In its first meeting since passing the 2013-14 budget, the Kinston City Council continued its congruent thinking this week.
The city council voted unanimously on all proposals after doing the same with the budget for the 2013-14 fiscal year in the previous meeting. Monday night’s meeting lasted for about 35 minutes with little to no disagreement amongst board members.
“You have to love these types of meetings,” Kinston Mayor B.J. Murphy said. “It was short and sweet.”
There was some deliberation, as the city council looked over the N.C. Senate’s version of House Bill 998, which is projected to take approximately $393,000 from Kinston in the 2014-15 fiscal year and $2.96 million the following year until 2019. In order to make up for lost revenue, the tax rate is projected to increase by 3.99 percent with a 6.1 percent rise in tax bills to property owners.
The bill hasn’t been approved yet, and may not cost the city as much as the initial numbers indicate. Still, City Manager Tony Sears said there will be noticeable damage done by HB 998.
“I don’t think the bill will be passed in its entirety, but it will still have a significant impact,” Sears said. “The county would have the leverage for tax and could help cities or give the revenue to municipalities. I feel like the city of Kinston has a great relationship with Lenoir County, but you can’t really say that for every other area in North Carolina.”
The city council also recognized the efforts of Kinston Environmental Services sanitation workers, agreeing to declare June 17 “National Garbage Man Day”.
The city of Kinston employs 26 sanitation workers, averaging 14 years of experience per person. Six garbage men have worked with the city for over 22 years, with James Lester working 33.
Jerry Kanter was also named as a board member of the North Carolina Global TransPark Authority. Kanter was adamant on making sure Kinston kept its control tower, one of 149 in the nation. Mayor Pro Tem Joe Tyson believed the council made the right decision in approving Kanter for the position.
“He’s a super individual with a desire to do great things on the board,” Tyson said of Kanter. “He has passion, ambition and loyalty to Kinston and Lenoir County.”
The city council also agreed to the street closing for Birthday Bash 2013 on Saturday, June 29. Between the hours of 4-10:30 p.m., the portion of Chestnut Street between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and North Trianon Street will be closed off.
A fireworks display — also approved by the city council — will be held Thursday, July 4 at 9:30 p.m. The proposed location is Neuseway Nature Park and will be moved to July 5 in case of inclement weather.
The July 1 meeting will be cancelled, with the next one being held on July 15.
Junious Smith III can be reached at 252-559-1077 and Junious.Smith@Kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JuniousSmithIII.