Dare board reaches consensus on occupancy tax

The Dare County Board of Commissioners unanimously endorsed a resolution Monday to ask the General Assembly for permission to add another 1 percent to the local occupancy tax.

Under the resolution, the money generated could be used only for shoreline management, which includes beach nourishment.

Meanwhile, Nags Head has received a major state permit that will allow the town to move forward in seeking approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its plan to pump sand onto the beach.

Monday’s vote by the Board of Commissioners was 6 to 0, said county spokeswoman Dorothy Toolan. Commissioner Mike Johnson was attending a marine fisheries meeting, she said.

Local bills must be filed by May 26.

The additional 1 percent would bring the occupancy tax to the maximum of 6 percent.

State Senate President Marc Basnight, D-Dare, has said that he wants the legislation to be considered by the House first. State Rep. Tim Spear, a Creswell Democrat whose district includes Dare County, said some legislators might be wary of taking up a tax measure this year. Only non-controversial bills are considered in the short session, and the rules committee will determine if the occupancy tax measure would fall into that category, Spear said.

In a statement today, the town said a Coastal Area Management Act permit for its project had been issued by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Coastal Resources Commission.

The unanimous vote and approval of the state permit could help Dare County. Spear said last week a simple majority of 4-3 might have raised doubts among some legislators about the resolution. Mayor Bob Oakes has said that having a state permit in hand would be a plus in making a case for authorization to increase the occupancy tax.

Moving or demolishing threatened structures, putting in jetties or employing other erosion- control measures are included under the resolution, but the impetus was Nags Head’s $36 million beach nourishment plan.

Nags Head originally proposed using the first five years of the additional 1 percent to retire a $16 million bond that would help pay for the 10-mile 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.

Warren Judge, the chairman of the county board of commissioners, 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 payments for five years and set aside $1 million a year for Kill Devil Hills.

The Dare County Shoreline Management 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.

If the General Assembly authorizes adding one percent to the occupancy tax, the county would still have to enact it. The county has not yet considered Judge’s idea for dividing up the money in the shoreline fund.

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