DATE: Sunday, June 15, 1997                 TAG: 9706150046

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

SOURCE: BY JEFFREY S. HAMPTON, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY                    LENGTH:   69 lines

ELIZABETH CITY SEEKS 1-CENT TAX HIKE INCREASE COULD BRING IN $50,000 A YEAR TO HELP CURB CITY'S DEBT

The City Council has included a 1-cent property tax increase in its proposed $37.7 million budget to help curb the city's rapidly rising debts.

The council will vote on the overall budget after a public hearing Monday night.

Council members expect the 1-cent increase to raise about $50,000 a year to be put aside for capital improvements. An owner of a $50,000 home would pay an extra $5 a year with the tax, whose total would be 65 cents per $100 of assessed property value.

The vote for the tax increase came after Councilman Lloyd Griffin lamented the amount of debt the city is carrying.

City Manager Steve Harrell said Friday the city will pay $1.7 million in debt service this year for several major projects. The city's total debts equal $15.2 million, well under the legal limit of $36 million, but growing each year.

Griffin pointed out that the debt per capita was only $75 in 1994 and grew suddenly to $354 in 1996.

If the new budget passes, the debt per capita will hit $894.

``The way I see it, we're not headed in the right direction,'' Councilman Zack Robertson said at a Thursday night meeting.

``We're not setting any money aside for capital reserves,'' Griffin said.

Other taxes were set aside for specific projects in the past and later absorbed into the general fund without the project getting done, said Councilwoman Anita Hummer.

Hummer and Griffin voted against the increase. Council members Robertson, Don Cherry, Jimmy Sutton, Myrtle Rivers and A.C. Robinson voted for the tax increase. Dorothy Stallings was absent for the second time in two budget meetings.

Mayor Rick Gardner is not able to vote but supported the increase.

``We can become a very solvent city if we take this positive approach,'' Gardner said. ``If we don't face it now, we'll face it with triple digits later.''

Hummer, who may oppose Gardner for mayor in the fall elections, would not approve of the proposed budget for two reasons.

``I'm not voting for a tax increase,'' Hummer said Friday morning. ``A lot of elderly have called me who can't afford it. But I'll be honest with you, the main reason I have problems with this budget is because it doesn't include the domestic violence coordinator. I believe it shows a lack of compassion. It was in the (original) proposed budget.''

Hummer pushed for the $34,000 a year domestic violence coordinator who would act as an adviser and advocate to battered women. The council voted it down Monday.

The proposed budget surpasses this year's budget by $1 million. If the budget passes, property taxes will rise from 64 cents to 65 cents per $100 of assessed value. Pasquotank County has approved a $95 annual trash disposal fee, which also will affect city residents.

Council voted down two weeks ago a proposed stormwater utility system that would have cost the average resident another $4.50 a month.

The Police Department saw the largest increase from $2.2 million to $2.7 million.

Chief Michael Lloyd, who took the position in January, has lobbied the council hard for staff and equipment.

The five most expensive capital improvements include:

$11.5 million for a wastewater plant and renovations to the water treatment plant.

$1.3 million for an electric substation on River Road.

$800,000 for renovations to the old BB&T bank building to expand city offices.

$375,000 for peak-shaving generators for the Elizabeth City Cotton Mill.

$250,000 for a new fire station.

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