THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 15, 1994 TAG: 9412150433
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
As expected, the Pasquotank-Elizabeth City Governmental Study Commission recommended merging the city and county at a joint meeting of the government bodies Wednesday night.
The commission, which presented a 50-page report on the feasibility of a merger, wants permission to take the next step and prepare a plan for combining the governments, Chairman L.P. Hornthal said.
``All we ask is the opportunity from you to complete the mission you have given us the privilege of starting on,'' said Hornthal, an Elizabeth City lawyer.
After a 15-minute debate, the City Council and the Pasquotank County Board of Commissioners separately agreed to study the report, discuss it at individual board meetings on Jan. 9 and schedule a joint question-and-answer session with commission members and officials from the Institute of Government at Chapel Hill.
The report, in arguing its case for combining the governments, said the merger would:
Improve the efficiency of local government by increasing size and employee specialization.
Improve the effectiveness of local government by uniting zoning, policies and services.
Reduce citizen confusion and increase citizen convenience.
Lead to greater equity in financing services by creating urban taxing districts where extra services are performed.
Give people subject to annexation a voice in electing the board that makes that decision.
Reduce the cost of government in the long run.
Hornthal also conceded that a number of concerns exist about merging the governments, such as a possible decline in political power among some blocks of voters.
Blacks make up about half of the Elizabeth City population, and four black members serve on the City Council. One county commissioner is black.
Hornthal did not mention race, but he stressed that the merger commission ``has absolutely no hidden agenda'' with the issue of voting representation. ``We are confident that this is an issue that can be dealt with fairly,'' he said.
The report also suggests that no current city or county employees would lose their jobs or suffer a pay cut because of the merger, and taxation would become more fair.
Council members and commissioners made no comments on the substance of the report during the meeting, but thanked the study commission for its work. City Councilman A.C. Robinson was among those who refused to commit to a date for voting on the issue.
``I don't want to speak off the top of my head about this,'' Robinson said after the meeting. ``I have some ultra-grave concerns about this.''
The governmental study commission was created by both bodies in mid-1993 and told to consider the pros and cons of combining some or all city and county services.
The commission grew out of a less-formal task force set up by the Elizabeth City Area Chamber of Commerce that year. The task force recommended moving forward with consolidation fact-finding in spring 1993.
The yearlong study period was phase one of the plan. The two governments now will decide whether to go to phase two and ask the commission to form a plan for the merger. Phase three would be actual consolidation, which would probably require a local referendum and a nod from the U.S. Justice Department.
In committee reports completed this fall, the four subcommittees generally recommended combining the services they studied, citing cost savings and greater efficiency. A law enforcement subcommittee recommended combining police and sheriff duties; an administrative study group favored combining the governing bodies at a savings of legal and administrative costs.
Also recommended for consolidation were water services, solid waste, and planning and inspections. Some combinations would be feasible by themselves, but committee members said others, such as administrative and solid waste, would work only under a complete merger.
Less clear in recommendations were the combination of fire services and maintenance, in which committee members did not conclusively condone consolidation.
KEYWORDS: ELIZABETH CITY PASQUOTANK COUNTY MERGER by CNB