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Beaufort County's green-space penny hits $100 million; county and DOR to coordinate vendor notification
Summary
County staff reported that green-space collections have reached $100 million and discussed next steps for notifying merchants and unwinding collection; Department of Revenue (DOR) is the official body for merchant notification and counties expect DOR to issue formal instructions before merchants can stop collecting.
Lede: Beaufort County staff told the Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 13 that the county's green-space sales-tax penny has collected $100,000,000, and council members asked how and when merchants should stop collecting the 1% that funds the program.
Nut graf: County staff and committee members said the Department of Revenue (DOR) administers vendor notifications and is the entity that will tell merchants to stop collecting; staff said the county will coordinate with DOR and will notify the public and merchants once DOR issues formal guidance. Council members asked the county to reach out proactively to help merchants adjust point-of-sale systems and to avoid the carryover problems seen after an earlier referendum.
Body: Assistant County Administrator Chuck Atkinson and Green Space staff member Mark Davis reported that, as of Jan. 12, the green-space penny had reached the $100 million collection milestone. Committee members asked how merchants will be told to stop collecting; staff said the Department of Revenue is the responsible party for official notification to merchants and for the statutory process of unwinding collections.
Mark Davis told the committee that DOR is aware the milestone was reached and that DOR "would be the ones contacting the merchants" to instruct them to stop collecting. Council members raised practical concerns: some merchants will have to manually update their point-of-sale systems; others inquired whether the county could use its communications channels to broadcast a county-level "cease collection" notice in addition to DOR’s formal notification. Staff said they will ask DOR whether the county can supplement DOR’s notice and will report back.
Committee members also recalled that merchants continued to collect after a 2018 referendum until contacted; staff said they are checking that history with DOR and that, while the county can publicize status, formal machine changes should follow DOR direction.
Ending: Staff committed to follow up with DOR and return to the committee with the official unwind timeline and with guidance for municipal partners and merchants. The milestone was presented as a financing milestone for the green-space program and as a trigger for county-wide outreach and administrative steps.
