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1960-07-28 Special MeetingY ^, ?.?\ E_? F? ?J Minutes of the Joint Session Meeting July 27, 1960 Continued WILMINGTON COLORED LIBRARY - A request for $5,510.50 was made to each the City and County making a total non-State participating Budget of $11,021. After a discussion of the problems involved- in thi.s operation, Councilman Burney offered a motion that the City and Cbunty each appro- priate $3600 for a total of $7200. It was seconded by Commissioner Braak and unanimously adopted. WILMINGTON PUBLIC LIBRARY - Chairman Hall informed the assembly that the County had tentatively approved an appropriation of $13,559.49 for the operation of this Department.City Manager Benson point- ed out that he thought consideration should be given to more participation by the Countyin this activity because the population of the City was reduced during the last decade and the County Population increased, with a proportionate decrease and increase in the use of the Library. The total Budget, he pointed out, amounted to $56,729.50 and in the past the County has participated in one-third of the local appropriations. Commissioner tiJilliams remarked that the tendency to equalize the use of the Library was growing and in his opinion an adjustment should be made in the County appropriation. Commissioner Broadhurst suggested that the Town of Carolina Beach and Wrightsville Beach should likewise partici- pate in the cost of this service. After all the questions had been cleared, Commissioner Williams offered a motion that the County adopt a Budget of $1L5,?002 instead of $13,559?.49 as tentatively agreed upon. It was seconded by Commissioner rS aak and when the votes were cast, Commissioners Broadhurst and Hall voted against the motion and Commissioners Braak and LJilliams voted for the motiom. As the Council was not involved in'this particular dis- cussion, it resulted in an impasse. After continuing a further discussion by members of both Boards, Commissioner Williams moved that the County increase its appropriation from $13,559•49 to $14,500.00. It was seconded by Commissioner Braak and when the votes were cast Commissioners Hall, Braalc and Williams voted favorably and Commissioner Broadhurst voted "NO", however, the Chairman ruled the motion carried. ? SOROSIS NUSEUN - There was no question about the total appropriation of $300 for this service to be shared equally by the County and City, therefore, Councilman Burney offered a motion to this effect, which was seconded by Commissioner Braak and unanimously approved. CIVIL DEFENSE AND NIOBILIZATION - A11 inember.s of boffi govenning boflie's agreed wifhout any dissen't on a total Budget of $9,540.00. Councilman J.E.L. Wade then offered a motion that $9>,540.00 for the Budget of Civil and' Def.ense" Mobilization, to be shared equally by the City;and County, be approved. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Braak and unanimously adopted. ? USO Upon motion of Councilman Batuyios, seconded by Commissioner Williams, all mem- bers of both governing bodies unanimously approved a total Budget for the USO in the amount of $5,000 on an equal participating basis. ADJOURNMENT - As this concluded all of the joint items presented ioner Williams moved the joint session be adjourned. It was and unanimously approved. ? W. ?G. SPECIAL CALLED MEETING for consideration, Commiss- seconded by Co ncilman Lane ., , ? , - i ? Houck, Executive Sect tary Commissioners Room, Court House Wilminqton, N. C. Julv 28. 1960 9:30 A.M. ASSEMBLY - Pursuant to the recess at the meeting on July 22, Chairman J. M. Hall Jr. called a special session of the Board for the purpose of considering the Budget Estimate and adopt- ing the Budget Resolution as required by law with the foilowing Commissioners present: Chairman J. M. Hall, Jr., Commissioners, Peter H. Braak, L. E. Broadhurst, J. E. Holton, Jr. and Berry A. Williams; County Auditor T. D. Love, County Attorney John Bright Hill and Commissioner-elect J. Van B: Metts. • INVOCATION - Chairman Hall called the meeting to order and requested Reverend John M. Irvine, Pastor of the McClure Memorial Presbyterian Church of Castle Hayne, N. C. to open the meet- ing with a prayer for guidance. J N[ENTAL HEALTH - Mrs. Alice Borden Sisson acted as spokesman for the Board of Mental Health and explained that since the organizing of this agency in 1957, they had been working toward the goal of a full-time psychiatric social worker. She pointed out that Halifax County, like New Hanover County, were both acting as pilot agencies in this field and the eyes of every Health Department in North Carolina have been fixed on the operation since its incept- ion. The small appropriation in the past has only been sufficient to allow for an in-fre- quent visitation by a psychiatrist whose main purpose has been to hold seminars with groups who come in contact with people frequently such as school teachers, ministers, public health nurses and welfare workers in an attempt to give them sufficient information to detect and , counsel with those who seek their help and tiius the service becomes a preventive rather than a curative one. She further observed that should the suspects be allowed to develop, they would be incapacitated and therefore it would be necessary for the County to spend many more dollars than the cost of maintaining the program. To attain this goal will require , the full appropriation of $4200 which was requested in the Budget Estimate. Wfth it they hope to expand their service to reach more people such as the Juvenile Courts, et cetera. After considering the various merits of the problem and clearing up any questions by the Continued- ? , Q ti zi Minutes of the Special Called Meeting July 28, 1960 Continued MENTAL HFALTH - (Continued) Board members, Mr. Holton moved that the appropriation for Ment,al.Health be set at $4200 for the fiscal year. It was seconded by both Messrs. ..:Braak - snd.' Williams. When the question was called for a vote, Mr. Broadhurst voted "NO", however, the Chairman ruled the motion prevailed. COPM7UN I TY HOS P I TAL Mr. Ai E. Gibson, Chairman of the Finance Committee oF the Community Hospital Board of Directors, explained that he understood their Budget requests have been materially reduced and in view of the many improvements which had been made in the hospital operation in Lhe past year and the fact that they had underspent their Budget by some $7,000 they were of the opinion that the small increase of $884 requested in this yearts Budget over last year's Budget request was ainply ,justified. Mr. Gibson said their request from County Funds amounted to $174,000. He pointed out that some of their employees were woefully underpaid and even some of them were workirig for Iess than $100 per month. He again ca11= ed attention to the necessity for air conditioning the operating.room, obstetrical room and laboratory. The Chairman informed him that the Board had already approved a Budget of $188,000 County funds for Community Hospital during trie annum. Mr. Gibson then thanked the Commissioners for their consideration and pledged a close supervision by the Board of Directors over all of the expenditures in an effort to ho2d Lhe costs down to a minimum as well as employ every means at their disposal to increase the.outside income and assure them that every effort would be made to insure an efficient operation and at the same time improve Lhe faci2ities. ALCOHOLIC REHABILITATION - ? . The ?-hairman reported that he had contacted the ABC Board and explained to them the request of Ben MacDonald for an allocation of ASC Funds for Educational and Rehabi2ita- Lion work as provided by law. He read a letter from the ABC Board promising thaL they would be glad to set up such a program providing it was approved by all of the governing bodies concerned. Mr. Braak offered a motion that the ABC Board use its discretion in spending ABC money for this purpose before any distribution of any of the profits were made. The entire Board concurred in this arrangement and the Chairman was authorized to iriform the ABC Board to that effect. SCHOOL FUND Mr. Williams observed that he had noted two people on the School Pension Fund were drawing morein pensions than they drew in sa2ary from the SuFplementary Budget. The County Auditor explained that the pensions were set by an actuary in New York and therefore they determined the amount to be drawn. / COUNTY 'MAIVAGER- ? ^ 1 ? f - Mr. Williams remarked that he was of the opinion that the County affairs cou d be better administered under a County Manager form of government as he thought they would be able td save money for the County by appropriating and spending moneyfor a County Manager. Ite suggested the appointment of a County Manager at this time and that an appropriation be included in this year's Budget. Chairman Hall expYained that since all of the County depart- ments were elective except a very few, a County Manager would have little to manage. No -- further action was taken on this subject. St2ERIFFtS DEPARTMENT Mr. Braak again reminded the Board that in his opinion there were some men in the Sheriff's Department who definitely should have a raise in pay and suggested that if the Board did not feei inclined -to raise their salaries they should furnish their equipment such as shoes, boots, raincogts and guns. W. Williams remarked that he thought there were some other departments that should have ad,justments in salaries. Since no unanimity of opinion was received, the sub,ject was abandoned. COUNTY HOME In - 1 ?_? a quick review of the items in this Budget, Mr. Broadhurst discovered that C.'???7'-(- Lhe salary of the yard man of $1170.00 had been overiooked in the County Home Budget. This matter had been overlooked by the County Auditor but since all of the Board members con- curred in keeping it in, no formal motion was necessary. BUDGET APPROVAL Mr. Holton moved the adoption of the Budget as it is now approved. It was second- ed by Mr. Williams and when the votes were cast, Mr. Broadhurst voted "NO" however, as the other Commissioners votett "YES", the.Chairman ruled the motion carried and instructed the Auditor to figure the Tax Rate on that basis. THE TAX SOOKS Mr. Holton observed that since the other munic3palities in the County used the County's tax books, he thovght that they should be charged with their pro rata share of the cost in the preparation and moved that the Auditor study the proportionate cost of pre- paring the tax books for the other municipa2ities in the County and bill them accordingly for it. It was seconded by Mr. Braak and unanimously passed. TAX RATE - -? 6y Mr. Williams then moved that the Tax Rate be set at $1.26 and that the tax base be a;justed io b"r-ing in .revenue, saf'f3c3ent to meet t}ie• appr:opr=ia2ims. Mr. Braak seconded ;, .. the mot3on for .the purpose. of. ddscussinn. Mr. Ho12on then o1'fer'ed a• subStitut'e-inotion that the, ;Tax'Rate. be.se,t':at $1:25 and,the valuation-base be set at.$142,000,000-and=that $6,000 ' be_,cut out of. ,the Drainage and Erosion PTOgfam for'.the ape'ration of tht d'ragltin'e;f and.thus cease:the DragLine ope'P'at:ion, The Execuit3ve Secreta•ry e-xpladn'ea that t3ie +Dra(fitage Comm'itiee had cofimi.ttkd ,Lhshise:lves• to another ?dnagl=ine pr:oject_ and recommended that, suff<i:cient, :funds be; lefl in' this 3epartment tb, cd.mp:ire:be bh"e present:-.commitments. Th'ere was no -second .t'a:this substitute ino,tibn :and t•he Chai'r.man ruted it _dead: A uot;e, was c-alled_ :on the original mo£ioii and-^Messrs. Braak and Wiiliams doted forrthe.moC'ion attd Messrs: Hall;'Holton.and.B"roadhur'st VALUATION BASE AND TAX RATE - "votedagainst the motion attQ, the Chairman ruled it failed: The County Auditor informed the Board that the present total valuations in the County amounted to $151,000,000 and that in the past it had been customary to use 93% of ' the valuation as a base, since the tax co2lection experience over a period of years had proved this to be the right percentage and on that basis the proper valuation to use would be $140,000,000, however, the Commissioners could use their discretfon in deLermining this continued- 4 k J c?00 Minutes of the Special Called Meeting July 28, 1960 Continued VALUATION AND TAX RATE BASE -(continued) figure. After some discussion, Mr. Ho2ton moved that for the fiscal year 1960-1961 the valuatian base of $142,000,000 be used and that the tax rate be set at $1425 per $100 valuation and that$:6;000 be eliminated from the dragline account. Mr. Braak second- ed this motion and when the votes were cast, all of the Commissioners voted £n favor of the motion except Mr. Broadhurst, who voted against it. The Chairman ruled the motion / prevailed and asked the Auditor to prepare the Budget Resolution accordingly. BU?GET RESOLUTION - After the County Auditor reported his computations on the figures which had been agreed upon, Mr. Holton offered the following Resolution: BE IT RESOLVED that for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 1960 and ending June 30, 1961 the following appropriations are made to the various funds for the pvrpose of carrying out that which we deem to be sufficient for financing the necessary operations of the ATew Hanover County government: Aunropriations General Fund 602.0237.01 Agriculture & Economic5 `20,463:00 ' Aid to Blind Fund 12,772•56 Aid to Dependent Children 649,964.00 Afd to Permanent d Totally Disabled . 343,200.00 Old Age Assistance ' 470,223•00 County Home Fund 107,663•99 Health Fund 131,767.10 Hospitalization Fund 455,784•28 Welfare Fund 128,567.50 Revaluation Fund 7,000.00 Workmen's Compensation Fund 2,508•47 School Sonded Indebtedness Fund 376,825.00. School Pensions 36,650.10 School Regular 493,880.00 School 5upplement 483,580.00 School Books Fund 23,000.00 School Buflding 167,674•37 " Capital Outlay Fund 20,000.00 " Lunchroom Program 60,000.00 " Driver Training Program 26,922•97 " Industrial Education Center 35,838•35 " Trainable.CYiildren Program 20,000.00 National'Defense Act 18,000.00 Wilmington College Fund . ' $g,539.3? 8 " " Build3ng Fund 21 , 15•3 ;gE..IT'F.URTHER-..RESOLVED that the Budget be adopted in detail with the exception of of the fact that the Board of Directors of Community Hospital are allowed to make adjustments in the salaries as long as this is done within the salary appropriations and they are to air condition the operating room and the obstetrical room wi,thin the approved,Budget. :The kJelfare Depar'tment is to live within their appropriation Assistance P.rograms and if necessary grants must be reduced to accomplish this. BE IT.FURTHER'RESOLVED.-that':tfie.New.-Hanoves'Coiirity'Boacd"of Cominissioners adopt a Tax Rate of $1.25 per $100 valuation•lev3ed on all taxab2e properties in County for the fiscal year 3960-1961 which shall be necessary of carrying on the business of the County or as much as may be necessary for each of the schedules listed below: is hereby.appropriated: Tax Rate Gerieral Fund• . . 1 1839 Agriculture,8 Economics -, - , ,0114 Aid to the Blind ? 0066 Aid to Depend ent Chfldren ' . .0469 Aid to Permanently 8 Totally Disabled .0277 Old Age Assistance ,0351 County, Home .0509 Health Fund ,0757 Hospitalization Fund ,061?.2 Welfare Fund .0398 Revaluation Fund .0040 Wilmington College- Reyular .0493 5chools Bond Fund .1938 ? Books Fund .0106 Cagital Outlay .01?.8 Pension Fund .0153 Regular Fund ,22l+3 Supplement .1952 1.25 The motion to adopt the Budget Resolution was seconded by Nr. Braak, and when the votes were cast, Mr. Broadhurst voted "NO", however, sinc;e the other Commissioners voted for the motion, the Cfiairman rul.ed, it carried. ? PRI50N BOiLER - ` ?' The Chairman reminded the Board that he had discussed the heating situatdon at `the,County Prison Camp with Mr. Cox, a heating engineer, and recommended-that 3nstead of spending approximaLe2y $1,000 to repair the.present boiler to pass the State boiler 'inspect- ion, that the.Executive Secretary he autho,rized Lo advertise for a new automatic oil fired boiler to repiace the,old one which now is out of order and will not'meet the minimum safety recommendation"s. After some discussion, the Board,by tommon consent,eoncurred 'in t,his opin- ion and authorized the Executive Secretary to proceed with the the advertising., -;: 60 1' Minutes of the Special Called Meeting (Continued) July 28, 1960 ,YADJOURNMENT - Upon motion of Mr. unanimously voted to adjourn. Williams, seconded by Mr. Braak, the members of the Board ? W. ?/` v Houc?? Executive tary Wilmington, N. C. August 1, 1960 ASSEMBLY - The regular semimonthly meeting of the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners was held today at 9:00 A. M. in the County Court,House with the following present: Chair- man J. M. Hall, Jr., Commissioners Peter H. Braak, L. E. Broadhurst, J. E. Holton, Jr. and Berry A: Williams; County Auditor T. D. Love, County Attorney John Bright Hill and Commissioner-Elect J. Van B. Metts. INVOGATION - The meeting was called to order by Chairman Hall, who asked Reverend G. W. Saun- ders, Pastor of the First Advent Christian Church, to give the invocation. MINUTES APPROVAL - The minutes of the Special Budget Discussion Meetings held on July 8th, 12th, 1$th, and the regular semimonthly meeting of July 18th, also the Budget Discussions for July 20 and 22nd were approved with the exception to Dr. Rosemond as being a member of the Consolidated Board of Education, which reference was deleted upon motion of Mr. Willisms, seconded by Mr. Braak. ROAD REQUEST - Mr. W. T. Devane, who owns a tract of land down on Middle Sound, in Harnett town- ship, informed the Board that he had tried for the past 30 years to have the Commissioners cut a road into his property and make it accessible for tenants and use of the public but so far he had not rec@ived an answer to any of his petitions. He also stated that because the road was in such terrible condition, he could not even rent the property to anyone. The Chairman reminded him of the promise of Mr. McKim, the Third Division Engineer of the State Highway Commission, to go with Mr. Devane and look over the situation, however, he could not hold out much hope that it would be done because it was not for a public use but the sole benefit of an individual. Mr. Devane thanked the Board for listening to,him and prom- ised to await the decision of Mr. McHim. i COOPERATIVE EROSION CONTROL - (r'?? The Chairman explained that he had recentiy attended a meeting with the Corps of Engineers reporting on a re-study of the combined Cooperative Beach Erosion and Hurricane Control Program at which time several plans of protection were presented for consideration. ' After each was considered and explained by the Engineers, he recommended Plan C for the County portion which includes a 50t wide berm to an elevation of 121 above mean low water behind which is a dune wfth top elevation of 15' above mean low water. Existing policy re- quires that cost apportionment is to be made between local interests and the Federal govern- ment. The total estimated cost for the project wouid amount to $1,239,000 of which'the Federal government would provide $739,200 and Non-Federal would be $499,800 which would l have to be provided by local interests. The estimated average annual cost of maintenance and beach nourishment would amount to $71,300 of which the Federal government would pay -'? annualiy $6,800 for ten years. During the discussion of this proposed pro,ject, the Chair- man further understood that it would take approximately 5 years for this proposal to mater- ialize from the Federal standpoint and that any monies spent in tYie interim perfod bettdeen now and then might possibly be credited to the Non-Federal e,stimate provided the work was done within the scope of the plans proposed above. He further observed that unless some expression of approval was given this project and a willingness to participate, it would be a long time before a similar opportunity would be given by the Federal government to pro- tect our shore erosi:on and beach preservation measures. After a brief discussion of the proposal, Mr. Williams offered a motion that the Board go on record as being in favor of this project and express our intent to participate in Plan C as proposed.by the Beach Eros- ion Board and the Board of Engineers for the Rivers 8 Harbors and authorize the Executive Secretary to write a letter to the Corps of Engineers expressing our willingness to parti- cipate in the Non-Federai Funds. It was seconded by Mr. Braak and the vote was unanimously in favor of it except that Mr. Broadhurst made it clear that he was in no way obligating - this County or himself on the finances for the project. RESCUE SQUAD - - A letter was read from James A. Lockamy, Rescue Squad Leader, informing the Board that the office of Civil and Defense Mobilization had approved matching funds in the amount of $3,204.12 for a resCUe truck with standard equipment and supplemental tools. They request an equal amount from the County. They have ,just completed a first aid course in rescue work ??Q, and purchased land on which they are planning to build a rescue squad station. After dis- C??,?aydL cussion of the proposed appropriation, the Executive 5ecretary was_authorized to write a ?}` letter explaining that the Commissioners had seen fit to leave this appropriation out of this fiscal year's Budget and assure them that it maight be considered in next year's appro- priations. The action on this matter was by common consent of the Board. INSURANCE PROGRAM -' ? - A letter was received from the Wilmington Association of Insurance Agents, Incor- porated, informing the Board that revision in certain lines of property insurance was anti- cipated whiCh would result in a saving to the County from 25-40%. They request permission to analyze the existing contracts, revalue and schedule currently owned property and propose a new plan with a comparison of present and future costs. The Chairman informed the Board that he had taken the liberty of giving this permission and the study is now underway. -A