Rough road ahead for occupancy tax, Spear says
Rep. Spear
The Creswell Democrat also said in an interview Thursday that there was little chance legislators would allow the county to use it to dig out of a budget hole instead of for beach nourishment, as some have suggested.
On Monday, the Dare County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to decide whether to ask the General Assembly for authorization to increase the occupancy tax by 1 percent to help pay for shoreline management, which would include Nags Head’s plan to pump sand onto its beaches.
If commissioners vote favorably, Spear said, he will consult with state Senate President Marc Basnight to determine whether it would meet a requirement that only non-controversial bills can be considered during the legislative short session.
But if the Board of Commissioners can muster only a 4-3 vote, Spear said, “it could complicate things.”
Last week, board Chairman Warren Judge said he felt he had a majority but did not say whether there were enough votes for a super majority of 5-2, which was recommended by the Dare County Shoreline Management Commission. The shoreline panel is charged with recommending how county funds set aside for dealing with erosion should be spent.
Earlier this week, Schorr Johnson, Basnight’s communications director, quoted the Dare Democrat in an e-mail as saying, “If the House passes any local bill, I will see that it is passed in the Senate. It must come from the House and be based on the local government making the request — and that means that it passes the board.”
Spear, whose district includes Dare County, said he had not talked to Basnight specifically about introducing the legislation in the House, but “the bottom line is Sen. Basnight and I will work on the issue.”
Even if it goes to the House of Representatives first, Spear said, the speaker could kick it back to the Senate.
In any case, he said, it would need to first win the endorsement of the rules committee, which would make the call on whether it is controversial. The short session, which convenes May 12, is primarily intended to work out state budget issues to make sure it remains balanced, and “any tax issue would be difficult in this legislative climate,” Spear said.
Among the tests a local bill faces is whether it would broaden the definition of non-controversial and encourage other localities to ask for the same thing. In the case of the occupancy tax, Spear said, some legislators might see it as affecting a constituency beyond Dare County. Visitors from across the state, he said, would be paying the tax too.
Some legislators, he said, have signed pledges not to increase taxes. Others would shy away from the issue — even if it was considered local and non-controversial — because “the sound bite or political ad did not say that” when they run for re-election.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s just a local tax issue, per se,” Spear said.
Regarding suggestions that the tax could help the county bridge its $2.88 million revenue gap, Spear said, “local tax bills have specific wording as to how they can be used.” He said he could not see legislators opening the door for hard-pressed local governments across the state to use the occupancy tax for what some might view as “an end-around” to avoid increasing property taxes.
The occupancy tax issue surfaced earlier this year when Nags Head proposed using the 1 percent remaining of the 6 percent limit to pay off a $16 million bond that would help pay for a 10-mile beach nourishment project. The $20 million balance would have come from the Shoreline Management Fund, which has been built up by an existing 1 percent of the occupancy tax.
Judge has since put forward a plan that would pay for half of Nags Head’s $36 million project and half of a $20 million plan Kill Devil Hills is considering. The addition 1 percent of the occupancy tax would generate $3 million to $3.4 million a year. Judge’s plan would give Nags Head $2 million a year for debt payment for five years and set aside $1 million a year for Kill Devil Hills.
The shoreline commission, which is made up of representatives from the county and its six towns, recommended requesting the tax increase, but only if it included other shoreline management measures, such as moving or demolishing houses or building structures such as jetties if the state granted exceptions to a ban on them.
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Ray says:
If Rep. Spear doesn’t think that the earlier two taxation defeats by voters here in Dare County for beach nourishment doesn’t make the proposal for the occupancy tax increase for the same thing controversial, then I don’t know what is. And, if he and the state legislature will increase taxes to bail non-residents out of a mess with their beach cottages and not do the same for strapped local government budgets, someone doesn’t have their heads on straight.
RDS says:
Why is it that the clear majority here in the county has to run an end-around past our own Commissioners and Mayors and go straight to Basnight and Spears to let them know how we, the voters, feel about the issues?
Why are we, the majority, not represented by our own local representatives?
J.C. Towler says:
Amen, Ray.
Most of the BOC continues to blindly stumble toward this panacea mirage that beach nourishment offers. I have read too many articles both scientific and anecdotal to have any faith in this approach. Beach nourishment, a terrible misnomer, can result in everything from putrid stretches of beach and massive marine die-offs to actually accelerating the process of erosion by careless dredging.
The beaches are the lifeblood of this community, but saving them is going to require more than the short term solution dumping sand on the beach promises. Pressure Equalizing Modules, seawalls, breakwaters and other structural solutions can help save our beaches and preserve them longer and better than beach nourishment.
Bob O says:
Occupancy tax affects very few residents of Dare County. It makes sense to me to invest a portion of the stream of revenue produced by the oceanfront back into the beach.
The quality of the nourishment sand is the most important piece to the appearance and effectiveness of the nourishment. We are fortunate to have about 10 square miles of high quality, large-grained sand 2-3 miles off of Whalebone Junction. This sand is about 10 times larger than the fine sand that we found in Oregon Inlet. Because it’s bigger, it stays in place longer. Come to Nags Head Town Hall and see the core samples for yourself; they’re in the library.
I’m not sure what a pressure equalizing module is, but I’ll look it up. I believe seawalls are a terrible idea, and would have the same effect that sandbags currently have, that is, protecting the private home at the cost of the beach. I think breakwaters could be helpful at retaining sand, but we need to inject a significant amount of sand into the system to reset the beach equilibrium. Nags Head is proposing 4.6 million cubic yards of high-quality sand over 10 miles, a feasible project with a 10-year lifespan. But so far, it’s all just modeling – the only way to see how it works is to do it, and measure the results. And use those results to make better future decisions all over Dare County.
More Info says:
Actually, the solution to the erosion is probably a combination of both. The problem CAN be managed with beach nourishment, but structures would certainly help. Folks need to realize that beach nourishment is a treatment for erosion, not a cure. No expert would ever claim it to be anything other than a treatment. Coastal managers up and down the coast of NC are doing what they can to hold the line with beach nourishment and all the while fighting hard to allow other tools like terminal groins to become LEGAL options. For those that claim beach nourishment doesn’t work, I would say to talk to the folks on Bogue Banks, or Wrightsville Beach, or Carolina / Kure Beach.
J.C.,
I hope you are doing your part in these efforts to allow engineers to use other tools to help hold the line by talking to your neighbors and lobbying your representative to vote for the terminal groin legislation.
Mike F says:
Maybe the State legislators should look at a repeal of some of there “mandates” they impose on Dare County!
Ray says:
Bob,
You say, “The quality of the nourishment sand is.. most important” Isn’t that what Nags Head officials said when they pumped about a mile of your beaches (200 ft wide) full of dredge spoils a few years ago…they said it was compatible and if washed off the beach, it would be “in the system” and return back on the beach.
To the gentleman, above, who said..” talk to the folks on Bogue Banks, or Wrightsville Beach, or Carolina / Kure Beach.”…I would ask…”Do you really think those southerly facing beaches are anywhere near like the barrier islands of the Outer Banks? Do you think that Virginia Beach, in the lee of the Chesapeake Bay, is like the Outer Banks? Sooner or later, everyone has got to recognize this wonderful place for what it really is.
Bob O says:
Ray,
I think you’re referring to the dredge spoil from the Shallowbag Bay channel. Actually, I recall that the project was shut down in just a few days because the Town recognized the quality of the sand was not good.
But see for yourself. A core sample is in the library at Town Hall. It’s a sample, but the other core samples also indicated high quality, large grain sand. And there’s around 100 million cubic yards. We want 4.6 of those 100.
Ray says:
May I refresh your memory, Bob. The Shallowbag Bay and North and South channel project (from the bridge) is what I am talking about. Dredge materials (your town planner always referred to it as a beach nourishment project/with compatible sand) were pumped on the beach from Jennette’s Pier south for about 1,700 yards and the beach was built out 200 feet. It was an ugly mess. When the dredge spoils were first pumped on the beach on the north side, residents in the historic district of your town started raising holy he$$ and the project up there was shut down after a day or two. Oddly, I was there talking with a dredge employee on the beach when the call came through. As you know, this is all a matter of public record and was, in fact a small beach nourishment project e.g..about a mile+..was done. Of course, two berm projects followed and in each case, the material was deemed “tested” and “compatible”…