February 19, 2004
City workers spent Friday with scouts teaching them about their jobs.
Jerry Canipe, Frank Burns, Jacob Bridges, Rick Murphrey, Dennis Wells,
Rick Putnam, (left, front) Ben Hardee, Tommy Morgan, Ryan Simpson,
Josh McAbee.
The Kings Mountain Herald
ANDIE BRYMER / HERALD
Participants included (left, rear) Derek Johnson,
Ellis Noell, Matt Bumgardner, Rick Chapman,
Walter Crocker, Matthew Ford, Tanner Deaton and
The Shadow Knows
Scouts learn about city government
by spending a day with
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
Last Friday the city’s fire department
was in the hands of Boy Scout Josh
McAbee.
“I told him if we had a train wreck,
hazardous spill or fire he had to make
all the decisions,” said Fire Chief Frank
Burns.
While Burns did not literally hand
over the reins to the scout, he and the
department did show McAbee and fel-
low scouts how they protect the city
from fire.
McAbee rode in a fire truck, slid
down the pole at the station, watched
Explorer Post spent the day with city
workers including building and codes,
police, electric, library, water and
sewer and special events personnel.
Walter Crocker may have been the
most popular scout with city workers.
“I gave raises,” he said.
Crocker spent the day with Mayor
Rick Murphrey. While Crocker enjoyed
the make believe pay hikes, he realized
being mayor was not a job he wanted.
“It’s too much stuff to do,” Crocker
said.
After spending a day with police,
Tommy Morgan came away convinced
his first impression of law enforcement
was correct.
employees
police car to Shelby to visit court and
watch police obtain warrants. They
also got a taste of being on the other
side of the law. The youth were finger-
printed.
Matthew Ford found his morning
with city electric crews fascinating. He
enjoyed learning about roadside trans-
former boxes and identifying where
different wires go.
Ben Hardee tagged along as code’s
inspector Mike Brown inspected a
church’s gas furnace, a private home's
gas logs and new insulation in a utility
building.
Matt Bumgardner got to see a part of
the city most folks take for granted.
Page 3A
Board of Adjustments
approves poker requests
BY ANDIE L. BRYMER
Staff Writer
During a Tuesday meeting, the Kings Mountain Board of
Adjustment unanimously approved conditional use permits
allowing video poker machines at two locations. ;
Ken Hamrick of the Silver Villa, and Mike Heath, wh
owns a convenience store on South Battleground Avenue,
received the go ahead from that board. The permits must be
renewed in one year.
In other business, Tommy Hall of Hall Builders was
granted a variance allowing him to build a residential
dwelling at the corner of Woodside Drive and Rhodes
Avenue.
Clarence and Mary Philbeck were granted a variance to
build a carport at their York Road home.
firefighters inspect the trucks and
_ reviewed a business’ fire safety plan
with the ¢higfa ijn tadod] 2190
ing in dispatch.
He and Jacob Bridges rode in a
“I still admire them. I still don’t
_...want to be one,” he said.
ows Morgansays the job is too danger-
“Its been fun,” McAbee said. piso ous, though he would not mind: work-
Boy Scouts in Troops 92, 93 and 95
and the Kings Mountain Police
Working with the water and sewer
department, he helped operate a cam-
era that looks inside sewer pipes,
The scouts and city workers had
lunch together at the Patrick Senior
Center.
MOORE
From 1A
“As, you know there are one
or more council members
making threats about firing
various employees. Their
favorite expression, ‘we
have four votes.”
The ad also encouraged
J city employees to attend
next week's council meeting
to “listen to the human rela-
tions director and city attor-
ney explain whether you are
entitled to rights as an
employee.”
As of Monday afternoon,
the City of Kings
Mountain’s human
resources director had not
been asked by officials to be
at the meeting.
Council members
Houston Corn and Howard
Shipp are also on the utility
committee and were at that
meeting. They agreed with
Moore..
Corn, newly elected,
assured department heads
that any time he calls
requesting information he is
trying to educate himself,
not interfere.
“I don’t like to make deci-
sions without asking,” he
said. “I have a whole lot to
learn. If I call you up, don’t
draw up.”
Shipp, who is a long time
councilman but is new to
the utility committee, said
basically the same thing.
“Likewise, the same goes
for me,” he said, referring to
Corn’s remarks. “I hope we
can work together as a
team.”
TAX
From 1A
in the next two weeks,
Green said. Property. owners
may request that they be
present when the appraiser
visits the property.
Persons who are age 65
and older or.are disabled as
of January 1, 2004 may qual-
ify for exemptions of up to
50% of the value of a home
and up to one acre of land,
based on an income that
does not exceed $18,800
from all sources, Green said.
Those applications must be
filed by June 1.
Persons whose property is
located in flood zones or are
tied up in utility rights-of-
way that the county is
unaware of should also con-
tact the tax assessor's office
and they may receive a
lower value, Green said.
Green said revaluation is
done “in-house” because
Cleveland County has over
52,000 parcels of real proper-
ty and hiring outside asses-
sors would be very expen-
sive.
~The county's base tax rate
is currently 62 cents per $100
valuation and commission-
ers said they hope to make
this year’s rate “revenue
neutral,” meaning that the
tax rate would be decreased
so that the actual tax money
collected would be about the
same as last year.
For someone's total prop-
erty tax to reflect that philos-
ophy, County Manager Lane
Alexander pointed out that
all of the county’s munici-
palities and entities for
which the county collects
taxes must also reduce their
rates accordingly.
Giving Lawndale as an
example, Commissioner
Jerry Self said it would take
a tax rate of about 56 cents
to be revenue neutral.
“If everybody drops their
rate back to about the same,
the tax bills will be about the
same,” he said.
Alexander and commis-
sioners pointed out that they
cannot adopt a rate at this
time, because the cost of
several programs such as
Medicaid is mandated by
State and federal govern-
ment.
“The commissioners are
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committed to reduce the tax
rate,” said Commissioner
Ronnie Hawkins of Kings
Mountain. “We'll have to get
all data in before we can set
that rate.”
“We're trying to collect the
same amount in gross tax
that we did last year,”
added Commissioner
Tommy Bridges of Kings
Mountain. “There are some
programs, such as Medicaid,
that we don’t have control
over. We have to put our
match in there too.”
Alexander said county
commissioners have no
authority to collect less than
what is mandated by the
State for such programs.
“We're trying to keep it
neutral with what we have
to deal with,” Bridges said.
“We're trying the best we
can.”
Chairwoman Mary Accor
of Kings Mountain said, as
an educator she has seen the
unemployment and other
problems facing property
owners, and “it is my desire
to see the tax rate lowered.
“People are struggling,”
she said. “We need to look at
different areas of our
responsibility and do every-
thing we can to cut. The
things that we can change,
we'll change.
“Taxes will always be a
frustrating issue,” she said.
“But as commissioners we
want to listen to the people
and take to heart what
they're saying.”
The tax rate will be set by
July 1 and will apply to
property owned on January
1, 2004. Tax bills are mailed
in late July and are payable
by January, 2005.
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From 1A
pose was to discuss con-
cerns I and some of the
members of the council had
about the manner he was
performing his duties and to
address other areas in which
I felt he could perform more
efficiently,” Murphrey
wrote.
Council member Howard
Shipp, who was serving
during the time the alleged
demands were made, said
he did not believe Ponder
was entitled to severance
ay.
“We didn’t fire him. I hate
to see him leave. That was
his decision,” Shipp said.
Shipp said he was not
present when the alleged
demands were made.
City Council member Kay
Hambright, who was sworn
in after the alleged events
took place, said she was
glad the issues finally had
been made public. She had
asked for more information
during the Jan. 29 city coun-
cil meeting.
“The citizens are entitled
to know,” she said.
Hambright said she knew
paying a severance package
would hurt the city but she
felt like Ponder was entitled
© to the money.
Hambright said if the city
will appropriately follow
the city manager form of
government these problems
will not happen again.
City Councilman Houston
Corn who also was sworn in
after the alleged demands
were made, said he could
not comment because the
matter was a personnel |
issue. He referred the
Herald to City Attorney
Mickey Corry who could
not be reached by press
time.
City council members
Carl DeVane, Rick Moore,
Jerry Mullinax and Brenda
Ross could not be reached y
by press time.
Mullinax and Ross have
spoken out in favor of
Ponder in the past.
City council members
serving during the time the
alleged demands were made
include Clavon Kelly
DeVane, Jim Guyton, Moore,
Dean Spears, Shipp and
Gene White.
Kelly, Guyton and White
have also spoken out in
favor of Ponder.
Ponders last day on the
job is Friday. He starts a
new job as director of budg-
et and purchasing for the
City of Gastonia on
Monday.
MEETING
From 1A
“The public has a right to
know,” he said.
The list is open to anyone
who makes the request and
pays the $10 fee. The money
covers the cost of copies and
postage.
During the Thursday
meeting, the council will go
into closed session to dis-
cuss hiring an interim city
manager. They will re-enter
open session for the vote.
According to council mem-
ber Jerry Mullinax, the per-
GASTON
From 1A
limits. Under the merger,
the lines were redrawn to
match county boundaries.
‘The Gaston board did
agree to allow Gaston stu-
dents to transfer into
Cleveland, however, county
per pupil funds will not fol-
low. The transferring stu-
dents may have to pay a fee
to attend Cleveland County
Schools, though the board
has not yet taken action.
son being considered is 4
Gary Hicks. 4
The council will then hold
an open work session to dis-
cuss hiring procedures for a
permanent city manager.
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