DATE: Tuesday, October 7, 1997              TAG: 9710070564

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA 

                                            LENGTH:  211 lines

THE CANDIDATES AND THEIR VIEWS - KILL DEVIL HILLS

E.M. ``Coy'' Harbeson: Harbeson is running for mayor after serving one term on the town board. The 60-year-old retired Coast Guardsman said he plans to bicycle up and down most of the town's 66 miles of streets talking to voters.

``I want to give the people solid government at reduced prices,'' Harbeson said.

Harbeson believes the town's tax rate, now at 42.5 cents per $100 in value after a 1.5-cent cut earlier this year, can be slashed further without a negative impact on services.

``We're seven cents higher than the next highest town,'' Harbeson said. ``I don't see seven cents worth of difference. We need to look at new revenue sources. I am absolutely opposed to raising taxes.''

Through attrition, he wants to reduce the municipality's work force, something the town has already begun.

``I don't want anybody to lose their jobs,'' Harbeson said. ``But I do want to put a freeze on hiring and study what we have. Then, as people retire or leave, then we study that position to see if we really need it or not. Maybe we could transfer people around and use a person one day here and another day over there.

``I believe we do have some good employees, but there are areas that could be reduced or eliminated and still provide the same service. We seldom see the police in our neighborhood. I'd like to see the police department become more community-oriented.''

If he is elected, and circumstances remain constant, there will be a cut in taxes, Harbeson said.

``How much? I don't know,'' he said. ``It's hard to say because we don't know what will happen in the next fiscal year. I want to make sure that we can provide services for people.''

Harbeson said the reasons he wants the town's top elective office are basic.

``I have the experience, the interest and I have no conflicts of interest tied to me, and I'm sincerely committed to doing this in a prayerful manner,'' Harbeson said. ``Things need to be tied up and done more efficiently.''

Harbeson said there is ``light at the end of the tunnel'' in eliminating discharges into Buzzard's Bay from the Ocean Acres wastewater treatment plant.

``I won't give up until I see Ocean Acres upgraded and point source discharge eliminated from Buzzard's Bay,'' Harbeson said.

Harbeson also supports architectural review standards to provide a village feel. And he advocates community parks.

``I would like to see standards that would give us a small-town, dignified look. I realize that three or four months out of the year we have to share. I don't mind sharing. But I think the town can be better operated. Let's work on quality, rather than quantity.''

Sherry Rollason: A lifelong resident of the Outer Banks, Rollason, 45, has been in the real estate sales and appraisal business for 26 years.

She differs with Harbeson on the matter of tax cuts. And she doesn't subscribe to the notion that taxes can be cut without affecting town services.

``The thing about it is, he wants to cut trash pickup to once a week from October to April, and he wants to cut the fire department back,'' Rollason said. ``My thing is that you maximize your tax dollars. You look at each department and cut the waste. But in order to maintain the level of services that Kill Devil Hills has, you cannot cut to the drastic measures that he says he wants to cut. That's where I have a problem.''

Rollason said the demand on town services and the sheer size of the municipality is the reason for higher taxes.

``Look what you have in Kill Devil Hills,'' she said. ``You have the largest population. You have the most streets. You have the large motels and the condo structures and you have to have police and fire departments to protect that.''

Rollason credited Town Manager Debora Diaz for cuts that have already taken place in Kill Devil Hills. Jobs that were vacated through retirement or for other reasons were not filled. Instead, those tasks were spread among remaining employees.

``I've been in business, and I've been in a position where you've got to pay your employees and give them the incentive to do the job,'' she said. ``If you don't provide them with benefits and incentives, you're not going to have good employees.''

Beaches, eroding at an average of 3 feet per year in some areas, are also a concern.

``We've got to start doing something about our beaches because we are a tourist economy,'' Rollason said. ``It's not something that we can keep putting off and putting off for years and years. We have to start putting aside money to do something about our beaches.''

As for maintaining the balance between growth and the environment, Rollason has confidence in current regulations.

``With the zoning ordinances we have in place, we will never be a Virginia Beach, Ocean City or Myrtle Beach,'' Rollason said. ``But we do have to manage growth and do have to have a balance. We have to protect our natural resources and take care of the people who come here.''

Rollason said she hopes to be a positive force on a sometimes combative panel.

``The way I look at it, we have a responsibility to provide positive leadership, that do things that reflect well on the town of Kill Devil Hills. The reason I'm running is because I care about the town and the people in it, and I want to do something positive.''

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Jim Basnight: Basnight, a 59-year old lighting and appliance store owner, wants Kill Devil Hills to maintain a family-friendly atmosphere.

``I want to keep Kill Devil Hills a family-oriented town,'' Basnight said.

``Every business on the beach depends on tourism to feed our families.''

As part of a tourism-friendly agenda, Basnight wants the town to address little things, from street signs to beautification of businesses and residential neighborhoods.

``There are a lot of people who come here who don't know their way around, and that causes some traffic problems,'' Basnight said.

``I want to put up signs explaining that on the bypass. The middle lane is a turn lane, and the right-hand lane is the slow lane.

During the summer, there are a lot of kids on the beach road on their bicycles. We as locals need to be a lot more patient with tourists.''

With much talk about reducing the town's work force peppered through this year's debate, Basnight said the town cannot afford to lay off employees in the off-season.

``I can't say whether or not we can reduce taxes until I am elected,'' he said.

``I don't want to make a promise I can't keep. But I can say that I'm against laying off town employees in the off-season, and then hiring them back in the summer. In my business, I can't afford to get rid of my good employees in the off-season, and bring them back in the summer. It's a cost of doing business.''

This is Basnight's first run for political office.

J. Howard Kimble: Like Harbeson, the 54-year-old Kimble sees property taxes as the town's most important issue.

Kimble says he is concerned about citizens on fixed incomes being taxed out of their homes. And he said that eventually there will be a school bond, possibly meaning higher county taxes.

``I think we can reduce taxes, and I don't think we have to cut essential services to do it,'' he said.

A retired manager for the Bureau of Printing and Engraving, Kimble wants to build the town's off-season tax base. ``A lot of people like to come in the spring and the fall because they are beautiful times of the year,'' Kimble said. ``I'm not sure what kind of development we can do, whether it's dinner theater or the convention trade. But we need to find some way to draw people here year-round.''

Kimble advocates a variety of steps to save money, including:

Once-a-week trash pickup from October to April.

``We'll save on labor costs, fuel costs and wear and tear on town vehicles. It won't help us on tipping fees because we'll still be dumping the same amount of trash.''

A review of all town contracts, specifically fuel contracts, with an eye toward saving money.

Building roads at state standards. Currently, town streets are built at above state standards, Kimble said.

``What's wrong with driving a Chevy Caprice instead of a Cadillac?,'' Kimble asked. ``I don't think we can afford the Taj Mahal of roads. Why does Kill Devil Hills need to do it.''

The driving force behind Kimble's run for office, however, is taxes.

``I'm running because I want to continue to live here,'' Kimble said. ``If something isn't done to hold the line on town spending, I'm going to be taxed out of here, and have to go somewhere else.''

Jeff Shields: The 37-year-old property manager sums up his philosophy of leadership in simple terms: ``You can't change things unless you have a plan,'' Shields said. ``That's where I differ from my opponents in this race. The reason we were able to reduce taxes in this budget is because we had goals and objectives.''

Having a clearly-defined plan also applies in looking at municipal departments. ``I think we can continue to reduce through attrition, not through reckless reduction,'' Shields said. ``When people tell me they can cut town departments by a certain percentage or reduce taxes, I say to them, show me your plan.''

Shields maintains that because the current board provided employees with clear goals and objectives, the town is running well.

``When Commissioner (Jimmy Dean) Hanks came on the board, we talked about developing goals and objectives for the town. Once we did that as a board, the town manager did a good job of communicating it to the employees. Now they have a share in those goals.''

Shields rejects the contention by some candidates that the present board is ``out of touch.'' Pointing to activities like Park Day and the Fourth of July celebration, Shields said the town is more family friendly.

And the recent approval of an addendum to the 40-year water agreement with Dare County and Nags Head, Shields said, shows the town's interests are protected. ``One of the things I pushed for was the hydrogeologic study,'' he said. ``The county has committed to doing that. I think we did a good job.''

Shields lists a number of objectives including beach nourishment, more parks and fiscal responsibility.

``My wife Kelly and I have lived here for 12 years,'' Shield said. ``We've got three boys, and have been extremely blessed to be here. I want to make sure that our children have the same quality of life in the future. And I want to give something back to the community.''

Bill Pitt: Pitt, 59, praises the present administration when it comes to holding the line on spending, and on meeting the town's needs.

However, he is concerned about the long-range impact of unchecked beach erosion.

``We're not looking at long-range problems that are going to impact the future of this community,'' Pitt said.

``The beaches are eroding at a rate of three feet a year. . . . We've got to figure out something or else we're going to lose it. That impacts cottages, houses, hotels. It's going to hurt us.''

In terms of development, Pitt said the town needs to abandon a practice of making development decisions on a lot-by-lot basis.

``We don't have a philosophy of community development,'' Pitt said. ``Now the bypass looks like a giant strip mall. But I hear a lot of merchants who have moved to Duck or downtown Manteo. Right now, there's so much traffic, and people can't walk anywhere. We're looking like Virginia Beach Boulevard in 1968. We can't afford to wait anymore to do something. And I think it can be done through public/private partnerships.

Pitt also supports a community center and construction of more municipal parks.

In the military life, Pitt has moved often. This, however, is his last stop. That fuels his desire to run for the commission.

``I always got involved in my community as I moved around,'' Pitt said.

``I like people and I like meeting them. But when I came here to my permanent community, I got interested in town government. I see this as a chance to contribute.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos of each candidate KEYWORDS: CANDIDATES

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