THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 24, 1995 TAG: 9506240346
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: ELIZABETH CITY LENGTH: Medium: 56 lines
Four days after the City Council approved its 1995-96 budget, the mayor called a special meeting on Friday to talk about it.
The special City Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday in the A. Parker Midgett Municipal Building.
Mayor H. Rick Gardner arranged the meeting at the request of some council members, acting City Manager Victor Sharpe said Friday.
``There are several items that we have to kind of re-discuss,'' said Councilwoman Anita Hummer, one of the members who asked for the meeting.
Hummer, who cast one of three dissenting votes on the $34.5 million budget Monday, said council members were learning information they had not received before the vote.
Among the items of concern are a new city employees' dental plan that Hummer said had not been spelled out, and the replacement of a crucial valve in the city water tower, which she said should be made a line item.
``Those are our concerns,'' Hummer said. ``Council controls the budget. And we have items that we don't see.''
Sharpe, who took over this week after Ralph Clark resigned as city manager, said the dental plan as budgeted would replace three days of paid administrative leave currently granted to employees. To take those three days under the budget approved Monday, employees would need to use accrued sick days.
``I think there was some misunderstanding among council members in terms of that being in the budget,'' Sharpe said.
Councilman David P. Bosomworth said Friday he was surprised by the call for the meeting but not by the dental plan. The plan had been included in a pay study reported to the city months ago, he said. The council adopted the plan with some changes as part of its budget.
The budget - which includes $7.9 million in general fund spending, a 1 cent per $100 valuation real estate tax increase and a 5 percent rise in sewer rates - passed 4-3 Monday after a public hearing at which no citizens spoke.
Bosomworth, Mayor Pro Tem W.L. ``Pete'' Hooker and council members A.C. Robinson and Dorothy Stallings voted for the budget. Lloyd Griffin and Myrtle Rivers joined Hummer in opposing the measure. Councilman Jimi Sutton was absent for the vote but had told Gardner he supported the budget.
Bosomworth was not the only council member caught off guard by the meeting announcement Friday.
``I'm very curious about it,'' Hooker said shortly after learning of the meeting. ``I have no idea.''
Hooker did say he didn't think the council should meet on the budget after approving it unless a major mistake had been overlooked.
Robinson answered all questions on the meeting by saying, ``I'm not aware of what you're talking about.'' by CNB