Cali for ap appointment today! 704.473.4048
786 Bell Rd., Kings Mountain
Over 20 years
experience!
kmherald.net
Volume 126 ¢ Issue 22 ¢ Wednesday, May 28, 2014
15¢
Proposed city budget to include pay raise
pu ELIZABETH STEWART
lib.kmherald @gmail.com
The city's 200 plus employees
and the seven member city council
and the mayor will get more
change in their pockets if the pro-
posed budget by City Manager
Marilyn Sellers passes after a pub-
lic hearing by council in June.
Sellers is recommending a 2%
cost of living increase for city em-
ployees, a raise of $200 more on
the month for city council and the
mayor. The present stipends for
city council is $500 a month and
for the mayor $700. The boost in
pay, as proposed, will raise each of
the seven commissioners to $700
per month and the mayor to $900
per month.
Full time employees, the city
council and mayor are all eligible
for insurance benefits for which
there is no increased costs and no
changes in the city's dental and vi-
sion plans.
“This is a responsible budget
and a balanced, conservative
budget," Sellers said as she pro-
posed a $38,549,669 budget for
fiscal year 2014-15, an increase of
$3,126,056 or 8.8% from last year.
Sellers praised department heads
for underspending their budgets
last year. The proposed budget in-
cludes no increase in property
taxes (40 cents per $100 valuation)
and no increase in fees. Citizens
will still pay a 7.5% water/sewer
increase which was implemented
last year for three years to pay the
$33M loan from the state for major
water and sewer improvements.
The first big payment on the loan
will be made during the 2015-16
budget year, the amount of debt
service at $1,674,000. After this
year, there will remain only one
more year (2015-16) that the 7.5%
charge will appear on utility bills.
There is no increase in the elec-
tric base rate or the natural gas
base rate to Kings Mountain utility
customers.
Mayor Rick Murphrey said that
House Tax Reform Bill 998, effec-
tive July 1, may have some impact
on natural gas utility bills. City of-
ficials are opposing a proposed
state mandated sales tax of 7% on
natural gas. The city is currently
paying zero tax collected but if
House Bill 998 is implemented
would pay the sales tax directly to
the state and the extra charge
would be reflected on city utility
bills. “We are working hard to see
that this does not happen." Mur-
phrey said the city is evaluating
and talking with Rep. Tim Moore
and other legislators on how or if
the tax would impact city cus-
tomers. The city is currently pay-
ing.a 3% electric tax but is 'cost
neutral’ due to lowering energy
cost to customers. The net effect is
zero to customers.
The capital outlay budget is
proposed at $1, 031,850 for the
new fiscal year and includes a new
gymnasium floor at the YMCA
(the former community center
owned by the city and leased by
Baccalaureate |
Sunday night
Commencement = exer-
cises for 282 Kings Moun-
tain High School graduating
seniors will begin Sunday,
June 1, with baccalaureate at
7 p.m. at B. N. Barnes Audi-
torium and end June 7 with
9 a.m. graduation exercises
at John Gamble Stadium.
Rev. John Bridges, former
interim pastor of First Pres-
byterian Church, will deliver
the baccalaureate sermon.
Seven seniors will partici-
pate in the service with
scripture readings and
prayers. They are: Allen
Williams, Molly Short,
Spencer Burton, Elizabeth
Petty, Mary Asgari, Will
Boyles, and Chandler
Champion. The Senior Cho-
rus, under the direction of
Sarah Fulton with Kathy
Holland at the piano, will
present special music. Rev.
James Lochridge, president
of the sponsoring Kings
Mountain Ministerial Asso-
ciation, will give the wel-
come.
$16M water line
bids to be let
The city will open bids
Wednesday (today) from 12
contractors vying to work on
the $16.1 million water line
from Moss Lake to Kings
Mountain. This is the largest
segment of the $33.8M
project for which the city
made a no interest loan from
the state revolving fund for
major water and sewer im-
provements.
“This would have been
Walt Ollis' and Al Moretz'
dream," said Joel Wood,
making a presentation for
the city water/sewer depart-
ment at a recent budget
workshop conducted by City
Manager Marilyn Sellers.
The late Walt Ollis was
the city's water superintend-
ent for many years and
Moretz was a city engineer.
“By the end of this year
and good weather we should
be done with all these proj-
ects except spillway im-
provements at'Moss Lake,"
said ‘Wood. Spillway im-
provements are set to begin
in January 2015 and ex-
pected to cost $611,120.
During his presentation
Wood said the top water
customers of the City of
Kings Mountain are Besse-
mer City, Steag Energy
Services, Grover, Firestone,
Buckeye Fire Equipment,
Solaris Industries, Chemet-
all Foote, Southeastern Con-
tainer, White Oak Manor,
and Parkdale Mills. The top
10 sewer users are Steag En-
ergy Services, Firestone,
Buckeye Fire Equipment,
Solaris Industries, Chemet-
all Foote, Southeastern Con-
tainer, Parkdale, White Oak
Manor, Cleveland County
Schools and Patrick Yarns.
Sellers noted that the top
10 electric customers are
Patrick Yarrn, Parker Hanni-
fan, Ingles Markets, Kings
Mountain Hospital, Kings
Plush, Steag Energy Serv-
ices, Cleveland County
Schools, Turbo Conveyor,
Blanchford Rubber, and
Food Lion.
The top 10 natural gas
consumers are Firestone,
Steag Energy Services, Re-
liance Electric, Hi-Tex In-
corporated, Blanchford
Rubber Acquisition, Kings
Mountain Hospital, Hanes-
brands Inc., Buckeye Fire
Equipment, Kings Plush and
REA Contracting.
00200" 1
hb 5
MEMORIAL DAY -Pictured on the stage in Patriots Park are from left, Jim Medlin,
a a
Curtis Thrift, Mayor Rick Murphrey, Dr.
See CITY BUDGET, 7A
Frank Sincox, Sheriff Alan Norman, Ellis Noell, and KMPD Chief Melvin Proctor. In front of the group Sgt. Todd McDougal,
left, and Reserves Commander Thomas Bell, back to camera, have joined Sgt. Bob Myers and Ptl. David Warlick ( not pic-
tured) in advancing the colors. (More pictures by Dave Blanton and story on page 5B)
Before Wal-Mart, much rubble
Demolition crews began
smashing, ramming and
pulling down the old Winn
Dixie building last week as
two sub-contractors with
about 15 workmen used
bulldozers, derrick claws
and excavators to make way
for a new Wal-Mart Neigh-
borhood Market.
The demolition phase of
the project is expected to be
completed by about June 10.
Then new construction will
begin. The 40,000 square
foot Wal-Mart, which will
be tucked back about a hun-
dred yards from the road,
will face Hwy. 74 Business.
Cleveland Contracting, out
Mayor Rick Murphrey visits the site of the soon-to-be constructed Wal-Mart Marketplace
with Jim Tolbert, Project Superintendent with Cleveland Construction, and Tim Morgan with
See WAL-MART, 7A
City cemetery
low on lots
Three years from now there may be no
burial lots for sale at city-owned Mountain
Rest Cemetery. City Manager Marilyn Sell-
ers made the statement Thursday night as
she gave her budget projections for the up-
coming fiscal year that city council will
vote on after public hearing in June. Sellers
said that burials totaled 1100 last year.
“This is just something that council needs
to start thinking about and looking into
more land for the cemetery," she said.
Asset Recovery Environmental.
Photo by ELLIS NOELL
No tax increase proposed
Cleveland County Commission-
ers will hold public hearing on the
2014-15 budget Tuesday, June 3, at
6 p.m. in
Commissioners’ Chambers of the
Charles F. Harry Administrative
Building in Shelby.
County Manager Jeff Richardson
is proposing a budget with no tax
rate increase (the current rate is 57
cents per $100 property evaluation),
the county supplemental tax of 15
cents and county volunteer fire serv-
ice district tax of 5 cents.
Full-time county employees will
receive a 2% cost of living raise and
the budget projects the hiring of nine
new employees, including four new
deputy positions. Richardson said in
his budget presentation that recent
new industry including the AT&T
Data Center, Clearwater Paper, Dis-
ney Data Center, Duke Energy and
Southern Power helped prevent a
county tax increase. “Without these
See COUNTY BUDGET, 7A
Creating Dazzling Smiles that Brighten Your Life! Now
Preventative, Restorative & Cosmetic Dentistry
To schedule an appointment contact Baker Dental Care today! Call 704-739-4461
703 E. Kings St., Suite 9, Kings Mountain = www.BakerDentalCare.com
Open on
Fridays!
Tape RIN
Kings Mountain Herald