Brunswick's Debt: The Amount Of Tax Burden Citizens Bear
BY RAHN ADAMS
in the words of County Manager John T. Smith,
Brunswick County's annual debt payment makes up a
"pretty good chunk" of the county budget.
The term "chunk" more than adequately describes
Brunswick's debt service contribution, which is ex
pected to amount to more than $6 million in the coming
fiscal year? almost one-fifth of the $31.1 million budget
that was formally adopted Monday by commissioners.
Converted to pennies in the new 59Vi-c-ent property
iax rate, the debt can be thanked? or blamed? for up to
"2nts or about one-quarter of the rate, since ad
valorem taxes should account for $23.6 million or about
three-quarters of the county's total revenue in the
general fund.
During the county's recent budget preparation pro
cess, Smith commented on the problem of working with
a high debt: "Most of your revenue conies from a?l
valorem taxes, so you're not really delivering a service
for the monies you collect You're paying for something
that's already been built."
According to Finance Director Uthia Hann, the
county enters the 1989-90 fiscal year with a general
obligation debt of $70.7 million dollars, composed of
funds that went for capital projects involving the county
water system, public schools, The Brunswick Hospital
and Brunswick Community College.
The chief contributor to the county debt was the is
suance of $37 million in bonds for the second phase of
iiie water system, authorized by passage of a bond
referendum here in 1981.
Based on statistics for fiscal year 1987-88, com
parative data compiled by the N.C. Department of the
Treasurer shows that Rrunswick County hud the
highest per capita general obligation debt of any county
in the state that year. With a population of 49,631, the
county's per capita debt was $939 or 1.21 percent of a
$3.8 billion assessed valuation.
However, Robert M. High, director of the Fiscal
Management Section of the N.C. State and Local
Government Finance Division, indicated to tlie Beacon
that the per capita debt figure may be somewhat
misleading, since Brunswick County is a resort area
with a relatively low permanent population and a high
number of non-resident property owners.
"The. population is not so high, but they I county
government) are providing services that areas with
(See BRUNSWICK, Page 2- A)
THE
I'M III
?ERY 1 ?
H0A6 & SONS BOOK. BINDER
12/31/93
PO BOX 162
SPRINGPORT MI 49284
Twenty-seventh Year, Number 35
eiaw THE BRUNSWICK BEACCN
Shallotte, North Carolina, Thursday, July 6, 1989
25C Per Copy
34 Pages, 3 Sections
/ r * -
STAFF PHOTO BY DOUG RUTTER
THE SUNSET BEACH STRAND was packed Saturday afternoon as far as the eye could see. Other local beach
WCrC cijuaily crowded.
Beaches Enjoy Bang-Up Holiday
BY DOUG R UTTER
Balmy weather and sandy beaches lured
thousands of visitors to the South Brunswick Islands
over a long J Jy 4th holiday weekend, which area
businessmen are calling one of the best.
Real estate agents at all three resort towns in the
South Brunswick Islands reported Tuesday that beach
cottages are full for the first week in July.
That Independence Day fell on a Tuesday this year
seemed to have no effect on rental activity, they said.
"We had so many calls this year," said Betty Hobbs of
Hobbs Realty at Holden Beach. "I think everybody was
booked up."
She said there seems to be more people visiting the
area this year than ever before and that most made
their reservations well in advance.
Tom Tucker of Sunset Properties at Sunset Beach
also aaiu iiis reuiai units are ruii for the week.
"Everybody's having a good time and the
weather's holding out," he said. "I think everybody's
having a great Fourth of July. That includes the
businesses and the tourists."
Visitors seemed to be in a good mood for buying,
according to Ann Hines, manager of Ocean Isle
Grocery.
"It's been good since last Thursday," she said
Tuesday evening. "There's still right much traffic over
here."
Jeff White, manager of Beach Cafe' on the
causeway at Holden Beach, was busy setting up a buf
fet when contacted Tuesday, but said business was
"pretty good" during the long holiday weekend.
With the holiday crowds, however, came holiday
traffic to local highways not built to deal with
thousands of motorists at a time. Roads leading to and
from local beach towns were heavily congested Satur
day through Tuesday, as was U.S. 17 in Shallotte and
beyond the town limits.
Thomas Brown of Supply was traveling north
bound through Shallotte Monday around noon and said
it took him at least 20 minutes to get from the NCNB of
f; < ... ,4.1 r? . ett
nutr ui A lie 01 wiawiuit oedtuti unite.
"Everywhere I've been it's been bumper to
bumper, either way you go on 17 or coming from Ash or
Holden Beach," he said.
Despite the large crowds, local police departments
r^ncrtrri r.^ rrnisr with nffiooro HonHlina
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mostly routine calls involving drunks, loud noise and,
of course, fireworks.
"We've had a lot of people but a quiet weekend,"
said Holden Beach Police Chief Raymond Simpson.
"We haven't had too much excitement except the park
ing."
He said officers issued "quite a few" tickets for
parking violations on Ocean Boulevard. A new restric
tion which outlaws parking on almost all of the island's
main street went into effect at the start of the tourist
season.
Filing Period Opens Friday For
November Municipal Elections
BY DOUG RUTTER
Filing opens Friday at noon for 63
seats on 15 municipal boards up for
grabs this fall, along with three seats
on the Dosher Hospital Board of
Trustees.
Interested persons can pay the $5
fee ana file as candidates at the
Brunswick County board of Elec
tions office at the Brunswick County
Government Center in Bolivia
weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.
They can also file for office at their
local town hall, if forms are
available. Forms filled out at a town
hall must be notarized.
The filing period will end at noon on
Friday, Aug. 4.
Recent town charter amendments
will sffsct elections this fsll in two
communities in the South Brunswick
Islands.
HoMen Beach
A revision in the charter at Holden
Beach will have the mayor's post and
all five seats on the board of commis
sioners up for election this fall. Star
ting with this year's election, all com
missioners will be elected for two
years instead of four years.
Calabash
In Calabash, an earlier charter
amendment which will establish
staggered terms of four years each
for council members also takes effect
this fall. All five council seats and the
mayor's post are up for election in
1989.
The mayor and the two town coun
cil candidates receiving the largest
number of votes in November will
serve four years.
The Outer tiiicc Luuxitij members
will serve two years, and their seats
will be up for election again in 1991.
At that time, the three councilmen
elected will serve four years.
In 1987, Ma>or Doug Simmons was
the only person to file for office, and
five council members were elected
as write-ins. Three of those elected
later resicned, and after two appoint
ments, the current board is still short
one council member.
A proposed consolidation of
Calabash and the neighboring com
munity of Carolina Shores could af
fect the fall election.
Ocean Isle Beach
At Ocean Isle Beach, the mayor's
post currently occupied by Betty
Williamson and town board seats
held by Terry Barbee ana Biii Benton
will be open in November. The mayor
is elected to a two-year term while
commissioners are elected to four
year terms.
Sunset Beach
The mayor's position and three of
five council seats are up for election
in November at Sunset Beach. Those
seats are now occupied by Mayor
Mason Barber and council members
EM Gore, Kathy Hill Peed and Minnie
HUM# fUn ?? hntrAt* Alinmi
UMW V WCi O un. UIOJW* \.?V? J
two years, while councilmen are
elected to four-year terms.
Shallotte
Seats held by Shallotte Mayor
Jerry Jones and town board
members Sarah Tripp and Paul
Wayne Reeves are up for election
this year. All persons elected in
Shallotte serve four years.
The newly-incorporated towns of
Varnamtown and Sandy Creek will
hold their first municipal elections in
November with all seats on both
boards available.
Varnamtown
Varnamtown residents will elect
five members to the board of
aldermen and a mayor. The two can
didates for alderman receiving the
highest number of votes will serve
for four years and the other three
elected candidates will serve for two
years.
Those three alderman seats will
come up for election in 1991, at which
time winnera will serve terms of four
years. The mayor will be elected
every two years.
Incumbent Mayor Tracie Varnum
has announced he will not seek elec
tion.
Sandy Creek
In Sandy Creek, voters will elect
five members to the town board this
fall. The three highest vote-getters
will serve four years and the other
two wiL' serve two years. This opens
the way for staggered four-year
terms starting with elections in 1991.
The mayor of Sandy Creek will be ap
pointed by the board from its
membership.
Bolivia
The mayor and all four town coun
cil seats in Bolivia will be up for elec
tion this fall, as they are every two
years.
Boiling Spring Lakes
Boiling Spring Lakes voters will fill
the town board seats now occupied by
Herbert Bunten and Eleanor Ensm
inger ai.d Mayor Robert Williams.
Town commissioners are elected to
terms of four years, while the mayor
? ? ? IAO
AO CICCWU V?V?J ?nv JVMIO.
Long Beach
On Oak Island, three commis
sioners' seats and the mayor's post
will be up for grabs in November at
Long Beach. Mayor John Vereen and
board members Robert Miller,
William Hobie Millard and James
Sloop will face re-election. Commis
sioners are elected to four-year
terms, and the mayor, a two-year
term.
Yaupon Beach
Three of the six seats on the
Yaupon Beach Board of Commis
sioners will be up for election in
November. They are currently oc
cupied by E.W. Rees. Robert Brown
and Homer Brewer Jr. Town com
missioners are elected for four-year
terms, and the mayor is appointed by
the full board.
Caswell Beach
Casweii Beach Board of Commis
sioners' seats presently occupied by
Duncan Stuart and Bill Boyd and the
mayor's position now held by Jack
Cook are up for election in
November. Town board members
are elected for terms of four years,
and the mayor is elected every two
years.
Sonthport
Southport Voters will fill more
(See FILING, Page 2-A)
Shallotte May Have To Pay Back Portion Of State Street Funds
BY DOUG RUTTER
The Town of Shallotte may have to
pay back more than $25,000 in state
Powell Bill funds it has received bver
the past five years for streets that
urprp not hoino ma intairw| Ky tho
town.
Since 1985, the town has received
money for about five miles of road
way in the Brierwood Estates sub
division that it did not start taking
care of until last fall. Shallotte began
collecting Powell Bill money on some
of the subdivision's streets in 1984,
when a portion of the area was an
nexed.
Powell Bill funds are allocated
each year to municipalities ha nn
a formula calculated on the basis
population and the miles of street
maintained by the town. The funds
can only be used for street im
provements, storm drainage,
grading, equipment purchases and
related purposes.
Although the town took over
maintenance of all streets in the an
nexed portion of Brierwood Estates
last November, it wasn't until March
1 that fhp rnarta wppp fOflHHUy
dedicated to the town.
Prior to the town taking over
maintenance of the streets, they
were the responsibility of the
developer. As part of the agreement
to annex the area, the roads were to
be accepted by the town only after
the developer completed im
provements requested by the town
board.
However, the town has been receiv
|ng Pows!! Hill monies for sll cf ths
streets in the annexed section of
Brierwood since 1985, according to
Marie Chappell, a highway analyst in
the planning and research branch of
the state Department of Transporta
tion.
During that time, the town receiv
ed more than $25,900 for the roads in
the subdivision, even though they
were not maintained by town
employees.
The estimate i? bss^d on s of
$1,150 for each mile of roadway? the
average dollar amount offered per
mile between 1985 and 1988? and the
5.13 miles of streets in the annexed
section of the golf course subdivision.
Also, the town should have received
about $2,000 for claiming parts of
Brierwood Drive and Country Club
Road in 19A4.
"Ordinarily, we would require
them to pay it back if they claimed
pfrnof o r?rl it mnn moIUi ? V?r?i r
W1V UM WW* MOM AW H MU 1IVW t WMIIJ M?W*4
street," said Ms. Chappell. "They
need to get this resolved."
Shallotte Mayor Jerry Jones said
Tuesday that he and all of the town
board members are aware that the
(See STATE, Page 2-A)
Bill To Allocate More Funds For Lockwood Folly Inlet Dredging
BY DOUG RUTTER
Lockwood Folly Inlet would be
dredged at the same level as it has in
the past under a federal appropria
tions bill which cleared one house of
Congress last week.
The Energy and Water Appropria
tions Bill, which passed the U.S.
House of Representatives last
Wednesday, would provide $535,000
for maintenance dredging of the local
inlet next fiscal year, which begins in
October.
The bill is the latest in a long line of
federal funding proposals for dredg
ing the local inlet, which earlier this
year was dropped entirely from next
year's proposed budget.
In January, former President
Ronald Reagan proposed a budget
for fiscal year 1990 that eliminated
all funds for maintenance dredging
of Lockwood Folly Inlet and nine
other coastal waterways in North
Carolina.
Deletion of these projects was part
of a proposed $8.3 million cutback in
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers water
way maintenance dredging in the
state.
President Bush later recommend
ed a revised plan that would earmark
$329,000 for dredging of the local in
let But that would provide fewer
dollars than have been required in re
cent years to keep the inlet open.
Over the past five years, the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers has spent
an average of (440,000 per year to
maintain Lockwood Folly Inlet.
Situated between Holden Beach
and Ix>ng Beach, the inlet is con
sidered vital to both commercial and
recreational fishermen seeking ac
cess to the Atlantic Ocean. It is also
thought to be important to
shellfishermen who work in
Lockwood Folly River since a clear
inlet allows for better flushing of
pollutants.
U.S. Rep. Charles Rose, who has
been pushing for restoration of the
maintenance dredging funds since
budget cuts were proposed in
January, said last week that he ex
pects the appropriations bill to pass
the Senate without any major pro
blems.
"I think Lockwood Folly Inlet and
river are extremely important to
commercial fishermen, shrimpers
and for the recreational residents of
Brunswick County," he said. "If
Ix>ckwood Folly is not properly main
tained, Brunswick County will suffer
economically."
Although he is confident federal
dollars will be allocated for inlet
dredging next fiscal year, Rose said
all money for operation and
maintenance mnst be allocated on a
year-to-year basis and that another
funding battle may be necessary next
year.
"I'm glad that we convinced the
Congress that money was needed for
maintenance," he said. "I think our
senators can see that it stays in the
bill."
Keith Pitts, a legislative aide to
Rose, said he expects the Senate to
act on the bill sometime next month.
"We've had success in the past, and
we've been working with people on
the Senate side."
Rose also said last week that once
the Senate approves the spending
plan, he does not expect opposition
from the president.
Also included in the appropriations
bill is $300,000 to continue ? flood con
trol engineering design study and
beach renourishment prograift at
Ixmg Beach.
Long Beach Town Manager Gary
Britt said the funds will apparently
be used to continue a study started
several years ago by the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers.