THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 16, 1994 TAG: 9406160509
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940616 LENGTH: ELIZABETH CITY
The presence of three members who had missed last week's vote was enough to generate the 5-3 reversal on the perennial sticking point.
{REST} Councilwoman Myrtle Rivers made the motion to restore the $125 bonus for council members. The measure was supported by Jimi Sutton and A.C. Robinson Jr. All three were absent during the vote at last week's budget work session.
Dorothy Stallings, whose abstention last week had counted as a vote to kill the bonus, also voted Wednesday to restore it.
Council members David Bosomworth, Lloyd Griffin and Anita Hummer opposed the plan. Mayor Pro Tem W.L. ``Pete'' Hooker was absent.
Mayor H. Rick Gardner, in what he said after the meeting was a mistake, did not vote. His abstention was recorded as a vote to restore the benefits, which Gardner said he opposes.
Council's finance committee votes informally and passes recommendations to the full council. Had Gardner voted against the measure, the 4-4 tie would have resulted in no recommended change and the bonus would have remained out of the budget, City Manager Ralph Clark said after the meeting.
Clark said the council can still remove the bonus as a line item before approving the entire budget following a public hearing set for Monday night.
Council perks have been a source of on-going division among council members. A larger package that once included green sports jackets and health benefits had been shaved down to the bonus and holiday hams, which were temporarily killed last week. There was no mention of restoring the hams Wednesday.
by CNB