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Commissioners set March public hearing on proposed 3% room-occupancy tax increase; CVB pitches product development and marketing uses
Summary
The board voted to call a March 18 public hearing on a proposal to levy an additional 3% room-occupancy tax. Phil Wuerz of the Convention & Visitors Bureau outlined plans to dedicate most of the increase to marketing and some to tourism product development, and commissioners asked for limits in a proposed MOU.
Moore County commissioners voted Feb. 18 to call a public hearing on March 18 to consider levying an additional 3% room-occupancy tax; if adopted later, the board discussed an effective date of July 1, 2025.
Phil Wuerz, president and CEO of the Moore County Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), presented the bureau’s rationale for the request: a proposed increase from the current rate (discussed as 3% in prior work sessions) to 6% overall would require that two-thirds of the increase (four cents on the dollar) be used for destination marketing and one-third (two cents) be used for product development under state law. Wuerz said visitor spending in Moore County had grown sharply in recent years, from roughly $520 million when he arrived to $805 million in the last posted year, and that planned major events (including hosting back-to-back U.S. Opens) and lodging expansions are driving demand. He described examples of product-development ideas — an amphitheater, sports-tourism facilities, equine-trail connections and a one-time grant program that awarded $821,000 to six local tourism-related projects — as uses that could be funded by the additional tax revenue.
Commissioners asked how CVB funds have been spent across the county; Wuerz and CVB staff said past grant rounds and marketing funds have been distributed to projects across Moore County and that audit reports and detailed expenditure lists are publicly available. County staff noted a proposed memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the county and the CVB that would allocate the additional revenue and explicitly prohibit using any increase to subsidize commercial air service at the county airport — a point several commissioners said would be a condition for their support.
The board voted to call a public hearing for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 18, 2025; the motion passed by voice vote. Several commissioners said they want to review CVB expenditures and the proposed MOU’s distribution language in detail before any final vote on the tax increase.
