What’s In That Box?
A peek inside four ballot measures awaiting your vote this fall.
A “vote here” sign is seen outside the Dare County Administration Building in Manteo on Tuesday, March 3, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Saunders)
By Corinne Saunders
Edited by Matt Walker
Editor’s Note: A version of this article originally appeared in the fall issue (Issue 15.3) of Outer Banks Milepost, currently on newsstands; find a list of distribution points by clicking here: https://www.outerbanksmilepost.com/outposts/.
This fall, Dare County has more than county, state and national candidates to consider for office. Voters can also weigh in on three proposed amendments to the state Constitution—plus a local sales tax referendum. Some of these measures have the potential to outlast any politician, yet the text on the ballot is a succinct sentence that leaves room for interpretation. We decided to dig deeper into each proposal, then ask a range of officials for their perspectives, so locals have a better idea of what each “box” really contains.
Constitutional Amendment On Property Tax
Ballot text: “For/Against: Constitutional amendment requiring limits on property tax increases by local governments.”
Sounds like an easy “for.” But read the legislative text, and you’ll see why local decisionmakers are leery: “The General Assembly shall enact general laws limiting the amount by which the levy of taxes on property may increase, which may include exceptions.”
In other words, it’s the state legislators who get to determine the limits on local property taxes. Furthermore, they don’t even say what those limits might look like; instead, they’ll decide once the measure is passed.
No wonder four Outer Banks mayors expressed concerns about how the proposed amendment might affect local boards’ ability to govern.
“It just really hamstrings [us] being able to provide necessary services for people,” Duck Mayor Monica Thibodeau says. “It’s hard for me to understand where they think this is going to be helpful.”
Manteo Mayor Tod Clissold was equally dubious.
“While I recognize the financial upside individuals may hope for...Property taxes are the backbone of the services our residents expect, particularly regarding public safety and infrastructure,” Clissold says in an email. “If these revenue streams are capped, we could see an inability to address inflationary costs or recover from natural disasters, which is a constant reality for us.”
And Southern Shores Mayor Elizabeth Morey sees the ballot initiative as continuing a trend of state lawmakers shrinking local governments’ authority, “both municipal and county, which I believe has overall negative outcomes for our communities.”
Still, every Republican in both the House and Senate voted in favor, and every Democrat present for the votes, save one senator, voted against it.
Sen. Norm Sanderson (R-Pamlico) says the matter was precipitated after 26 counties had revaluations this year, and “property values went through the roof.” Most counties lowered their tax rates to remain revenue neutral, “but some of them didn’t do that.”
Despite voting for the amendment, Sanderson also says, “I think we have to be very careful before we go in and take away [local governments’] ability...to support things like their local schools, the jails, their health departments, their libraries…Especially in the rural areas, that’s about their only way to raise revenue [is] property tax, because they don’t bring in a whole lot of sales tax.”
So what will the legislature do if it passes?
Sanderson says he doesn’t know specifics; but the matter will be put toward a study committee commission, then taken up in the long session next year.
“I have asked to be put on that commission,” he says. “I don’t know if I will [be], but I think we have to be very careful in how we limit local government.”
Nags Head Mayor Ben Cahoon, who’s also concerned with the amendment, suggests an alternative way control property taxes that isn’t so permanent.
“There’s already a solution, and it’s local,” Cahoon says. “If you don’t like the services you’re getting in proportion to your taxes, then you need to vote for different leadership.”
Constitutional Amendment On Income Tax
Ballot text: “For/Against: Constitutional amendment to keep the State income tax rate from being raised higher than three and one-half percent (3.5%).”
The income tax cap as written in the state Constitution is currently 7%, so this would halve that. However, the state’s actual income tax rates have been lower than that, and have fallen in recent years, in accordance with state law.
In 2025, the individual income tax rate was 4.25%. This was down from a rate of 4.50% in 2024, 4.75% in 2023, 4.99% in 2022 and 5.25% in each of the three years prior, according to North Carolina Department of Revenue Data.
Outer Banks state Sens. Bobby Hanig (R-Currituck) and Sanderson sponsored this amendment, along with 26 others. Hanig did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.
Sanderson says he’d like to do away with income tax altogether, suggesting that if the state needed to raise money in the future, a sales tax increase would be the preferred vehicle.
“I think it’s proven…that we can meet all the [basic] needs that we have in the state of North Carolina, with a lower income tax,” he says. “We’re down now to where we’re supposed to go next year to 2.99[%].”
Sanderson explains that the importance of putting it in a Constitutional amendment is that if it passes, future lawmakers could not change it without going through the Constitutional amendment process and putting it to voters again.
“I don’t know many people that’s going to vote to give the government an opportunity to raise their taxes,” he says, calling a future change “very, very unlikely” if it passes this year.
So what’s wrong with cutting it permanently another point or two? Because you never know when you might need more cash.
“North Carolina doesn’t have particularly high income tax rates,” Cahoon says. “Why would the legislature want to constrain future legislatures from responding to whatever may be happening in some future time?”
Cahoon also says that if the rate cut results in the state having less money to return to communities through grants—such as clean water, wastewater and other grant programs Outer Banks communities utilize—the financial burden would then fall upon local governments.
“If you’re going to do what needs to be done, you’re going to have to find that revenue somewhere,” Cahoon says. “The other thing that often happens in states where tax income tax rates are very low is that their fees are very high.”
Or the state could find other ways to fill coffers.
“Ferry tolls are kind of a snapshot of what could happen if you reduce the tax income again,” says Cahoon.
Constitutional Amendment On Voter ID
Ballot text: “For/Against: Constitutional amendment to require all voters, not just those presenting to vote in person, to present photo identification before voting.”
Put this one in the “let’s codify something more permanently” camp. After, all state law already requires voters to present an approved form of photo identification before they vote in person and to include a copy of their photo ID when they vote by mail. Even Patrick Gannon, public information director for the North Carolina State Board of Directors, says the proposed Constitutional measure is “already required in state statute.”
Asked if the amendment would eliminate the ability of certain voters to utilize a “Photo ID Exception Form”—with acceptable reasons including disability, being the victim of a natural disaster within 100 days before Election Day, religious objections to being photographed and more—Gannon replied it would not.
“No,” Gannon says. “The following language in the Constitution would not be changed by the amendment: ‘The General Assembly shall enact general laws governing the requirements of such photographic identification, which may include exceptions.’”
So what’s changing? Nothing when it comes to the election process as it stands. It’s just adding to the Constitution the language of “all voters” to replace the current “in person,” making it harder to change down the road.
Dare County Sales Tax Referendum
Ballot text: “For/Against: Local sales and use tax at the rate of one-quarter percent (0.25%) in addition to all other State and local sales and use taxes.”
This one only appears on Dare County ballots. Last year, a recreation needs assessment found that approximately $56.9 million is needed to address current and future facility improvements, from building more splash pads to installing artificial turf to updating current facilities. In March, commissioners approved a referendum to increase sales tax from 6.75% to 7% to fund those local improvements.
However, roughly 70% of the tax burden will land on visitors, according to Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robert L. “Bob” Woodard Sr. In fact, during his 2026 State of the County presentation, he estimated the proposed tax increase would add up to approximately $14 per resident, or about $22 per family per year.
So, whether it’s a good idea largely depends on how much you desire these additions — and how much you’re willing to spend.
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