The only newspaper for and about Perquimans County and its people
Bus drivers honored
Library receives grant
Student honors
Page 6
June 10,1999
Vol. 67, No. 22 Hertford, North Carolina 27944
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ERQUIMANS COUNTY LIBRARY
110 ^ ACADEMY ST
ERTF ORD NC 2 7944
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Flag Day
ceremony
planned for
downtown
From Staff Reports
A very special American
flag will be flown in downtown
Hertford on Flag Day.
On June 14, Aaron Hoffler,
Cub Cadet, U.S. Navy
Memorial, will present a flag
previously flown at Utah
Beach, at the American
Cemetery on Omaha Beach
and at Arlington National
Cemetery to local veterans.
The veterans wiU then raise
the 8’xl2’ flag across Church
Street.
A roU call of veterans kUled
diming World War II will foUow
the flag raising. Then a bell
will be rung 21 times by
Hoffler.
In addition to having flown
at significant sites in Europe
and Washington, D.C., the flag
received blessing from priests
from the American Battle
Monuments Commission at the
American Cemetery and at the
chapel of the church at St.
Mere’ Eglise. The church is
known for the paratrooper
hanging on the steeple during
D-Day operations.
The Flag Day observance
will begin at noon when
Hoffler leaves Holy Trinity
Episcopal Church with the
flag, accompanied by Hertford
police officers as color guards.
The procession will walk to the
courthouse square.
Boy Scout Troop 163 of
Elizabeth City and 4-Hers from
Perquimans County will hand
out flags and display a banner
coifutiemorating the Army’s
birthday, which is also June 14.
Master of ceremonies wiU
be:-Marine Corp veteran
Charles Skinner.
Handicapped parking will
be available on the courthouse
side of Church Street.
For further information,
caU Jack Hoffler at 264-3813.
Local chamber earns state honors
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
The Perquimans County
Chamber of Commerce has
earned accolades from the N.C.
Technological Development
Authority, Inc.
The Chamber was tapped to
receive the TDA’s Chamber of
Commerce of the Year Award.
According to written informa
tion received from TDA by the
Chamber, the award honors
individuals and organizations
that have made significant con
tributions to the development
of the small business commu
nity and the state.
The award wiU be presented
on June 22 at the Governor’s
Entrepreneurial Awards
Ceremony in Raleigh.
“The Chamber has worked
diligently to make a difference
in this community through
contributions to small busi
ness and heritage tourism
development,” said Executive
Director Sandra Williams
Smith. “It is gratifying for the
efforts of our staff, board and
volunteers to be recognized on
this level.”
The Chamber was one of the
first local organizations to
acknowledge the economic
benefits of heritage tourism to
the community. Along with the
Perquimans County
Restoration Association, the
Chamber has been instrumen
tal in efforts to gain attention
from state and federal agencies
to receive assistance with her
itage tourism development.
The Chamber put thousands of
dollars into the research and
reports required to be complet
ed and submitted in order to
get the county’s historic dis
tricts included on the National
Register of Historic Places.
The Old Neck and Belvidere
districts are among only a
County song illustrated
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PHOTO BY SUSAN HARRIS
Mary White, owner of The Wishing Well in downtown Hertford, was named winner of the contest sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce to
illustrate the cover of the cassette for "Beautiful Morning," the song the chamber adopted as the county song recently. White painted her con
ception of the words to the song on a stool, which was made by local carpenter Bobby White. She presented the stool to Jon Strother, author
of both the lyrics and music to "Beautiful Morning." The chamber is having the song produced with financial assistance from Albemarle
Plantation.
Tax rate to remain constant for 6th straight year
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
County residents will pay
the same tax rate they’ve been
paying for five years if the
commissioners approve the
budget submitted to them by
County Manager Paul Gregory
Monday.
' ^ Gregory’s budget calls for a
tax rate of 78 cents per $100
valuation for the sixth year in
a row.
Taxpayers will get a chance
to 'speak on the $7.4 million
budget during a public hearing
on June 21 at 7 p.m. in the com
missioners’ meeting room of
the courthouse annex.
Gregory attributed the flat
tax rate to good planning by
the commissioners.
“Good plcuming by the com
missioners has over the past 8
years put us hwere we are
today; and good planning will
allow for the continuation of
the positive directioOn
Perquimans County now
takes,” he stated in his budget
message.
Gregory said that slow, posi
tive, progressive growth in the
county’s commerce center and
heritage tourism development
are the directions the county
should take. He said that the
county must maintain the life
style, character and natural
environment, which together
are the reasons people choose
to live in Perquimans.
“It is ... very important that
every person living in
Perquimans County become a
true stake-holder in economic
development through both
business/job creation and her
itage (historic) tourism,”
Gregory summed up his mes
sage.
The only negative note in
the budget message was a $10
increase in the per household
solid waste fee to $75. The
county expects to spend
$416,366 through its solid waste
fund and $303,840 for sanita
tion.
The largest chunk of rev
enue wiU come to the county
from property taxes, over $3.7
million; sales taxes, $1,267,810;
and social services grants of
$874,000. The county also
expects to seU its first lots at
the commerce center, which is
expected to bring in $105,000.
Schools will receive the
lion’s share of local funds,
with over $2 million going to
education. The schools will
receive a county appropriation
topping $1.3 million for cur
rent expense, added to an esti
mated $96,000 in fines and for
feitures.
In capital outlay, the schools
will get $192,000 from sales tax
and $58,000 in general fund
appropriations for a total of
$250,000. This is the second
year of an agreement between
the county and school board
that the schools’ capital outlay
budget will not exceed $250,000.
The agreement was reached
when the county agreed to bor
row over $2 million for facili
ties replacement and renova
tion.
Repaying loans for renova
tions and replacements will
cost $368,868 next year.
The Department of Social
Services wiU use $1.7-plus of
the $7.4 million budget.
Salaries wiU account for $538K,
with Medicaid expected to use
$400,000. ChUd day care is the
only other six-figure line item
at $220,726. Gregory reminded
commissioners that there are
both state and federal man
dates on the social services
budget.
Law enforcement wUl gob
ble over $374,000. Salaries wUl
take the largest chunk of those
funds, at $223,912. The depart
ment plans to use $10,000 of its
drug forfeiture funds to join a
task force. The department
also brings in revenue of about
$28,000 in fees.
Maintaining the county’s
buddings wiU take over $368K.
The amount includes utUities,
all maintenance, salaries,
insurance and bonds, and
equipment and budding repair.
Emergency medical services
expenses will exceed $300K.
Full time salaries will run
about $114,500, with part-time
help at $45,000. A new ambu
lance wdl run the capital out
lay expense to over $85,000. The
EMS does bring in about
$80,000 in ambulance fees.
Codecting the county’s
biggest revenue source wdl
cost over $271K. The tax
department wdl receive that
amount next year. Over $26,000
of that budget wdl be used to
upgrade and replace equip
ment in conjunction with the
mapping and other projects.
The county wdl also complete
the mapping project in 1999-
2000, which wid run $15,600.
That should be the final pay
ments on the almost decade-
long project.
The communications
department, formerly dis-
handful of rural districts in
the nation. The Chamber was
also an integral component in
organizing and promoting the
Historic Hertford Walking
Tour and the Perquimans
County Driving Tour.
In addition. Smith has
attended numerous smad busi
ness and tourism development
workshops and leadership con
ferences in an effort to remain
on the leading edge of econom
ic development for the area.
patch, will cost $257,000 to
operate. Aside from salaries at
$119,823, the largest line item is
$45,000 for repair on the coun
ty’s communications tower.
The department will also
spend almost $30,000 on equip
ment needed to fudy imple
ment the E-911 system.
Another item in the budget
is $250,000 to be spent for water
and sewer construction in the
commerce center. The costs
wdl be offset by a $150,000 state
grant and a $100,000 Rural
Center grant.
Economic development wdl
cost $204,750.
Under special appropria
tions, the county wdl spend
$253,560 on jad fees and the
library wdl get just over $100K.
The water system, which
has a separate budget, wiU
receive and , spend over $1 md-
lion. The sale of water and taps
and connections should bring
in $986,417 of that amount.
In addition, the over $1.75
mdlion wdl be spent through
phase HI of the water system
renovation and expansion cur
rently underway.
A copy of the budget is
avadable for inspection in the
county manager’s office dur
ing normal business hours.
by-laws
SUSAN R. HARRIS
Editor
The county’s second eco
nomic developer wdl be direct
ly answerable to the county
manager.
That was the result of a
change in the EDC by-laws the
commissioners okayed
Monday. Further, the by-laws
now state that the executive
director serves at the pleasure
of the board. That stipulation
means that the county would
not have to show cause to fire
the employee.
The former by-laws made
the executive director of the
county’s economic develop
ment department answerable
to the Economic Development
Commission. The commission
is a board with volunteer
members appointed by the
county and towns of Hertford
and Winfad. County Manager
Paul Gregory and at least one
commissioner, chairman
Charles Ward, thought the
executive director should be
answerable to the manager.
Ward said the county’s first
economic development direc
tor, Robert Baker Jr., some
times could not be contacted
for several days, but was not
answerable to anyone.
“Everyone has somebody to
be answerable to,” Gregory
I said when commissioners Bert
Hayes and Shirley Yates ques
tioned the move. Gregory said
all department managers
report directly to him and he
in turn reports to the board of
commissioners. Like the eco
nomic development director,
Gregory said he also serves at
the pleasure of the board.
Hayes said the county wdl
have a difficult time finding a
new executive director, espe-
ciady a seasoned professional,
because he wdl have “zero lat
itude.” He said the employee
should be on the same level as
the county manager.
Yates likewise expressed
concerns, stating that the job
description seemed elemen
tary.
The commissioners initial
ly advertised for someone with
experience in economic devel
opment and planning who
could also serve as assistant
county manager. Problems
finding someone to fit that
description has led the board
to readvertise for an economic
developer only
Ward said three of 16 origi
nal applicants were inter
viewed, but were not what the
board was looking for..