THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 18, 1995 TAG: 9501180432
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 87 lines
The Dare County Board of Commissioners will consider a trunk full of recommendations made by the panel's newest member that would change the county's travel policy.
Commissioner Shirley Hassell was appointed earlier this month to study possible changes in the policy.
Among the recommendations she proposed in a two-page memo:
Expense sheets should be formulated to Internal Revenue Service specifications, and all receipts should be attached. All expense sheets should be turned in within five days of a county-related trip, with a separate report for a spouse's expenses.
Airfare receipts should be provided showing the expense of each trip and the names of persons traveling at county expense.
Any ``frequent flyer miles accumulated by county personnel should be used by the county to help defray costs of future trips.
Under Hassell's recommendations, receipts would be required for all meals. Current county expense reports do not require receipts for meals under a prescribed amount.
Hassell also said that all planned trips should be reported to the public by County Manager Terry Wheeler at the first commission meeting of each month. Local travel should be under ``close scrutiny'' by department heads.
``Excess costs and services unnecessary or unjustified in the performance of county business is unacceptable,'' Hassell wrote. ``Individuals should be responsible for unauthorized costs and any additional expenses incurred for personal preference or convenience. This much consideration is a debt to the taxpayers of Dare County.''
Commission Chairman R.V. ``Bobby'' Owens Jr. asked the commission to review the recommendations for consideration next month.
``I appreciate what Mrs. Hassell has done,'' Owens said. ``I ask that each commissioner look at this carefully. There are a lot of instances where travel comes up on short notice. But in the event the commission will be out of town on business, I will let the media know.''
In other action Tuesday, Owens said he hopes to set up a meeting in the near future with North Carolina Gov. James B. Hunt to discuss the ongoing controversy between the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the state's Division of Coastal Management.
The DCM criticized NCDOT for alleged damage to the dune line on Hatteras Island during road crews' efforts to reopen state Route 12 after Hurricane Gordon in November. Owens, whose son R.V. Owens III is a member of the state's Transportation Board, has been critical of the DCM's actions.
``We have to reach some kind of solution to this,'' he said. ``Our residents on Hatteras Island have got to have some form of ingress and egress. We have to know who has the say-so in the event of an emergency.''
Commissioners viewed a seven-minute film produced by the county, showing damage to the duneline after Gordon and after a storm in mid-December. The film will be shown to Hunt as part of the county's case on the need for a solution.
Owens said officials from Dare, Hyde and Currituck counties hope to meet with Hunt about the issue.
The commission also approved by a 5-2 vote a resolution supporting Currituck County's efforts to lift a moratorium on extended area telephone service. Commissioners Hassell and Doug Langford voted against the resolution.
Currituck officials hope to extend toll-free calling from communities like Corolla and Coinjock to Dare County beach communities. Langford, a driving force in Dare County's successful effort to link Hatteras Island and the Dare mainland through EAS, said the proposal needed more study. Hassell said any EAS should include Roanoke and Hatteras Islands.
In other action Tuesday:
The commission agreed to send a resolution to federal officials, opposing the state's inclusion in the Mineral Management Service's upcoming five-year lease plan for oil and gas exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf.
Michael Egan of LegaSea and Brant Wise of the Surfrider Foundation appeared before the board to ask for its help in the matter. The MMS is accepting public comment on the plan until next month.
A Wanchese resident, Capt. Hiram Gallop, asked that the name of Rollison Road be changed to Moseley Lane. The commission agreed to seek opinions from residents along the road.
The commission approved two resolutions about the Fessenden Center on Hatteras Island. A public hearing is set for Feb. 20 at 9:45 a.m. on the financing agreement for the community center. The county also passed a resolution declaring January National Radio Month.The experiments of Reginald Fessenden in Dare County led to the development of modern radio. In 1902, Fessenden sent the first musical notes transmitted by radio from Hatteras to Roanoke Island. by CNB