington,
the town's engineering firm,
will return the application to
the state by Friday.
The Town Board approved
the application resolution
Mondav night,
fc "We hope to advertise for
9 bids by Sept. 15," said Bill
Burnett, an environmental
specialist with the engineer
ing firm It will take about
15 months to do the work."
Thomas V. Fahnestock of
the state Department of
Natural Resources and
Community Development
said the Wallace project will
be financed with "recap
tured funds."
"That is money turned
back from other projects,"
Fahnestock explained. Wal
lace was No. 24 on the state
priority list.
Burnett said innovative
technology will be featured
in a biological aerated filter,
a system developed and
tested in France. The unit in
Wallace will be the first one
in a system of this size east of
the Mississippi River, he
added. This part of the
project will cost about S2S,
000. Because it is innovative
technology, he said, the EPA
will pay 85 percent of its cost
and the state and city, 7Vi
percent each.
If anything goes wrong
with this part of the project,
the federal government will
pay the full repair or replace
ment cost, he added.
The project will increase
the sewage treatment plant's
capacity from 500,000 to
600,000 gallons per day. It
will upgrade the effluent
discharge, which should
improve water quality of
Rockfish Creek into which
2
the treated sewage is dis
charged.
Holding tanks will be con
structed to provide retention
capacity for storm sewage
flow. With the tanks, the
plant will be able to spread
treatment of the excessive ,
storm flow over several days, (
enabling it to avoid severe ;
overloads that lower the j
treatment quality. ,
Burnett said because the (
plant is on the Rockfish <
Creek flood plain southeast ,
of Wallace, a protective berm ,
will be built around it.
Cording said the plant was
built'17 years ago. At that
time, it was supposed to have
had sufficient capacity to
serve Wallace for 30 years.
The town's population
increased more rapidly than ]
expected, however, and
industrial demand increased. J
_ t
Duplin Red
Cross Meeting \
The Annual Meeting of the 1
Duplin County Chapter of the f
American Red Cross will be
held on Thursday afternoon, (
Juen 30, 1983 at 4 o'clock in .
the Fellowship Hall of Grove ,
Presbyterian Church in j
Kenansville.
COUNTY EMPLOYEES RETIRE.Duplin County Commis
sion Chairman Bill Costin presents certificates of
appreciation two county employees. Seba Dempsey who
worked ai the county landfill and Mary Boney a public
health nurse who worked with the Duplin County Health
Services.
Freezer Firm
To Start Operating This Year
Millions of pounds of
frozen meat, mostly poultry,
will begin moving through
the port of Wilmington in the
next year if plans of a freezer
storage firm materialize.
Williams Refrigeration of
Federalsburg. Ma., is con
structing a 65.000-square
foot freezer storage plant
adjacent to the Seift & Co.
turkey processing plant near
Wallace.
The plant is expected to
begin operation by mid-Octo
ber.
The S3.7tnillion plant will
be able to store 17 million
pounds of meat, company 1
president Charles Williams 1
said Thursday in a telephone
interview from Federals- I
burg. s
It will have the capacity to t
freeze 180,000 pounds of 1
produce or meat at zero }
degrees in 48 hours, wil- 1
liams said. The freezer will I
maintain a zero degree ?
temperature in the storage
area but can drop the <
temperature to 10 degrees '<
below zero, he said. t
Once the plant is in full <
operation, Williams said, he ?
expects 12 million to 20 <
million pounds of frozen I
products, mostly poultry, will
move into export trade c
through the Wilmington port ^
each year, X f
"We're negotiating with ?
>eople on this right now." he
aid. "There are many
hings to work out. but we
hink they will work out.
VE've had experience work
ng with other ports from or
treezer storage plant in
Sumter, S.C."
The new plant will permit
:xpansion of the region's
tlready large poultry indus
ry by providing freezer
rapacity for storage within an
tconomically feasible
listance of processing
>lants, Williams said.
Although the plant will
rmploy only IS to 20 people.
Villiams said, he expects its
ir?sence will increase
mployment opportunities in
the area. I
At the Sumter plant, the
company works with Swift,
Rose Hill Poultry Corp.,
House of Raeford and Holly
Ridge Farms, he said. The
Sumter plant also freezes
blueberries for area pro
ducers.
"We expect Swift will be
one of our major customers
when we get going here,"
Williams said.
Construction superinten
dent Thomas Troggio said
the project has been set back
by the unusually wet winter.
"We started here in
February but couldn't do
anything really constructive
until about a month ago,*'
Troggio udd.