NC Supreme Court rules Currituck County can use occupancy tax funds for public safety
Outer Banks Voice | 05.22.2026
On Friday, May 22, Currituck County announced that the North Carolina Supreme Court has unanimously ruled against the plaintiffs challenging how the county spent occupancy tax funds, overturning a 2024 NC Court of Appeals ruling. The decision allows Currituck County to use occupancy tax revenue to fund public safety services.
The case was argued before the NC Supreme Court on Feb. 17 and appeared to hinge on whether public safety expenses are related to tourism and how much discretion the Currituck Commissioners have in allocating occupancy tax dollars.
The plaintiffs, Corolla property owners and the Corolla Civic Association, contended that the county has improperly used those funds to pay for police, fire protection, emergency services and equipment for public safety rather than earmarking them for tourism-related expenses.
Citing the extra needs placed on public safety in the summer tourist season, Currituck County has argued that state law allows those funds to be spent on public safety.
An excerpt from the Court’s May 22 ruling states that, “Recognizing that communities must be safe for tourists to want to visit and return can hardly be said to be whimsical or lacking in understanding of surrounding facts or controlling principles…Indeed, the Commissioners seemed to approach their application of discretion under the statute with a healthy dose of common sense.”
In a concurring opinion, Justice Tamara Barringer, noted however, that “Best practice would be for the Commissioners to appropriate the occupancy tax revenue to identifiable, discrete projects only after making clear findings that they believed those projects were tourism-related. To do any less is to invite legal challenges from a citizenry rightfully dismayed by its government operating in the shadows.”
The state legislature passes a law for any county that wishes to charge an occupancy tax, with a provision outlining how the tax can be used. The Currituck County occupancy tax law was first passed in 1987 and amended in 2004.
During the Feb. 17 NC Supreme Court hearing, attorney Chris Geis, representing the county, argued that under the statute, the “[Currituck] Commissioners were given the broad authority to use their judgment to determine what is a tourism-related expenditure” that brings tourism to the county.
Making the case for the plaintiffs, attorney Troy Shelton stated that “the Court of Appeals saw exactly what happened for what it was,” in ruling for the plaintiffs in 2024. “The County’s been breaking the law, and it has to stop.” In response to a Justice’s question, he added that, “I don’t think that paying for police or firefighters attracts tourists.” The Outer Banks Voice – NC Supreme Court Justices hear arguments over occupancy tax spending in Currituck County
Shortly after news of the NC Supreme Cout decision broke, the Voice contacted Corolla Civic Association President Barbara Marzetti, who said she was withholding comment until she could confer with legal counsel.