Scotland County commissioners vote to place quarter‑cent sales tax on November ballot, agree to fund local outreach

County Manager April Sneed told the Scotland County Board of Commissioners the board has the option this year to place a quarter‑cent (0.25%) sales tax measure on the November ballot and that a resolution would be required by mid‑July to do so.

"This is a year that you could choose to put this on the ballot if you wanted," Sneed said, noting the board needed to consider timing and outreach. Commissioners raised questions about expected revenue and how to explain the tax to voters. A staff member called forward as Jonathan provided a rough estimate: "I would think a million one, a million two," he said when asked what the measure might generate.

Commissioners discussed targeting outreach to nonresidents who buy retail or eat at local restaurants and emphasized that the tax would not apply to groceries or medicine. Some members urged a professional, locally focused outreach campaign so the measure would have a stronger chance than prior elections; commissioners recalled previous votes that failed to reach majority support and noted past results around 32% in earlier contests.

A motion was made and seconded to place the quarter‑cent sales tax on the November ballot and to begin planning paid local outreach. Commissioners approved the motion and asked staff to draft a resolution for a future meeting specifying how much to allocate for advertising.

The county manager said a resolution would be prepared and presented at the next meeting; staff will return with recommended outreach options and a proposed advertising budget. No specific allocation amount was approved at this meeting.