THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, February 7, 1995 TAG: 9502070315
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
An adviser studying a possible merger of the Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County governments admonished City Council members Monday to let the group continue its work.
``The City Council is ethically and morally obligated to go into the next phase,'' said Robert L. ``Bobby'' Vaughan, a faculty member at Elizabeth City State University and vice chairman of the Pasquotank-Elizabeth City Governmental Study Commission.
The group, whose nearly two dozen members were appointed by the city and county boards, told the two governments in December that a merger was ``advisable'' and unanimously sought permission to study how to go about it.
Council members were cautious and tentative about moving ahead with the process during a special meeting on the report on Jan. 24, and they put off further discussion until they could meet with a local government expert from Chapel Hill.
Speaking during the open comment portion of the regular council meeting, Vaughan told council members that the legwork had already been done for them, during about 1,000 hours of study by the commission over the past year.
Vaughn addressed one of the major concerns about a merger - that the black residents who make up a slight majority in the city would lose political power if it were diffused through the county. Vaughan, who is black, said themerger report ``has nothing to do with race.''
Mayor H. Rick Gardner, who has expressed tentative support for the merger, again congratulated Vaughan for the commission's work. Councilwoman Anita Hummer later responded that it was the council's duty to deliberate carefully.
``I don't think we can sit here and vote on any controversial issue without first listening to what the people have to say and then bringing forth those concerns,'' Hummer said.
Also on Monday, the council formally approved a hiring freeze to last at least through June, the remainder of this fiscal year. Gardner said the freeze is likely to be a part of next year's budget discussions and should discourage city departments from requesting many new positions.
The freeze does not bar the city from filling vacancies, but each department head must justify the filling of open positions, City Manager Ralph Clark said. The council must approve every hire under the freeze, Clark said.
Gardner said he polled council members last week on the freeze and received ``overwhelming'' support.
The freeze is an effort to prepare the city for what is expected to be a difficult budget year, including a number of capital outlays and efforts to bring the city's fund balance in line with state recommendations.
The city is also in the process of funding a five-year, $21 million project to overhaul its water and sewer system with new treatment plants, water lines and a water tower at ECSU.
Water and sewer rates increased 15 percent last month to help pay for that project, Clark said. Under an ordinance passed in 1993, water-sewer rates rose 10 percent in 1994 and will increase by 5 percent next January, Clark said.
Also approved by the council Monday was a plan to move toward citywide recycling. Under the plan, each household will receive a recycling bin by March 1 and will have the opportunity to buy a second bin. Pickup schedules will be extended, and the city will buy a spare recycling truck in the 1995-96 fiscal year. by CNB