THE PERQUIMANS WEEKLY
Volume 62, No. 18
Hertford, Perquimans County, N.C., Thursday, June 10,1993
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Congratulations
to the Class of 1993,
Class phOtO: Pages 6,7
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High school, middle
school honor student .
athletes: Pages
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School:Sig|||,:;
County youth honored
for academic excellence,
improvements: Pages 9,10
Board
gets mixed
budget
messages
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
The 1993-94 budget is now
officially set. but what remains to
be seen is the fall-out from
county employees and residents
who have been before the board
asking for consideration.
The commissioners got mixed
messages at last Thursday’s bud
get hearing when some speakers
asked for more money for depart
ments. others asked for no bud
get growth, and one speaker
asked for both.
Legal Services of the Coastal
Plains asked for a $2,000 appro
priation. and the library and the
Perquimans County Restoration
Association asked that monies
cut from their budgets be re
stored. One resident asked if the
budget included an increase in
the number of sheriffs deputies.
Jesse P. Perry, an outspoken
member of the Perquimans
County Tax Payers Committee, a
group which ran ad advertise
ment in The Perquimans Weekly
requesting no increase in the
1993-94 budget over 1992-93
levels, asked that the commis
sioners consider an increase in
funds for the library, as well as a
salary supplement for the librar
lan.
Roy Reed spoke on behalf of
the Ttax Payers Committee.
“The finance officer's budget
requires an increase in the tax
rate which is unacceptable to at
least 600 voters in Perquimans
County,” Reed said, referring to
the 600 signatures the commit
tee obtained from county resi
dents asking that the
commissioners hold die line on
die budget
Reed said last year's hefty tax
increase for many residents re
sulting from the property reval
uation made it unreasonable to
raise taxes again. Reed said he
understood the average property
owner sustained a 42 percent tax
increase in 1992- 93.
“Realty, it discourages peo
ple. I feel, from moving into the
county when they realize there’s
such a tax penalty for living
here....” Reed said. "We do know
the proposed budget can be re
duced” and the county still run
smoothly. Reed added.
"While we don't presume how
to tell you to do it. however we
do offer some Ideas” for cutting
the budget. Reed told the com
missioners. The committee’s pro
posals included deleting
mapping, increasing salaries only
if it could be done without a tax
increase, eliminating the in
crease in the school system’s re
quest. and instructing
department heads to operate
with the same funding as last
year.
Reed also proposed reducing
the number of county employees
and rewarding the top employees
with merit pay.
Reed said die county might
find it difficult to manage with
budget reductions, but efficiency
would probably increase.
Reed again asked for a hold
the-line budget, saying it should
Pags 2
Steve Casper’s square dance group weaved and Organizers were pleased with the turn-out of over
stepped the Virginia Reel on the lawn of Cove Grove 200 supporters of a historic district in the Old Neck
at Saturday’s Old Neck Celebration at Cove Grove, area. (Photo by Susan Hants)
Old Neck salutes its History
By SUSAN HARRIS
Editor
Over 200 guests drove across the
Iron cattle gate and up the graceful
tree-lined lane to historic Cove Grove
Saturday for the Old Neck Cele
bration.
The lawn was reminiscent of the
Wilkes barbecue scene In the epic
drama Gone With the Wind, with
guests scattered around the lawn en
joying a traditional southern pork
barbecue meal while the Claymon
Sawyer family strummed old-time in
struments on Cove Grove’s grand
front porch. A dance floor ringed with
bales of hay provided a stage for
Steve Casper’s square dance group,
which bobbed and weaved the Vir
ginia Reel.
The celebration was a fund-raiser
sponsored by the Old Neck Historic
District Committee of the Perqui
mans County Restoration Associa
tion. The committee is attempting to
establish a historic district to be in
cluded in die National Register of
Historic Places to recognize one of
the premiere antebellum neighbor
hoods in the state.
“We thought it was a big suc
cess,” said Beth Skinner Taylor,
chairman of the historic district com
mittee and a descendant of the
builder of Cove Grove. “We were real
pleased."
Taylor said descendents of the
original settlers of Old Neck came
from as far away as Connecticut to
celebrate the history of the commu
nity and help raise the necessary re
search funds to get a historic district
on the map. The committee estimates
die research will cost $6,000.
Taylor said she is still unsure ex
actly how much the event will profit,
but the committee is hopeful that the
proceeds, combined with donations,
will be sufficient The committee has
also applied for matching grant funds
through the North Carolina Depart
ment of Archives and History. Al
though the status of the grant
application is unknown, Taylor said
the committee was told it would be
easier to get a grant if matching
funds were already on deposit.
The event was a very special day
for the Skinner family. Malsie Skin
ner, who lives at Cove Grove, was
surrounded by her daughters, Beth
and Sally Tarkington, their children
and their grandchildren.
In addition to Cove Grove, other
historic buildings in the proposed
Old Neck Historic District include the
Sutton-Newby house, the Fletcher
Skbiner-Nixon house (1812 on the
Perquimans), Riverside (the William
Jones house), Elmwood (the Thomas
Nixon house), the Francis Nixon
house, the Gabriel White house and
Willow Branch Schools (Frog Hall
School).
Cove Grove resident Mai
sie Skinner and her
great-grandson, Baker
Skinner Jethro, enjoy a
moment together during
the Old Neck Celebration
at Cove Grove. The two
represented four genera
tions of Skinners, whose
ancestors built Cove
Grove, who attended the
event (Photo by Susan
Harris)
Social services to distribute
USDA commodities on June 15
Perquimans County will receive USDA
donated commodities for distribution on
June 15. 1993.' The Hertford Lions Chib
will begin distribution at 9 a.m. at the Ice
Rant on Grubb Street
M households who will not be able to
jrick up their commodities may use a rep
resentative for this purpose. The commo
dities card or application must be signed
In the correct places for this to be accep
table. No household will be allowed to
pick up food for more than themselves
and one other household as representa
tive. There will be no exceptions.
There will be two lines at the distribu
tion site. The second line will be for the
physically handicapped and/or disabled
who are present at the distribution to
pick up their food. A doctor’s note stating
the disability, or proof of handicapped li
cense plates for their vehicle must be pro
vided. Those persons using the
handicapped line may pick up food for
their own household only. Again, there
will be no exceptions.
Cara may not be driven Into the dls
tribution area. Please remember to park
only in authorized parking areas as the
Hertford Police Department will be patrol
ing the area.
Applications may be obtained from the
following agencies beginning June 7: De
partment of Social Services, Health De
partment. Economic Improvement
Council. Catholic Social Ministries and
the Senior Citizens Center.
The Commodities Distribution Pro
gram is available to all eligible persons
without regard to race, color, national ori
gin, age. sex. religion, handicap or politi
cal beliefs. Information about regulations
against discrimination and how to file a
complaint may be secured from the N.C.
Division of Social Services. 325 N. Salis
bury Street, Raleigh. N.C. or from your
county department of social services.
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Household
1 .................$ 9.06JL
2 .........12.259
3 ___....___15.457
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.....18.655
5.»......,.......»....i....^.......wtl.853
.....u&5t051
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Add $3,198 per year for each ad
ditional family member.
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County
budget
approved
Compromise leads to
higher taxes, more cuts
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Edftof
The Perquimans County commissioners per
formed final surgery on the 1993-94 fiscal budget
Monday before agreeing on the county's financial
condition.
ror almost two hours, the commissioners ex
plored every vein pumping funds into the county
coffers and carefully shaved off spending growths
that would call for an expensive prescription for
taxpayers. i
“We must treat the
taxpayers and the
employees fairly.”
Mack Nixon
Perquimans commissioner
When the
operation was
complete, the
county was
left with a
budget just
over $5 mil
lion, a 75
cents per
$100 valu
ation tax rate, a 4 percent raise for employees
and a $60 solid waste fee.
Original departmental budget requests would
have sent the tax rate from the 72 cents 1992-93
level to 93 cents per $100 valuation. County’
manager and finance officer Paul Gregory' slashed
13 cents from the rate with the cuts he made be
fore presenting the commissioners with a $5.3
million budget requiring an 80 cents per $100
valuation tax rate. The commissioners continued
to cut until the rate was brought down to 75
cents.
The commissioners dickered longest with the
proposed 5 percent raise for employees.
"I’m going to support, and I think we must
support, a five percent salary increase for em
ployees,” commissioners chairman Leo Higgins
said to kick off the budget discussion. Higgins
cited 8 percent Inflation and a $50 per month in
crease in hospitalization insurance over the past
two years as his reasons to stand behind the
raise.
“I would love to give these people in the
county a 5 percent raise, but 1 would also love to
see us hold this tax rate down," said commis
sioner Archie Miller.
Commissioner Shirley Yates also supported
the 5 percent raises, even if it meant a 76 cents
tax rate. Co-chairman Mack Nixon said he sup
ported raises, but would drop them back to 3
percent if the raises caused the tax rate to go
over 75 cents.
“The county is very desperate for funds and it
seems that the ad valorem tax rate is the only
place we can go back to," Nixon said. Nixon
added that with last year's revaluation and the
economic status of people in the county, a sharp
tax hike could hurt some taxpayers. “We must
treat the taxpayers and the employees fairly."
Nixon said.
“I know we're poor, but gosh knows, our em
ployees are poor too." Gregory commented.
Higgins concurred.
“We can’t balance the budget on the backs of
our employees.” Higgins said.
The commissioners discussed a 4 percent
raise, a 5 percent raise given Oct 1. and a 2.5
percent July increase followed by a 2.5 percent
December increase in an attempt to maintain pay
raises, but keep the tax rate at 75 cents.
When the discussion turned to looking to the
fund balance to fund part of the raises. Gregory
chopped his head.
“It's tough to sot. but don’t take from the
fund balance even if it means cutting salaries."
Gregory said. The finance officer said the fund
balance has steadily decreased over the past few
years. While Gregory said the fund balance is not
at a “dangerous" level, it is at a "tough" level.
Gregory said the account needs to be built up.
not drawn down further.
“We need a zero appropriation of fund bal
ance this year." Gregory' said.
Nixon said the trend toward siphoning off
funds from both county and school system fund
balances has left both groups facing tough finan
cial decisions. If anything serious were to occur.
Nixon said, “We’re looking at a double whammy
here," with neither agency having strong re
serves.
I
Getting hit In the last two rounds of cuts
were mapping, dispatch. EMS. register of deeds,
fire departments, social services, schools and the
commissioners.
After Hipping through the 53 pages of the
budget and notes taken since the budget process
first began in April, the commissioners compro
mised and unanimously approved the 1993- 94
budget
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