Rain is causing problems and ringing up a large bill for the town of Wadesboro.

The water from the recent heavy rains has mixed with the sewage water in the pipes, which send everything to the county for treatment, town manager Alex Sewell told the council during its meeting on Monday.

Since the rainwater is treated with the waste, the town’s bills from the county have skyrocketed since heavy rains began in November, according to Sewell.

Currently, the town’s water and sewer fund is in the black, with revenues over expenses by $238,000.

“But you shouldn’t get too excited, because we haven’t gotten our county water and sewer bills,” Sewell warned.

Sewell said the sewer bill is a “concern” for the town’s finances.

“Hopefully it will stop raining,” he said. “That’s what it comes down to. Rain shapes our destiny so much budget-wise with water and sewer.”

Sewell said he hopes an engineer scheduled to look at the lines may help come up with solutions.

Public services director Hugh James said that the problem isn’t quite as bad as it could be. Some places that were re-lined in the late 1990s helped reduce the problem, he said, though the budget at the time did not allow for all of the lines to be replaced.

PARKING ORDINANCE

The council approved changes to a draft of the town’s parking ordinance.

According to a timeline prepared by Sewell, the town began looking into making changes to the parking ordinance in 2013, when the town first completed a study into the parking situation in the uptown area.

“The studies concluded that an Uptown visitor may not be able to always park on the same block as their intended destination, but there is typically parking available somewhere in Uptown within 2-3 blocks,” Sewell wrote.

After the town received complaints about the parking ordinances last July, the town looked into whether changes needed to be made.

The ordinance presented to the council on Monday included changes suggested by the town and the North Carolina League of Municipalities.

The changes include raising penalties from a maximum of $50 to a high of $150, and added that collection and enforcement fees, including towing and vehicle storage bills, may be separate from the base penalty.

According to the old ordinance, motorists who violate the parking ordinance will be be given a notice by a police officer and will have to pay a $25 civil penalty. The new change adds a new $25 fee if the first isn’t paid on time, and adds that the town can collect the money by filing a lawsuit or using a debt collection service. Any fees the town incurs during that process will also be added to the driver’s bill.

While the old ordinance said drivers couldn’t be on the same block after meeting the time limit for their parking space, the new change expanded that to two blocks. Drivers who are parked on the street for the two-hour limit will now have to move outside that radius to avoid penalties rather than simply switching spaces on the same block.

Repeat offenders may find a parking boot on their car if they have two or more overdue tickets in the last five years dating back to Aug. 5, 2015. Their car can also be impounded or towed, according to the new ordinance. To get the lock removed, the owner will have to pay $50, and it is against the law for the owner to remove the lock by himself.

While the council unanimously approved the ordinance changes, it nixed a proposal that would have changed the parking times for a certain area.

Currently, motorists can stay in a parking space for up to two hours. If approved, the proposed change would have reduced the maximum parking time to one hour for East Wade Street between N.C. 109 and Washington Street.

POLICE OPENINGS

The council also discussed the need to hire more police officers to fill the town’s six open officer positions.

Sewell said there are several candidates so far and that he believes the town will hire officers soon.

Chief Thedis Spencer said that he, his captain and his lieutenant have been filling in the gaps as much as possible to avoid straining the town’s budget with overtime pay.

The town also gave retiring Sgt. Sam Jones his service firearm for $1 during the meeting.

The next regular council meeting will be held at 5 p.m. Feb. 1 at Wadesboro Town Hall.

Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.

By Imari Scarbrough

iscarbrough@civitasmedia.com