One of the first items of business during Monday evening’s council meeting was a public hearing on the fiscal 2006-2007 budget as required by law.
Council member Lynn Harper, chair of the FAIR Committee, remarked before the hearing began that she would like to thank citizens who came to express their views. She also thanked City Manager Jerry Moss and his staff for increasing the fund balance as well as addressing many budget issues without increasing taxes.
Harper also remarked that the council had spent twelve hours reviewing the budget. She said that she had wanted all of the meetings to be available to all members of the council.
The FAIR Committee chair stated that she was prepared to recommend the budget pending public comment.
First to speak during the public hearing was Dennis Tharrington. He first asked if there were further department head positions to be eliminated.
Moss responded that there are eleven positions deleted from the budget. When asked by Tharrington if the positions are currently vacant, Moss responded that they are.
Tharrington also inquired about Moss’ recent remarks about moving the city to a single water rate. Tharrington said that he was afraid such a rate would hurt Iams.
Moss responded that in 2001 the city had sold bonds, and that the bond resolution indicated a need to get water rates closer together. Moss remarked that the city currently has a seven-tier system, whereas most cities are currently going to a one-rate system.
Tharrington remarked that he had been working for two years to recruit industry. He said that he felt that they would come, but they are big water users. He said that he did not want to see Henderson price a big water user out of the market.
Next to speak was Tem Blackburn on behalf of the H. Leslie Perry Library Board of Trustees.
Blackburn spoke in support of library funding and the continuation of the Special Projects Manager position. He observed that some on the council are willing to find more funding for the library, where others do not feel it is fiscally responsible.
Council member Mary Emma Evans had clearly announced that she wished to discuss library funding before any vote on the budget was taken.
Blackburn told the council that the budget would affect the attraction of other investments in the community, and that the continued support of the partnership with the Embassy Foundation was a reflection of the “social capital” of Henderson. He informed members that if they had to pay Bob Fleming or Sam Watkins for their work, they would have had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars.
He remarked that the city has reaped millions.
He went on to say that the council stood in the position of wasting the community’s resources.
Blackburn told the council that the library would have a 48 hour week. [That is now in question, since the council voted an additional $23,000 in library funding]. He said that council member Elissa Yount had said that it would not be too bad, but that it would eliminate Sunday hours, and Sundays are the days when families come to the library.
He also said that Monday and Tuesday would have restricted hours, and these are days when school groups come.
Blackburn remarked that he was not sure that the community would be pleased with it. He said he could not say that it represented fiscal responsiblity.
He said that the council would be remembered for it for “a very long time”.
The Reverend Harold Harris then spoke in support of the library and Sam Watkins.
“Things should be done equal and in balance,” Harris told the council.
He told members that he would hate to see things already on the agenda on hold or neglected.
Iris Dethmers, speaking as a “parent, teacher, and grant-writer” called the Embassy Project a great partnership and the “most visionary activity of the council”.
Nancy Bell, a resident of Coble Boulevard, spoke briefly regarding the budget, asking that the council hire more police. She spent the balance of her time talking about the problems in her neighborhood with disorderly juveniles, cars cruising from the back entrance to the Marketplace Shopping Center, and crime in the city. She presented a petition regarding crime and problems with juveniles to the council.
After Henderson Mayor Clem Seifert declared the public hearing closed, council member Bobby Gupton read the following statement into the record:
“My name is Bobby Gupton. I live at 1002 Carroll Road in the city of Henderson. I own 2 cars, a house, and an extra lot adjoining my house. I pay my taxes every year even though I often have to borrow the funds from the bank. In my opinion this gives me the right to sit up here with the other council members and make decisions on taxes, ordinances, and matters that affect my lifestyle and yours.
“When I was seeking election to be the councilperson for Ward Two, I made a lot of promises. One of those promises was to be a good steward of your money and, so far, I feel and hope you feel that I have done just that. However, an issue that is currently before the council is one that I feel strongly about and some of you have expressed your opinion to me also. It is funding for the new library. Friends have asked me to drop it, as I would not be successful in preventing additional funding above the currenly approved $277,000. It is not in my nature to do this. I cannot convince myself that the citizens of Henderson should pay an amount that is 394% greater than those of the county. Based on current tax rates, an individual living in a $100,000 home would pay 4 times what an individual living in the county in a home of the same value would pay if the contribution of the city and county were $250,000 each. The county has plans to give $411,000 for the coming year, and the city has obligated itself for $277,000, for a total of $668,000. This, I am told, would result in some shortening of hours by the library. I do not have a problem with funding the library, but I feel, as I have stated before, that the funding should come from the county, as 51 out of 75 other communities already do. We all have equal access to the library and should share equally in its funding.
“Last year the county collected $4,874,000 from the city in ad valorum taxes. Bear in mind that the county is using a portion of this money to pay what it describes as its share of the library funding.
“The core of Henderson’s problem is housing. We have blighted and dilapidated housing in most areas of the city. We have a number of houses that need to be torn down, but there is no money for it. We need more people in the departments that oversee our housing. Please join me in requesting that any additional monies that can be found be spent in the housing area and not support any additional library funding. The employees of the city are slated for increases in the coming year without a tax increase; additional library funding will jeopardize this increase and decrease the contingency fund that we so desperately need.”
Harper stated after Gupton’s speech that it would be appropriate to consider public comments before voting on the budget. To accomodate her request, the next city council meeting was moved to Monday, June 26 at 7:00 p.m.
By state law, a budget must be passed by June 30.