THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, February 16, 1996              TAG: 9602160642
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B1   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA  
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO                             LENGTH: Medium:   70 lines

CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION: ***************************************************************** Officials of games sponsored by the Dare County Parks and Recreation Department are paid between $10 and $15 a game. A story Friday incorrectly said they were paid by the hour. Correction published , Saturday, February 17, 1996, p. B2, North Carolina Ed. < ***************************************************************** BASKETBALL OFFICIALS GET A RAISE, LOSE IT

Call it the case of the disappearing raise.

On Jan. 10, the Dare County Parks and Recreation Department notified basketball officials - referees, scorekeepers and clock operators - that their pay had been increased, by $2 to $5 per hour.

But when they opened their paychecks recently, an enclosed memo told them that because of ``budgetary concerns'' their pay had been retroactively reduced to the former rate of $10 to $15 an hour.

Basketball supervisors, who were previously contracted to the county, were also told their status had been switched to that of part-time temporary employees, requiring deductions for taxes.

A recreation department supervisor who asked not to be named questioned whether it was ethical to tell employees after the fact that they were not getting paid what they had been promised.

``No it's not OK,'' county spokesman Charles Hartig said Thursday. ``It clearly was a mistake on our part.''

Speaking on behalf of the department, Hartig said the snarl resulted when it was discovered that the hike promised by former director Johnny Tillett, who resigned in December, was not accounted for in the county budget. Personnel director Shawn Murphy, filling in for Tillett as acting director, rescinded the raise because the money was not there. Hartig said it would have been against the law for Murphy to create a budget deficit.

Murphy then directed the Manteo office to write a letter informing the employees of the change, but apparently the memorandum's tone was not well-received.

Hartig conceded: ``As I understand it, the letter wasn't a very nicely written letter, but the point being, it was never given to Shawn to review.''

After telling the officials that their pay had been cut, and the supervisors' status had changed, the next paragraph said, ``Welcome to Dare County!''

The recreation supervisor, who asked not to be identified, said he was puzzled by what was meant by the comment.

``To me it seems if not sarcastic, then someone was trying to make light of it,'' he said.

But after looking into it, Hartig said, ``I think the intent there was . .

With a total of 687 basketball games, 33 referees and varying numbers of other personnel working games, Hartig said the pay raises would have cost the county an additional $5,000 to $6,000.

Hartig said the rate increases will be a priority when new department director Jerry Allen takes the helm March 15.

``If the money can be found, and can be budgeted,'' Hartig said, ``we're going to make an effort to do that.''

Hartig said the recreation department realizes how hard the officials work.

``They do a good job for the county, and they deserve compensation.'' by CNB