THURSDAY, JULY 10, 1052
i
NUMBER 9
Kinston Budget Hits High Spot
For Coming Year As Recommended
Expenditure Nears Two Million
As budgets go in, recent years
ever upward—so goes the rec
ommendation for the 1852-53
budget for the City of Kinston
to an all-time high mark of
$1,739,715.32 and this recommen
dation does not include pay in
creases for city employees, which
will in all liklihood have to be
made to keep the community
operating at a safe and efficient
level.
, City Manager W. J. Heard in
offering this proposed budget
for the coming fiscal year points
out “your employees are ex
pecting an increase in salary
which has not been included in
the budget, and it is believed
that many of them will seek
work elsewhere if a raise is not
granted.”
This budget compiled by
Heard with the assistance of the
various department heads in the
city government includes boosts
in practically every department
with the exception o{ two, the
cemetary department, which is
suffering a slight cut due to the
transfer of part of its duties to
the park department and the
fire department which has tak
en a alight cut due to lower ex
pectations for capital outlay ex
penditures.
Of this total budget it. Is es
timated in the proposed list of
allocations that $1,117,910 be
spent for operating' expenses,
' ^ i spent for
'in - debt service
Items.
Major departmental expendi
tures recommended include
$9,000 for the Mayor and Board,
$75,190 for the recreation de
• partment and for the mainten
ance of parks and grounds, $4,950
for building inspection, $8,250
for the swimming pool opera
tion and repairs, $10,244 for the
city manager’s office, $27,258 for
the finance and accounting of
fice, $30,835 for the cenetary de
partment, $7,460 for Recorder's
Court, $12,000 for the health de
partment, $66,444 for the fire de
partment, $113,659 for the po
lice department, $3,604 for park
meter care and maintenance,
$127,800 for the street depart
ment, $25,000 for the storm sewer
department, $18,750 for street
lighting, $3,750 for traffic signal
operation, fire hydrant operation
$11,325, sanitary sewer depart
ment $15,670 and tree care de
partment $11,400 and a big item
of $533,001 is Included for op
eration of the utilities depart
ments.
me answer to mat au-unporo
ant question, “Where in the
'world are we going to get that
much money?” is given, or at.
the very least promised in an
estimated listing of the gross
revenues expected during the
coming fiscal period.
This list includes a gross in
come of $965,000 expected from
the utilities department for elec
tricity and another $152,00 from
sale of Kinston’s almost perfect
water supply. $16,000 is Expected
from privilege license fees, $4,500
from auto mid bicycle license,
$34,000 from parking meters,
$18,000 from Recorder’s Court,
sale of cemetery lots and fees
. $18,000, Kinston’s part of Qquor
store profits is put at $40,000,
inspection fees account for an
estimated $4,000, income from the
swimming pool is put at $2,400,
fees for water and sewar taps
is estimated at $16,000, another
$16,000 Is hoped to come from
beer and wine taxes, tax Inter
ests and costs are put, down at
$2,500, State franchise tkx $2,500,
other miscellaneous revenues
XRAY SURVEY ENDS SATURDAY
On Saturday, July 12th, the second free chest Xray survey
to be made in Jones ahd Lenoir Counties will come to an
end and District Health Officer Dr. R. 1 Jones urges that everyone
who has not taken advantage of this protective offer do so before
the units end thetr work at 5 p. m. Saturday. Dr. Jones reported
to the Board of Commissioners and the Health Board Monday
that through Saturday, July 5th, some over 23,000 Xrays had
been taken In the two counties. From that number 450 persons
had been called back for further more detailed examination and
that 132 reports had been returned on th%t 450 persons. Among
that 132 returned there were four cases of tuberculosis needing
immediate hospital care, five probable cases and six suspected
cases of tuberculosis. Dr. Jones said that 75 per cent of the 132
had some form of heart condition and said that pne case of
cancer of the chest.
Better Than Perfect
Record Set Locally
In Tax Collections
Usually 100 per cent Is con
sidered to be a pretty good tar
get to shoot for, but Tax Col
lector Milton Williams In a re
port to the Lenoir County Board
of Commissioners Monday was
able to reveal that his depart
ment, with the aid of the tax
payers of the county, had beat
that generally considered per
fect mark by to date 104.18 per
cent of the 1951-52 tax levy.
Thl3 trick of the tax books was
accomplished by continued ap
plication toward the collection
of past due taxes by Williams’
ance. the 1951-52 budgetwas set
at $501,219.26 and Williams’ re
port shows that $618,653.99 had
been collected, which amounts
to $24,269.75 more than the levy,
or as pointed out above, 104.18
per cent. A pretty good batting
average.
The breakdown reveals the
following collections on tax as
sessment for each year, reaching
back as far as 1927 for which a
$19.02 collection Is reported.
1928 $73.88; 1929 $65.33; 1930
is the county’s anticipated in
come from the state highway
commission under the “Powell
Bill.”
This makes the total expected
revenues from other than tax
sources $1,359,692.49' and from
taxes for the current and past
years and Intangible tax returns
a total of $290,526.39 is put down
In the “hoped for” column. Gen
eral fund and sinking fund bal
ances at the end of the past
fiscal year amounted to $49,496.44
and the final slice of income is
put down as $40,000 from paving
assessment payments and Inter
est.
Interesting to note Is that
$1,117,000 of that budget is es
timated to come from the util
ities department, which in some
sense might be referred to as a
“business” separate and apart
from the purely governmental
functions of the city. Even more
interesting to note in this same
sphere is the fact that the rec
ommended expenditures for the
utilities department amount to
Just $533,001, which by way of
substractlon reveals that It is
hoped by City Manager Heard
and his departmental advisors
that the utilities department will
Show a gross profit of something
like $532,191 during the coming
12 months.
Without the revenues of the
utilities department it would be
necessary to levy a tax of ap
proximately six times the pres
ent level in order to provide the
people of Kinston with the same
standards of excellence. Which
would be a considerable tax
Jump, even in these tax-jumping
times.
$82.43; 1831; $97.05; 1932 $126.73;
1933 $148.98; 1934 $195.46; 1935
$271.47; 1936 $285.08; 1937
$33.15; 1938 $449.54; 1939 $442.42;
1940 $533.62; 1941 $618.15; 1942
$863.54; 1943 $847.74; 1944 $901:65;
1945 $1,414.55; 1946 $2,301.37;
1947 $3,681,10; 1948 $6,700.78;
1949 $12,373.26; 1950 $43,010.24;
1951 $538,061.41.Total $813,898.95.
Williams states that for the
past five years the percentage of
the levy already collected are
as follows: 1947, 98.89 per cent;
1948, 98.6 per cent; 1949, 98.5
per cent; 1950,97.34 per cent and
1951, 91.46 per cent.
Jones Farmers Are
ta Accept
I®**'
Jones County agriculture
workers met at the agriculture
building in Trenton Thursday,
July 3, and made plans to start
the long range farm program
known as “The Challenge.” J.
W. Crawford, program planning
specialist and C. S. Mintz, dis
trict agent, met with the Agri
cultural Workers along with
Marion Holland, Field Directro
of the Home Administration of
I Goldsfooro, to help plan the pro
gram* for Jones County. All ag
ricultural agencies of the county
were represented at the meeting.
Committees made up of paid
agricultural workers and agri
cultural leaders of Jones County
were appointed to serve on the
various subjects. Five commit
tees were appointed as follows:
(1) Land use, crops and forestry;
(2) Livestock and poultry; (3)
Kinston Council Still
Wrestling With Growing
Pains andTheirDemands
Joint Session Gives
Final OK to Welfare
Budget for Fiscal- Year
In Joint session Monday after
noon the Lenoir County Boards
of Commissioners and Public
Welfare approved the 1952-53
welfare department budget at
the same figure in the 1951-52
budget, $112,000, plus an accum
ulated balance of $30,701 carried
over in the department’s ac
counts.
Approval of this budget by
unanimous decision makes pos
sible the following, program of
the department: Aid to the
blind, 78 cases at an average of
$34 per month; Aid to the per
mantly and totally disabled, 150
cases at an average grant of $39
per month; Old age assistance,
735 cases at an average of $28
per month; 'Aid to dependent
children 1575 persons at an av
erage of $14 per month.
Further allocations Included in
this proposed expenditure in
cluded $4,000 for care of the in
digent tubercular, $7,000 for hos
pital care, $10,000 for general as
sistance (this fund is used to
help those who do not fall into
either of the above listed four
programs that the state and
federal governments take part
in), $10,000 is earmarked for
care of adults in boarding homes
ftenner county home clients),
$1,800 is retirement pay for Sup
erintendent Emertus Rev. G. B.
Hanrahan and $49,586.80 is set
up for administrative expenses.
When matched with state and
federal funds this budget will,
during the coming fiscal period,
make available for the relief of
the needy in Lenoir County ap
proximately $686,000, of which
the county’s part will be $142,701,
which means that just over $4.80
of state and federal funds will
be spent for each dollar furn
ished for this department by
the county.
'Home improvement; (4) Home
food supply; and (5) Commun
ity activities.
The first meeting of the Com
mittee groups has been called
for Friday night, July 18th at
8:30 at the agriculture building
in Trenton.
Jones FF A Group Wins
Top Honors At Summer
Camp In Mountains
Agriculture Teacher
“Boy, did we have a good
time,” was the comment heard
throughout Jones County this
past week as the FFA boys tri
umphantly returned from their
week’s stay at the Tom Brown
Caimp near Asheville.
The chapter borrowed the bus
from the Trenton Baptist Church
to make' the trip. The bus left
Trenton June 22, at 10:30 P.
M. and arrived at camp the next
afternoon at 3.
Those attending were: Alien
Mooring, Bobby Mozingo, Jack
Metts, Warren Davis, Donni^
Thigpen, Rayford Eubanks, Don
ald Huffman,' Jessie Eubanks,
Robert Adams, Robert Phillips,
Walter Simmons, William And
rews, Bobby Johnson, Preston
Sasser, Worth Turnage, Dur
wood Koonce, G. T. Smith, and
the chapter advisor, A. E. Tolar.
While at camp, the boys vis
ited; Craggy Gardens, Mt. Mit
.
chel, Lake Lure, Chimney Rock,
Asheville, Lake Louise, American
Breeders Service, Asheville Stud,
and Weaverville.
But most Important was the
Wonderful time the boys enjoyed
at camp. A cooperative and
sportsmanship attitude was dis
played by each Individual re
sulting in Jones County winning
the banner for the week’s ac
tivities. First places were cap
tured in softball, relays, swim
ming, checkers: second places
in voley ball and talent; and
third place in basketball. In the
softball series, Jones County
scored 45 runs and opposition
only two runs.
As usual, the week ended too
quickly, and there were many
wishes that it might be possible
to remain another week. How
ever, the tobacco season pre
vented this. But all the fellows
expressed the desire to return
next summer.
The Kinston Board of Aider
men Monday night spent three
and a half hours largely tussling
with problems directly connected'
with the considerable growing
pains presently toeing experienc
ed by the community and its
adjacent areas.
No. 1 on the list of headaches
at the July session of the coun
cil was a request by officers of
the Lenoir Housing Development
Corporation for city water serv
ice for a housing project north
of the present city limits that
will include at least 148 homes
and a potential development of
419 homes. City Manager Bill
Heard reported that . approxir
ately 2800 feet of heavy duty
water main would be needed to
fill this request and that a
“rough estimate” of the cost
for for this would run to just
ab%ve $11,000.
The board expressed sympa
thy with the needs of this group
and to its spokesmen, Heywood
Weeks, Tom Hewitt and Paul
LaRoque, but pointed out that
recent additions to the city lim
its must stand first in line for
such services and further point
ed out the lack of money for
any kind of sewer and water ex
tensions, particularly out of the
corpdrate limits, work which can
only be legally done wiht accum
ulated surplus funds.
me Doara aia agree to enter
into a contract calling lor re
imbursement of this corporation
when and If this area is an
nexed for funds it may have to
expend on water lines.
No. 2 “growing pain” confront
ing the council consisted of an
hour-long controversy over the
traffic situation on Queen Street.
A merchants’ group headed by
Roger Sutton asked for a re
turn to diagonal parking and an
end to the four-lane traffic pat
tern Installed some 90 days ago.
Speaking In support of Sutton
were Ed Langrall, Leo Brody,
Harold Flynn, J. D. Paschall and
Allen Bowden.
Opposition to the diagonal
parking was offered by Jerome
Kaminski, Galt Braxton and
Roy Wooten. The council on mo
tion of Alderman Charlie Tay
lor, seconded by Alderman John
Rider voted three-to-one for
continuation of the present sys
tem “indefinitely.” Alderman Ed
Johnson voted “no” to this mo
tion, standing in favor of a
continuation until the tobacco
market opened as a further trial.
One amusing aspect of the pe
titions offered by the two sides
in this Queen Street argument
was the fact that four Queen
Street merchants signed both
petitions. These were Midyette
Hardware, The City Barber
Shop, Jinumde Shell and Ers
kine’s Jewelry Store.
The board, acting on "grow
ing pain” item No. 3 of the ev
ening, approved a contract with
Roy Poole calling for reimburse
ment for sewer and water line
extensions he plans to make to
a housing project on Carey Road
extended. This contract was to
be made on a formula agreed
upon between City Manager
Heard and Poole.
Two subdivisions were approv
ed by the council, following
earlier approval by the City
Planning Board.
The last official act of the
long session consisted of ap
proving a projected trunk line
sewer that will extend north
ward from Neuse River up the
east bank of the Adkin to the
north central section of the
town which was recently an
nexed. Heard was authorized to
advertise for bids on this three
and a half mile line. ■* *.