RED SPRINGS — The Red Springs Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to move forward on a contract for the collection of $900,000 in back taxes that go back almost a decade.
The own will contract with attorney Mark Bardill, of Zacchaeus Legal Services, to help collect the nine years worth of delinquent property taxes. Commissioner Duron Burney cast the lone opposition vote.
Burney said the town historically has not done well collecting taxes on its own. It was not until the county stepped in that the town’s tax collection rates rose about eight years ago.
“The county collects for us vs. this company that’s trying to come in,” he said. “What are the benefits for us switching from the county to this firm? What would we gain?”
He also said he didn’t like the idea of being bound to a contract. Typically the town pays an outside entity a commission on what it is able to collect.
Town Manager David Ashburn will meet with County Manager Kellie Blue to discuss the possibility of entering in to the contract with Bardill.
“Anybody that owes the town money owes the county money as well,” Mayor Edward Henderson said.
The town collection rate is 92%, but the state average rate is 98%, Finance Director Sharon McFarland said.
In other business, the commissioners voted to amend the town’s retirement policy, which states that if a town employee retires at the age of 55 the town will continue to pay for health insurance. The new policy states that someone who has been a town employee for 30 years can retire before the age of 55 with health insurance paid for by the town.
Also on Tuesday, Ashburn said the police department is operating within the budget, and said the hiring process for two new officers is underway.
“We are in the budget and we will end this year within the budget,” he said.
The cost of the new hires is $58,461, Ashburn said. He told the commissioners the budget would not allow for the hire of a third officer.
The start date for the officers was not discussed. The hires are under review by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission, which evaluates and approves law enforcement applicants based on certifications and state standards.
“Unless you people agree to raise it or add more to it, it ain’t going to happen,” he said of the budget.
The department currently has 12 officers, which is five short of fully staffed. Two of those officers are school resource officers, leaving the department with 10 for patrol duty during the school year. The department’s three auxiliary officers can only work for 12 hours a week before the department has to pay them.
The town will remain on the Local Government Commission watch list for three years because of the police department’s overtime spending, according to McFarland. In January, the department spent $15,000 in overtime.
In other business, Jamie Schwartz was sworn in as the town’s accounting specialist. Mary Williams, the town’s accounting technician, was recognized as a new hire. Williams and Schwartz were hired in January, Ashburn said.
“We wish you much success in your duties,” Henderson said.
The commissioners approved sending John Ammons, chief of Red Springs Fire Department, to Robeson Community College to complete a course that will provide him with a North Carolina Pyrotechnics License. The license will allow Ammons to discharge fireworks at town functions without the cost of a third party operator.
The concept of curbside trash collection also was considered by the commissioners Tuesday, but no action was taken.
“I do agree the way we are doing garbage collection is outdated and we need to change it,” Henderson said.
Sanitation workers use carts to transport trash from the backyards of residences to garbage trucks.
“I think if we’re going to discuss stuff like this, we need to act on it,” Commissioner Murray McKeithan said.
Ashburn said he would explore trash collection alternatives and present them at a later date.
The next Board of Commissioners meeting is scheduled for March 3.
