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The
10/09/1999 *C20
12 01316:
PERGUIf'.ANS CCUNTY Lj.3RAR
110 W academy ST
HERTFORD
27944
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Vol. 67, No. 9
March 4, 1999
Hertford, North Carolina 27944
M'
hi!
Wbekly
350
Baker
resigns
County looks for
developer/
planner/
assistant manager
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
The county commissioners
know they are looking for an
economic developer/planner/
assistant county manager —
but they’re not really sure to
whom they want that employ
ee to be answerable.
After accepting the resigna
tion of the county’s first eco
nomic development diredfof
Robert Baker Jr., who
resigned effective Feb. 19,
County Manager Paul Gregory
presented the commissioners
with a recommended job
description for his replace
ment. Gregory said he wrote
the job description with the
help of county attorney John
Matthews and Perquimans
County Economic
Development Commission
Chairman Mack Nixon. He
said he also “touched base
with’’ commissioners chair
man Charles Ward.
The job description calls for
the employee to be primarily
an economic developer
involved in planning. The
employee would be cross-
trained as time permits to be
able to step in for the county
manager should the need
arise. The employee would
serve at the pleasure of the
county commissioners and be
under the direct supervision of
the county manager and indi
rectly supervised by the
PCEDC. Gregory said Baker’s
job description called for
supervision by PCEDC.
“There is no way a board
can direct and supervise an
employee,” Gregory said.
Gregory said there had been
problems with Baker’s chain
of command.
“There were problems in
the way it was set up last
time...Everybody’s answerable
ta somebody...! wouldn’t rec
ommend that you hire any
body and just give them free
reign,” Gregory commented
during the supervision discus
sion.
While commissioner Ben
Hobbs agreed that it is difficult
for board to supervise employ
ees, commissioner Bert Hayes
said the county should look for
the best individual it can hire
.and should not “hamstring”
him or her. He said hiring a
strong person could cause
problems.
Commissioner Shirley
Yates said an experienced per
son might find it difficult to
work under someone else.
Gregory said that aU depart
ment heads should be some
what independent, but that
one of their functions is to
keep the county manager
informed of what’s going on in
his or her department so that
the manager wUl always know
what is going on and can give
commissioners pertinent
information.
The commissioners
approved the job description
so that advertising for an
employee can begin, but said
they wiU make changes if they
need to. Hayes voted against
accepting the document.
The walls came down
f
4
It took months to build the
new Perquimans Central
School in Winfall, but only
a few days to demolish the
old one that served thou
sands of county youth well
for many years. The
school’s PTA is making
preliminary plans to sell
bricks from the building as
mementos for those people
who fondly remember their
days at Central School.
Details will be released as
soon as plans are com
plete.
Grants to help with commerce
centre infrastructure needs
All three local government
officials are celebrating the
receipt of supplemental water
and sewer grants totalling
$250,000 from the N.C. Rural
Economic Development
Center.
The Center announced on
Feb. 22 that Perquimans
County and the town of
Hertford would each receive
$100,000 and Winfall will get
$50,000.
Funds received by the coun
ty and town of Hertford wiU be
used to extend infrastructure
into the Perquimans
Commerce Centre. The coun
ty’s funds are earmarked for
the extension of water, sewer
and roads. Hertford’s share
will help install a 300 gallons-
per-minute well, improve the
water treatment facility, clean
storage tanks and extend dis
tribution lines to the com
merce centre.
The funds will help ddfray
the costs of over $5.7 million in
infrastructure investment.
Work planned by the county
will total over $730,000, while
the town is on the brink of
spending over $5 million for
sorely needed water and sani
tary sewer system upgrades
and expansions.
Hertford will provide water,
sewer and electricity to com
merce centre businesses.
Winfall’s $50,000 will be
used to extend sewer connec
tions for 50 residential cus
tomers, mainly elderly and
low income residents, when
the town’s new sanitary sewer
system is in place. The new
sewer system will serve 315
residents plus two of the coun
ty’s schools. Winfall will pipe
its sewage to Hertford for
treatment. The total invest
ment in the sewer system is
over $4.2 million. Winfall
County may
pay all costs
of inspections
Towns say paying share of
communications, inspections is
double taxation for residents
Mayor Fred Yates was able
through numerous telephone
calls, trips to Raleigh and a
major lobbying campaign to
get most of those funds
through grants because of the
economic status of the town’s
residents.
The work at the commerce
centre will allow the sale and
development of the first lot in
the park. A marine repair
facility plans to locate in the
park, bringing with it over $2
million in private investment
and 30 jobs.
The county will pool its
share of the money with
$597,000 in federal grant
money from the EDA.
The grants are part of an
$8.9 million statewide project
to help 98 rural governments
that typically don’t have the
ability to match grants or
attain bond ratings for private
capital.
By SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
It was difficult to tell from
the discussion by county com
missioners Monday whether
or not they will ultimately
vote to absorb the entire cost
of operating the county’s
inspections and communica
tions departments.
However, two commission
ers — both of them former
members of the Winfall Town
Council — made it clear that
they are in favor of the county
paying for the entire cost of
the inspections department.
Bert Hayes made a motion
that the county absorb the cost
of the building inspection
department, saying that nei
ther entity has much money,
the local government bodies
should work together coopera
tively and the move would
show friendliness towards the
neighboring governments.
Yates immediately seconded
the motion.
But Ben Hobbs put a halt to
voting on the issue, offering a
motion to table the vote until
the next meeting.
“I have feelings both
ways...I’m not quite ready to
vote this week,” Hobbs said
before making the motion. He
added that if a vote were called
for Monday, he would vote
against the move. He said he
wanted time to check the num
bers of inspections for both
towns before voting.
The issue came before the
commissioners as a result of a
joint meeting of county and
municipal officials last month
at Albemarle Commission.
County Manager Paul Gregory
was directed to put the item on
the commissioners’ agenda
after councilmen from both
municipalities said they felt
residents already paid for
these services through their
county taxes.
Winfall Mayor Fred Yates
said Monday that of 10 coun
ties surveyed as officials have
looked at the issue, six absorb
the cost of the services in ques
tion. Gregory interjected that
two of those counties have the
highest tax rates in the area.
“I think the people in
Winfall are paying for the ser
vices twice,” Fred Yates said.
But Gregory said that an
Institute of Government spe
cialist said the county—town
ventures do not represent dou
ble taxation.
Yates responded that the
services Winfall receives do
not justify the amount they
pay each year.
According to information
from Sharon Ward,
Perquimans County Finance
Officer, the audit for fiscal
1997-98 showed total operating
costs for the communications
department of $139,303. The
cost of operating the inspec
tions department was $89,363.
Using population figures from
the 1990 census, the county cal
culated the share due from
both Winfall and Hertford. Of
a total county population of
10,447, 75 percent, or 7,841 peo
ple, do not live in the limits of
their municipality. In
Hertford, there are 2,105 resi
dents, or 20 percent of the
total. Winfall’s population of
501 comprises 5 percent of the
total county population.
Based on the costs and pop
ulation figures, the county
paid $104,227.25 for communi
cations services, while
Hertford paid $27,860.60 and
Winfall, $6,965.14. For inspec
tions, the county deducted the
$57,392 received from fees from
the operating cost of $89,363,
leaving a balance of $31,971 not
covered by fees. Using the
same formiila, the county paid
$23,978.25; Hertford, $6,394.20;
and Winfall, $1,598.55.
When the Recreation
Department was first formed
in the 1970s, both the county
and town of Hertford agreed to
share the cost for that enter
prise. Soon, however, Hertford
asked that the county absorb
the entire cost, citing their
double taxation argument.
The most recent service the
county agreed to perform for
the towns was tax collection.
The municipalities deter
mined that it would be more
efficient to pay the county a
fee to collect taxes rather than
continue to incur the cost of
bUling and collection.
The towns are required by
law to provide a building
inspector. They use communi
cation services for law
enforcement and fire depart
ment dispatch. Yates said if
forced to provide its own inde
pendent communication ser
vice, Winfall would have to
close down its police depart
ment.
“I think it’s time that we
resolve this...” Shirley Yates
said. “Let’s try to do what’s
best for the citizens of
Perquimans County.”
Weekend Weather
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