Monday night’s Beaufort County Board of Commissioners meeting saw the presentation of the county manager’s proposed 2015-16 budget, recommendations that Beaufort County create a tourism development authority and make emergency repairs at the VOA property, and one commissioner requesting an eight-percent tax cut for county taxpayers.

The proposed 2015-16 budget came in at $57,480,817. A public hearing regarding the county budget will be held on June 15. Depending on how many people attend, the meeting may be moved to the Beaufort County Courthouse.

Former Beaufort County Commissioner Al Klemm, now facilitator for the county’s tourism development committee, recommended the county create a formal tourism development authority, as well as petition the North Carolina General Assembly to create an occupancy tax to be levied on hotels and bed and breakfasts throughout the county. Washington would be exempt from the county occupancy tax, as it already has an occupancy tax established.

Klemm told commissioners the cumulative effect of tourism in Beaufort County was $70.99 million — $8.97 million of that through payroll — in 2013, the most recent year for which statistics are available through the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce. Beaufort County ranked No. 48 in tourism out of the state’s 100 counties. Klemm, accompanied by representatives from eastern Beaufort County municipalities, said a county TDA would economically benefit the county as a whole.

“Travel and tourism is part of a comprehensive economic development plan,” Klemm said. “Rural counties must use every tool they have to grow. The eastern part of the county is dying and we need to do something.”

Commissioner Frankie Waters said the feedback he’d received about an occupancy tax was generally negative, to which Klemm responded that any tax would essentially be levied on visitors staying in the county — the tax would not be on county taxpayers.

As the 2015-16 budget sets aside $20,000 to promote county tourism, commissioners declined to take any action, settling instead on observing the workings of the tourism development committee for a year before approaching legislators about an occupancy tax.

Beaufort County Economic Development Director Martyn Johnson requested just over $11,000 to pay for unexpected repairs to the towers at the VOA property. The county recently took constructive possession of the property from the federal government — by doing so, it’s now responsible for all maintenance, including keeping the towers lit according to FAA requirements. A recent replacement of the lights’ photocells led to failure of the light controllers.

“We’re technically in violation of FAA rules,” Johnson told the Board.

“I’ll make the motion (to designate money to repairs) because I don’t want the liability,” said Commissioner Robert Belcher, adding, “We’ve got constructive possession of this property and if a plane ran into that tower, I don’t know what would happen, but it would be bad.”

The growing costs of maintaining the property, along with two recent public hearings about the land, have caused commissioners to reconsider the original long-term plan to turn the land into public park, complete with hiking, biking and riding trails.

“For a period of time, I was for this thing, but now it appears this is going to become a money pit,” said Commissioner Jerry Langley. “We’re not gaining any ground, but we’re constantly spending money. My thoughts are: why don’t we get off the sinking ship?”

Commissioner Hood Richardson suggested it was time to press the entities interested in partnering with the county on the park to pitch in financially for the property’s maintenance.

“I’ll pay for this, but let’s aggressively go after the people who want it to happen,” Richardson said.

At the end of the meeting, Richardson also made a motion to lower Beaufort County property tax by eight percent, which pans out to a one-year tax break for county taxpayers. Richardson claimed Beaufort County property owners have been overtaxed for years — by nearly $5 million in 2014.

“We need to give the money back to the people that we have taken from them through error,” Richardson said.

The motion failed.