It's clear to EOD, after attending last night's Dare Shoreline Commission meeting that Dare County Commissioner Chairman Warren Judge wants only one thing from that nine-member group.
He wants an affirmative vote from all of the representatives of the county's six towns, saying "yes", increase the county's occupancy tax by another 1% and help finance Nags Head's proposed $36 million beach nourishment project. Short of a "yes" vote, Judge is hoping the towns will not vote at all.
We believe that Judge and a majority of the county board is ready to raise the tax and commit no less than $18 million in county tax funds to the Town of Nags Head and then give them all of a new 1% occupancy tax for the next five years. We think Judge and Commissioner Richard Johnson are raring to go on this, and likely, with the help of commissioners Jack Shea, Mike Johnson and Max Dutton. In short, they are ready to max out this county's ability to collect occupancy taxes for whatever purpose they may choose. Dare already collects a 5% occupancy tax and the State of North Carolina allows counties a maximum of 6%.
Of the 5% now collected by Dare, 3% is divided between- the county and six municipalities; the tourist bureau gets 1% , and the beach nourishment fund gets 1%. Currently 1% on the occupancy tax amounts to about $3.4 million per year; hardly enough to keep pace with the rising costs of any beach nourishment project, must less periodic re-nourishment.
EOD believes that Manteo, Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Southern Shores and Duck should poll their residents very carefully to determine whether they want the last funding source available to them, in the form of occupancy taxation, to be used for what many consider to be a very risky cause.
If our county commissioners do play our last occupancy tax card for the benefit of a Nags Head beach project, where will they go for revenue the next time they can't balance the budget, or when a hurricane hits and disaster funds are needed? They have already depleted the county's unappropriated fund balance to a level unheard of ten years ago. Meal taxes aren't likely to be increased, as Dare is already one of only four counties in the State using that funding source.
So folks, the next time you hear one of your elected officials say our visitors are paying those taxes for you; don't believe it. Any time a tax option is used for one purpose, good or questionable, its no longer available for another purpose. So, what's next? Your ad valorem taxes. You bet.
Every resident of Dare County needs to call their town mayor or county commissioner and say..."no way" to increasing our county's occupancy tax so Nags Head can "toss the money into the ocean."
We rest our case.
EOD
"Blogging the Bog of Outer Banks Politics"
7 comments:
It is called self-interest. Comissioner Judge wants to be sure his ocean front businesses are secure by having the voters and visitors to the Outer Banks pay for that assurance.
Is the thought that commissioner Judge can blame the tax on the consent decree and the environmental groups?
dont rest your case keep talking
So then, what should we do? You call it a risky project, but what are the risks of doing nothing? Beach nourishment has proven to be very successful in other locations. There is no reason to assume it will not work here.
All of us that live here share in the responsibility of what is happening on the ocean front, not just ocean front home owners.
There are TWO reasons to assume it won't work here. We've tried twice and they both washed away almost immediately. We've lost millions of dollars before.
At the time, they called them nourishments, but after they failed they re-termed them "berms" so as not to confuse people that dumping sand on the beach and shaping it with a bulldozer is completely different than dumping sand on the beach and shaping it with a bulldozer.
Reacting to beach erosion by gradual retreat is not "doing nothing". It is recognizing that no amount of money can stop the ocean from eating away at our shoreline. Responsible retreat means those who had chosen to build along the Atlantic shoreline have accepted responsibility for their actions, have appreciated the time they had there; and are willing to move on without placing a burden upon those who knew better.
It is becoming pretty plain to see that those who would make this everybodies problem have a much bigger stake in this. What is their motivation, are they the property owners, do they rent it, do they sell beach balls and french fries next to it?? YOU CAN NOT STOP THE OCEAN. AND YOU CAN NOT HAVE MY MONEY TO SAVE YOUR INTERESTS. IF I BUILT ON THE OCEAN I WOULD HAVE ACCEPTED THE RISK. IT IS TIME TO GET TOGETHER AGAINST THESE PEOPLE AND GET THEM OUT!! WHEN IS THE NEXT MEETING?
When they raise the occupancy tax, they will be taking your money if like everyone else here you depend on vacationers to pay the bills. Higher occupancy tax means fewer visitors, fewer dollars spent on meals, and fewer repairs made by owners of vacation homes. This will be a tragic mistake.
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