Results from the Referendum

Here are the final numbers from the vote on the repeal of the 1% sales tax for beach nourishment.

Yes (repeal tax)	5363	78%
No (retain tax)	1531	22%

About a 30% turn out, as I had predicted. The margin was somewhat larger than I had expected altthough the outcome was not a surprise.

In Nags Head the margin was more on the order of Yes 63%, No 37%. Kitty Hawk also was closer than the county average. No particular surprise since both of these area suffer from severe problems with erosion.

Next question what does the County do about beach nourishment. They are about to get pushed to support a lobbying campaign for the federal money, they also may soon be asked to provide money to help a Nags Head locally funded project if federal money is not forthcoming soon.
The supporters of repeal have been making threats about the political future of the supporters of beach nourishment, particularly Chairman Stan White who warned the if the referendum passed voters could expect property tax hikes to fund beach nourishment.