Council celebrates, searches for savings


The Henderson City Council meandered through a range of issues over the course of four hours Monday night.

The meeting started on a high note with the council recognizing greatness in Henderson’s past and present:
* Ashlee Perkinson was recognized for her recently won Young Miss North Carolina title.

* Charles Powell gave a presentation on the history of the Corbitt family and company in Henderson. The old Corbitt plant was one of the largest employers in Henderson and supplied America with trucks and equipment in both world wars. A few months ago a monument was erected behind Snackers by the site of the old plant off Parham Street; it will be dedicated Sept. 17.

* The council recognized the accomplishments of the Henderson-Vance 12-and-under All-Star girls softball team, which won the Southeast Region and finished fourth at the Babe Ruth World Series.

After the tributes and related proclamations, the council turned to pressing issues of Henderson’s future, particularly the financial future. Savings and revenues were sought in several directions.

At the request of council member Elissa Yount, Assistant City Manager Mark Warren and Public Works Director James Morgan prepared gas price estimates.

Oil prices increased dramatically over recent weeks, but the city has always spent a lot of money on gas for standard and essential operations, from police cars to garbage trucks. In June, Yount suggested looking for savings by bidding out the city’s contract for gasoline and diesel.

Warren and Morgan compared the price of gas purchased by the city with the price paid by other entities. The city buys gas from Rose Oil. Morgan said the city typically purchases 8,500 to 9,000 gallons of gas every two weeks.

The Vance County school system purchases fuel under a state contract. The contract is served by two vendors, one based in Georgia and the other in Indiana, through September. In September, the state will go through a selection process for vendors.

On Aug. 19, the city purchased gas for $2.05 per gallon (the municipal government is exempt from about 45 cents in taxes per gallon). The state contract for Aug. 16 to 22 was $1.93. The state contract adjusts its prices on a weekly basis, while Rose Oil adjusts its prices instantaneously based on market conditions at the time of purchase. According to Morgan’s calculations, the city would have saved $1,160.85 on the last purchase if it had been part of the state contract.

Warren and Morgan tried to convey their mix of recent gas price comparisons orally, but the presentation was hard to follow. The substance and style of the presentation would not allow the council to make any kind of determination. Yount asked that they bring their figures together in an easy-to-understand format with a recommendation on how to save the most money.

“That is my ultimate goal: to save money for the city on gas,” Yount said.

The pros and cons of the differing price adjustment structures were touched on briefly. Council member John Wester asked that Warren and Morgan also add a longer-range scale to the price comparisons.

Morgan expressed the fear that in times of emergency an out-of-town contractor would not be able to get fuel to the city. Yount responded that Vance County Emergency Operations Director Brian Short had said that would not be an issue because of the changes made since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks concerning fuel distribution in times of emergency.

The council also looked at the issue of North Carolina Department of Transportation money for routine maintenance for state roads in the city. For the past 13 years, the city has signed an annual contract for $31,000 to maintain the state roads in Henderson.

Yount argued that the contract and alternatives weren’t fully explored in the last budget process.

If the city refused the contract, the state would take over routine maintenance of its roads, such as Dabney Drive, Oxford Road and Garnett Street. Under that alternative, Mayor Clem Seifert warned, the city would run the risk of being low on the state’s priority list, and routine problems such as potholes could linger and aggravate residents. In that situation, the city would get the phone calls and the criticism, even though the state would be responsible.

Yount continued to urge the city to investigate the numbers. She was joined by council member Mary Emma Evans in asking that the issue be examined.

“Have we looked at this in a business way?” Evans asked. “Why can’t we do that?”

Council member Mike Rainey offered ways to increase city revenues, from selling property downtown to hiring a collection agency to go after tax revenues previously listed as uncollectible. According to his research, the North Carolina League of Municipalities has workshops on the collections issue.

Yount encouraged city staffers who were unable to make it to the league’s conference last year to make a point of attending this year on Sept. 21.

The council also discussed the problem of code enforcement in the city’s Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction. Planning Director Erris Dunston said at a recent meeting of the council’s Land Planning and Development Committee that she wants to phase in enforcement of city codes in the ETJ, and county code enforcement officer Tom Anderson expressed his eagerness to work with the city on the ETJ during last week’s Clean Up Henderson Committee.

The City Council ended its night with a closed session to discuss economic development incentives. Seifert might have hinted at the importance of that session during the Speak Up Henderson forum before the council meeting.

After Lorraine Goode of Kittrell, who works at Golden Corral, talked about the sorry state of the local economy and the need to do something, Seifert mentioned a development coming that will bring 800 jobs to the area. He did not elaborate.