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Special Olympics Trask High School recently hosted the spring Pender County Special Olympics. See photos of the event on page 15A and on Facebook.
Volume 44, No. 32
County fund balance dips, affects budget
POST Voice The Pender-Topsail
&
Thursday, May 7, 2015
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Titan track wins The Trask Titan track team won the Four County Conference track meet last week. Read about it and more in sports on 10A.
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The Media of Record for the People of Pender County
Tossing the chips at Spring Fest Tax increase in 2015-16 budget is ‘unavoidable’ BOC chair says board should have an idea of the increase by next week
By Andy Pettigrew Post & Voice Publisher The Pender County unassigned fund balance has dipped to just over $8 million, according to Pender County manager Randall Woodruff. Unassigned fund balance is money that is not assigned or encumbered to designated projects. The fund balance, which was at $18.77 million in 2010, has been on a steady decline as spending on projects increased and tax revenue remained flat. County officials had counted on borrowing money to finance capital projects, but the late audits and accounting problems prompted the North Carolina Local Government Commission (LGC) to delay approving the county to issue bonds – so the money for the projects was taken from the county’s fund balance. “The unassigned fund balance tells the true story. We started these projects – the industrial park, the waste treatment plant, the old Topsail school and others – and we didn’t know the staff hadn’t been keeping up with the audits,” Williams said. “So instead of bor rowing the money, we got way into our fund balance. Because of the situation with the former finance officer and the audits and the housekeeping issues, we had to wait until we got those things straight.” Woodruff said he expects the LGC to approve the bond issue this week and hopefully the bonds will be sold later this month. “The bonds will reimburse the county for money we spent on the Hampstead annex renovation, money to finish the waste water treatment plant on U.S. 421, the industrial park project, and the county vehicle fueling stations,” said Woodruff. “We also have some problems with the heating and air conditioning in the county government complex buildings. We have significant problems with humidity in some of the buildings.” Woodruff says the LGC told the county it would have to let the fund balance build back up to have for emergency purposes. “As a coastal county, we need to have a strong fund balance for emergencies, such as a hurricane,” Woodruff said. “It is going to take us two or
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Staff photo by Andy Pettigrew
Former Spring Fest Cow Chip Toss champion Ross Harrell launches a chip at the target as other contestants wait their turn. See more photos of Spring Fest on page 1B and on Facebook.
Financial problems plague plantation
Poplar Grove faces uncertain future By Lori Kirkpatrick Contributing Writer Poplar Grove Plantation has long been a familiar place for local residents to visit and enjoy. In an area surrounded by commercial development, it has remained a cherished corner of Pender County. However, Poplar Grove is no stranger to adversity. Funding cuts over the last few years are leading the public charity to face some difficult decisions about future programming. Executive Director Caroline Lewis described her connection to the site and how Poplar Grove has arrived at this point of financial crisis. “My father was divorced, and in 1979 he married Jan Mendall Long, who happened to live at this property. She had committed to the Foy family to care for the history and the integrity of the manor house. When they married, she set up Poplar Grove Foundation, Inc. in 1979. The bylaws were created that fall, and it opened to the public that spring.” Lewis had lived with her mother in Oklahoma and beginning in 1980 her summers were spent working in the tea room in the basement of the manor house. Her summer job was part of the family’s long history of establishing a good work ethic as children. She started following behind tours through the house to ensure no one was left lingering behind. The summer job would later become a reflection of Lewis’ job as executive director. She had learned to lead from behind. After the sudden loss of her father, Lewis had no intentions of returning to North Carolina. “It was very difficult to be here, and the fam-
As Pender County Commissioners wrestle with the new 2015-16 budget, one hard truth is clear – county residents will see an increase in the tax rate. “A tax increase is unavoidable,” said Commission Chairman David Williams. “We made no bones about that over the past year – for the county projects that have been done and the upcoming school projects. There is no way around it. We have been up front about that.” Williams stopped short of saying how much of an increase taxpayers could expect, but said the board would have the budget ready in the next 30 days. “We should be ready to release the anticipated tax figures by next week,” Williams said. “Is it better to stagger the increase over the next several years? With the county projects and the school officials wanting to get their projects done quickly, would it make more sense to do it all at once. That’s where there is going to be some healthy discussions on the board.” Because of the depleted
David Williams fund balance, county commissioners will not be able to look to the fund balance to help make ends meet with the 2015-16 budget. “This is going to be a very challenging budget year for Pender County. We have all the department budgets submitted and the requests from the schools, but it’s going to be tough,” said County Manager Randall Woodruff. “In previous years the county had the ability to utilize the fund balance and this year we are not going to have fund balance to use as we have in the past. It’s going to be much more difficult to arrive at a final budget. We will be working through May and into June on the budget. We are no where near ready with it.”
Taco Bell eyes Burgaw From Staff Reports Taco Bell is interested in property adjacent to the new Walmart in Burgaw, according to town officials. Burgaw Planning Director Rebekah Roth says Taco Bell is in the due diligence phase and the town hasn’t received ily had entrusted the leadership at that time to continue operations here. My stepmother, Jan, had been giving major annual gifts. She contributed gifts from 1981 on that could range from $350,000 to $450,000 a year, not including all the major repairs to the house outside of that contribution. There had been a long-standing community perception that this wealthy heiress was funding the operation of this place.” In 2012, Caroline got word that there was an emergency situation at Poplar Grove. Jan was transferring ownership and had created a five-year plan to phase out from donating large annual amounts to zero. The plan was implemented in 2010, in which steps would be taken to tier down from the $350,000 amount to zero in 2016. The last year of contribution would be 2015 in the amount of $100,000. In 2012 it came to the board’s attention that the necessary steps to becoming self-sustaining were not being acted upon. This created a huge
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anything official as of yet. The company is looking at the property beside the McDonalds and the proposed restaurant would be in between the McDonalds and the new Bojangles site.
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Staff photo by Andy Pettigrew
Charlie Baker was spotted working the Old River Farms strawberry stand beside Napa Auto Parts on Hwy. 117 in Burgaw last week.
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