Newspapers / The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, … / Aug. 21, 1980, edition 1 / Page 1
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THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY * Volume 36, No. 34 USPS 421-010 Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, August 21, 1900 MfPni' Town of Hertford in financial crunch The town of Hertford is currently (operating injhe red and will apply for an emergency loan of $39,000 in an attempt to make up for a deficit of some $56,000 left over from the 197W0 fiscal year. The town also moved to increase water rates by 90 percent, and increase the sewer charge by IS cents per thousand gallons of water, effective with the Oct 1 billing. The increase is expected to generate approximately $26,984 in ad ditional revenue for the current year, further fiscal measures are for thcoming. The decision to increase water and sewer rate* followed a specially called Monday night meeting attended by some 1 15 Hertford citizens concerned with rumors "that the town is going broke," < as ooe citizen put it. i Emergency meeting last Wednesday i Monday's action to increase the rates i was prompted by the recommendation of two representatives of the Local Government Commission, who met with I council members in an emergency session last Wednesday night. I Wallace Harding, a commission I representative from Raleigh, told the council that the town was in trouble i "simply because you spend more money than you bring in." He added that if the town continued in this manner, thfct a projected deficit of tome $100,000, or roughly twice the amount of the present deficit, could be expected at the end of the 1990-81 fiscal year. Harding detected the $56,000 shortfall In the General Fund of the 1979-80 budget. In projecting future cash flow, Harding looked at the recently approved 1900-81 budget and found the following flaws : ? an excess of some $100,000 budgeted into the electric fund, which would in turn cause a deficit of that amount in that fund ? a possible deficit of |20,000 to $40,000 in the general fund ? a Water-Sewer fund that is not self supporting, despite a projected $2,000 surplus The 80-41 budget forecasts $939,770 in electric fund revenue, a $100,000 increase over the $824,000 in revenue collected during 1979-80. Harding asked Hertford Mayor and Town Manager Bill Cox if the council had included a rate increase, or whether the amount of customers had increased sufficiently to warrant an anticipation of a $100,000 excess. Cox answered that the amount was off because the figures from the 1979-80 audit were not available at the time the 80-81 budget was drawn up, and that the budget did not reflect an increase in either rate or customers. Although Harding said that the Water Sewer Fund was not operating "in the hole," he defined it as non self supporting because it was not paying its share to the Dept Service Fund. He told the council that some $30,000 was needed to rqake the Water-Sewer Department self-sufficient. The town's move to up water and sewer charges will contribute $26,984 to the cause. In addition, the council moved to trim $6,000 off of the $1S,000 budgeted for the department's supplies and materials. Although water and sewer materials ran the town about $5,000 to $6,000 last year because of manhole repairs, council members determined that they did not anticipate any major water-sewer im provements during the present year. John Barnes, another representative of (Continued on page 2) Accident claims * Virginia man One man was killed and another in jured Sunday afternoon in a one car accident that occurred Sunday afternoon on Beach Springs Road some six miles north of Hertford. Andrew Hemby, 32, of Newport News, ^Va. was killed instantly when the car in ?'-which he was a passenger skidded in a sharp curve on the road and overturned, according to investigating officer M.J. McArthur, of the N.C. Highway Patrol. Another passenger. Stanley Parker, also of Newport News, was injured. The driver of the vehicle, Charles Luther Burch, 30, of Hampton was charged with exceeding safe speed and pausing death by vehicle. The charges are punishable by as much as a $500 fine or two years im prisonment or both. v The three men were on their way home irom ? church homecoming in Hertford when the accident occurred, McArthur said. In another accident occurring in Hertford on Thursday afternoon, a woman was injured slightly after a vehicle attempting to cross Dobbs Street struck her car with such impact that it slid sideways into a telephone pole and snapped it in two. Delphine White Barr of 613 Edenton Road Street suffered a gash on her forehead, a mild concussion, and multiple bruises in the collision and was treated and released from Chowan Hospital. She is the wife of Perquimans County Rescue Squad captain Ralph Barr. Lynwood Henderson Norman of Rt. 1, Cresswell said he stopped at the corner of Hyde Park and Dobbs Street, but did not see Mrs. Barr's vehicle, and proceeded on into the intersection, according to Hertford police officer Brooks Hart. Both Norman and f passenger injijs vehicle, Aaron Everette, were taken to Chowan Hospital for examination, each with a swollen knee. Delicate rescue operation ueipmne Barr is removed from her automobile by rescue workers after a crash on Dobbs Street in Hertford Fhursday afternoon. Mrs. Barr was cut and bruised, but not seriously injured. Schools open with early dismissal Perquimans County School students will start off the first week of the year with an abbreviated schedule, according to school superintendent Pat Harrell, who said the board moved Monday night to shorten the school day in an effort to cope with the heat. Students will be dismissed at 1:45 p.m. Aug. 25-29. Following Labor Day, Harrell said he would meet with school prin cipals to determine if early dismissal is warranted. "Every effort will be made to make decisions that will involve several days, rather than by a day-by-day basis, so that parents will know ahead of time what their children's schedule will be," said Harrell. County enrollment is approximately 1,750 students, a figure Harrell said was comparable to enrollment at this time last year. Harrell said the board also moved to postpone the previously scheduled open house at the newly-constructed high school addition because some of the office furniture has not arrived. He said the open house would be re-scheduled for sometime in September. ''Engineer says Water system is operating as designed The Perquimans County Board of Commissioners approved the processing Bbf the final payment on Phase I of the county water system in a Monday night meeting, thereby officially accepting the system. A 153,283.42 payment had been with held from Tucker Borthers Construction Company because of questions as to whether or not the system is operating properly. A malfunction in the filter cleaning ^"backwash" cycle at the water plant has Jkn isolated incidents sent orange, iron laden water coursing through the lines of the system and into the homes of customers. But board engineer Tom Harwell, of Rivers and Associates, said that the system is operating as it should be. "The plant is working in accordance with plans and specifications," Harwell said. He attemped to shift part of the blame for the red water to water department personnel. "Some of our recom mendations have not been carried out," Harwell said. "Some of the things we've suggested have not been tried." Harwell suggested that part of the problem might be too few workers. "For a system this size, the personnel is not enough to operate and maintain the system properly," Harwell said. But water department supervisor Russell Chappell contradicted Harwell's statement. "We've tried everything we've been told," Chappell maintained. The water department received its most recent complaint over red water last week. Harwell told the board that the back wash system is not intended to operate automatically, though the com missioners had said at prior meetings that they had been told it would do so. He also maintained that the county might be liable for interest on with-held funds and that the contractor would be likely to file suit if the payment process were not initiated. Tucker Brothers published a pulic notice in the PERQUIMANS WEEKLY during September, 1978, claiming that it had "substantially" completed work on its contract on Sept. 5, 1978. In other water department related matters, Harwell suggested that billing and expending of funds in the water department be placed under one management operation. Currently, the tax department collects on water bills, and Chappell is in charge of expenditures by the water depart ment. Harwell suggested that both functions be carried out by the tax department. Harwell also said that Phase II of the water system, which would include another plant and would expand production capacity, is still under con sideration by the Farm-Home Ad ministration. He had met with the the board of directors of the Holiday Island Property Owners Association on Saturday and said he had that he told them that $100,000 in lines and meters would have to be in stalled in the resort development to get its water system in shape for a county takeover. Harwell said he told Holiday Island representatives that it would not be feasible for the county to deliver them water on a bulk rate basis (through a master meter). If the resort community were to donate the county the money to install lines and meters, it might become financially feasible to include Holiday Island in the county system near the end of Phase II, Harwell said. He said he recommended that a letter be sent to the commissioners requesting consideration. In an unrelated matter, the com missioners were informed that if they want to change sites on proposed soft ball-multi purpose recreation fields, they will have to make a wide range of changes in their Land and Waters Conservation Fund grant application before Sept. 1, or miss the current fun ding cycle. The commissioners approved a motion to seek a grant at their August 4 meeting, on the condition that a shift in site to school-owned property be sought. In order to locate the park on school property, the county must secure a 25 year irrevocable lease, obtain an en vironmental assessment based on the new site, submit a statement of hours during which the facilities will be available to the general public, and dray, up a new park plan based on the school site. The next funding cycle will begin March 1. County officials will attempt to meet with representatives of the school system this week to discuss the project. Other business included: ?The approval of a nine lot waterfront subdivision on Harvey Point, Goose Neck Annex (developer Ed Nixon); ?A report that a $6,166 check received from the state to compensate for a for mula change in Medicaid funding would be put in a social services General Assistance fund used for Aid to Families with Dependent Children; ?Notification that the emergency generator for the county radio tower will only generate 20 AMPs of electricity and in the event of a power outtage the lights on the tower would have to be turned off, and; ?Approval of a metal hut for storage of rescue squad equipment, price not to exceed $1,200. Travel part of getting job done for local officials Br mike Mclaughlin Travel by public officials ha* traditionally been a tore spot among many taxpayers in counties like They wonder how what they picture as luxuriating by swimming pools and sipping social tour cocktails before ? . ? s dinner meetings can possibly be of benefit to the average Joe back home in rural America. What really infuriates them, is knowing that they are footing the bill for what they see at a glorified vacation. A letter we received at the PERQUIMANS WEEKLY office signed Artist-in-schools f,.,. ; . . program getting started Perquimaas County will have an op portunity to participate in the Artb itt? he-Schools program during thq first t the school year thai starts on ???*??>?? ifr*' "?<"<? Ban. yte7<M - Council and by matching funds from the schools budget* ' , Van Baa?' area of concentration will be visual art* with aa pmphaali an dr wing and painting. "Angry Taxpayers" is typical of this view. "We would like to know what justification the commissioners have for the amount being spent on conventions," reads an excerpt. "Within the month of June the sheriff in Miami and the two commissioners in Las Vegas... and they say recreation is a 'luxury program. "It will be most interesting to know how many tax dollars are being spent in this manner by the various departments. Don't forget the board of education. They've enjoyed some mighty fine trips themselves." A different view Public officials interviewed on the subject, however, paint a different picture.. They say that travel is nec cessary in order to stay current on trends and practices, and to mainta'in relationships with outside agencies and officials who can benefit the county. They also argue that conventions are more work and learning than pleasure. "I make no apology for attending any conference or meeting that will aid me professionally said Pat Harrell, superintendent of the Perquimans County Schools System. He said that board of education members are encouraged to attend district and state conventions each year. "At these meetings they have the opportunity to participate in roundtable discussions on pertinent educational issues. They have the opportunity to attend clinics. Examples of topics in clude legislative issues, school law, budgeting, as well as instruction in teacher evaluation," Harrell said. One or two board members per year also generally attend the national school board association convention, Harrell said. He said, however, that "very little" money from the local budget has been used to finance the trips. Alliance for Progress funds have been available for the past two or three years to help defray the expense, he said, and the state school board association has handled board chairman Clifford Win flow's convention expenses because he is currently president of that organisation. OithiiMl Winslow logs a great deal of travel time in his work for both the county school system and the school boards association, and much ti Us travel ex pense is paid by the association, Harrell said. Winslow was the only board member who attended the national convention this year. According to Harrell, travel has comprised a very small portion of the system's budget. "Our board has been very conservative in attending meetings," Harrell said. "We've only attended those conferences or meetings that we feel are absolutely relevant." Joe Nowell, chairman of the Perquimans County Board of Com missioners, was one of those com missioners who represented the county at the June convention of the National Association of County Commissioners in Lai Vegas. Nevada. According to Nowell's philosophy, establishing contacts in Raleigh and Washington is essential to good govern ment in Perquimans County. "Say I go to Raleigh enough to get to know the bead of the Department of Natural Resources. When we have a problem if I can Jnst pfck up 0* phone and call. ?*) f know Mm, 111 get a better (Continued oapMge 2)
The Perquimans Weekly (Hertford, N.C.)
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Aug. 21, 1980, edition 1
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