Judge thanked Sen. Marc Basnight, Rep. Tim Spear, Rep. Walter B. Jones and Sen. Kay Hagan for all of their help in the past months and years.

As for 2011, the county board chairman said in addition to the budget, working out concerns associated with the final environmental impact statement and management of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore remains a paramount issue.

"[We need to] keep the beaches open and accessible," Judge said.

From Duck south to Manteo, the mayors and managers of all six towns each had their ideas of what was most important in the past year as well as forecasts for 2011.

Mayor Dave Wessel said the new town hall was tops in Duck for 2010.

In 2011, he expects two big issues; finishing town hall by fall and implementing the planning stage for beach nourishment.

"We hope to have it [town hall] in operation by Labor Day," the mayor said.

After that, Wessel believes most of the time will be spent on "creating a strategy for beach nourishment or at least discussing it."

He predicts other beach towns also will address beach nourishment this year.

"It's something we'll all be spending time on," Wessel said, and he wants the Town of Duck to "be ready for it."

In Southern Shores, Mayor Hal Denny said two big items came quickly to mind for 2010.

"The successful start of the dredging of the canals is the biggest thing," he said. "We've been at it for eight years before it got under way.

"The second was the hiring of our new town manager, Peter Rascoe," the mayor said.

Looking ahead to 2011, Denny said it will be a balancing act between repairing infrastructure and finding the money to pay for it.

He believes the town council would like to "hold the line" on taxes, so it will be a challenge to repair the roads and bridges that need work.

"[We'll have a] modest program of street repairs and of course, the dredging project will go on for another couple months," the mayor said.

In Kitty Hawk, Mayor Clifton Perry didn't hesitate when asked what the biggest issue was in 2010.

"The economy," he said. "It seems to be the biggest issue we have to deal with."

As for 2011, the mayor wasn't so sure what it would bring.

"My crystal ball is kinda cloudy," Perry said. "There may be a glimmer of hope."

He said many folks hoped the Christmas season would bring a boost to the economy, but he's not sure that happened.

As for one of the largest money-makers in the area -- the building industry -- it didn't change in 2010 and remained "flat," Perry said.

And that results in less jobs and less tax money collected by Kitty Hawk. It's a struggle to offer the same level of services when tax revenue is down, he added.

Perry said he didn't want to raise taxes either, especially when some folks are on the verge of losing their homes.

"Raising taxes doesn't help," he said.

Kill Devil Hills Assistant Town Manager Shawn Murphy said he was pleased with a particular project in 2010 that helped residents out in a time of need.

In the spring of last year, when heavy rains resulted in flooding in some areas, the town was able pull off some emergency relief in the Ocean Acres neighborhood with pumping and drainage, he said.

"The project really did mitigate the damage and flooding in Ocean Acres," Murphy said.

The emergency work was followed up in the summer with more work to help solve the problems on a long-range basis and some of the work is still under way, he said.

Murphy said the project also will stretch into the New Year, and completion of the drainage work in the area was at the top of the priority list.

Town Manager Cliff Ogburn said Nags Head faced three big issues in 2010: the economy, the budget and beach nourishment.

And with that said, 2011 looks like more of the same, he said.

"Beach nourishment is our number one priority," Ogburn said. "Right now, we're trying to save our beaches."

In Manteo, Mayor Jamie Daniels said they didn't particularly have one big issue but instead had lots of "little issues."

He did say, however, he was pleased that their lengthy project to provide some affordable housing in Manteo came to fruition.

"The most important thing was working out our affordable housing program ... so some people could close on some houses," Daniels said.

The program started five years ago, the mayor said, during the housing boom. It was intended to create affordable housing for school teachers, county workers and the like.

As for 2011, he's somewhat concerned about how state government cuts will affect places such as Roanoke Island Festival Park. The town is partnered with festival park and other similar entities that have each had their budgets cut.

"We need to step up and do a little more [for them] this year," Daniels said. "They just don't have the resources."

daryllaw@charter.net | 252-256-0134