I have been discussing the beach erosion problem with Commissioners for a decade. They have seen the pictures and they have been briefed on the engineering contractor measurements. They say they understand the negative impact on the entire County’s economy, but they still are dragging their feet, using Occupancy Tax for other things. They have not even considered creating a special tax district to pay for part of the beach re-building.
One Commissioner told me that by building tourism on the mainland they can protect the county from a decline at the Beach. REALLY? There are over 20,000 high priced rental bedrooms at the Beach. He argued that IF a 100 room “Motel Six” gets built on the Mainland this will go a long way to offset any decline at the beach. REALLY? Yes, they will have tripled the mainland’s tourist accommodations. But 150 bedrooms on the mainland versus 20,000 at the beach doesn't add much. If you agree with the Commissioner that a Motel Six is the answer then we need to leave the light on for you.
I spent 20 years of my career with Booz Allen Hamilton, becoming a managing partner and member of their Board of Directors, followed by six more years as a Professor in the Kenan-Flagler Business SchooI. During this time I worked with senior leaders – four-star Generals, Vice Admirals and CEOs of multi-national companies, like Lockheed Martin, Motorola and Finemeccanica, to help them diagnose and solve tough business problems under their command. This experience taught me to categorize their senior managers into two categories.
“Leaders” who managed performance to achieve the organizations objectives.
“Politicians” who managed perceptions in order to achieve their personal objectives.
The “Leaders” were anxious for any help they could get to identify and then fix problems for improved performance. They understood that knowing the truth of the situation, no matter how uncomfortable it might make them, was the essential first step to making things better.
The “Politicians” always refused to acknowledge they had a problem. They declared that their business unit was fine and they needed no help. When problems were uncovered they always said it was just a temporary “glitch” - nothing to worry about. When the problem was found to be serious they always blamed someone else or some other set of circumstances. The solution they always advocated was to give themselves more power and authority; even though in many cases the root cause was their lack of leadership skills.
Who knows what category applies to Currituck County’s management?
What I do know is this.
In 2003 Hurricane Isabel ravaged Currituck’s beaches. The ocean destroyed dunes and washed under several homes. The National Guard was called in to help remove the debris. In 2004 Currituck used this to get the legislature to give them more power by raising its Occupancy Tax rate by 50% with the excuse that it was needed for beach nourishment.[1] At the public hearing, before the County vote, the Chamber of Commerce argued against the tax increase due to the weak rental market.[2] The increase passed anyway. Almost 20 years later Mainland residents have a YMCA, lots of ball fields, improved sound access and a horse farm, but the County does not even a plan to fix the beaches, except to continue to wait.
In 2011 the Economic Development Advisory Board (EDAB) came to the Beach and met with property owners to understand what the County could do to strengthen the tourism economy. The eroding beaches was a top concern.[3] The EDAB pointed out to Commissioners the tourism issues and tax rate consequences associated with beach narrowing and over-crowding.
In 2013 the County’s re-valuation showed that Beach property values dropped by 40-50% while mainland values dropped only 10%. The County then had to raise the property tax rate by 50% to balance the budget.[4] The County attributed the property value difference all to the national housing crisis, not over-crowding or beach narrowing. Mainland tax bills went up by 30% due to the Beach decline, but when the mainland members of the EDAB raised the cry against County management it disbanded the EDAB for a year to silence us.[5]
In 2017 the County did a survey of all property owners as part of the development of its Land Use Plan. Beach erosion was the number 1 environmental concern of Corolla property owners, the number 2 concern for those in the 4WD area and the number 3 concern of property owners county-wide.[6] Although the largely mainland citizen steering group appointed by the Commissioners reviewed this and other data carefully during their three years of service the Commissioners never met with them to hear their views.
In February 2018 when three of Commissioners were briefed on the results of the two-year Pine Island beach erosion measurements[7], these three told the other Commissioners there was no problem because the study showed that there was actually a 1% increase in sand in the “system”. What these three did not say (but what they were told, and the report showed) were three critical facts:
- The dune part of the system did not have enough sand for FEMA standards[8]
- The “recreational beach” used by all vacationers had lost 3% of the sand in the system and lost as much as 50 feet of width in only two years.[9]
- The sand gained they touted was actually underwater, as much as a quarter mile off-shore.[10]
Now in 2021 the County’s own beach erosion study[11] shows:
- Corolla erosion rates of more than 6 feet per year [12] are shrinking the public beach, used by all vacationers, three times faster than the long term average rate reported by the State
- 35 Corolla homes, $60M+ of real estate[13], could have their foundations eroded by one big storm[14]
- 250 homes in Corolla, about $400M of real estate[15], face foundation damage by a combination of continued erosion AND a single big storm[16]
But Currituck “politicians” state that they have the problem under control.[17]
If they really did then they would:
- Have a public discussion of the issues as other beach communities have done
- Communicate the factors they plan to use for a possible “go” decision
- Explain a detailed plan of what needs to be done, what it will cost, how they plan to pay for it and how long it will take when and if they decide to act
- Clarify the limitations of post-storm re-building posed by CAMA and ARHS
- Begin setting aside funds for beach restoration
- Explain why their failure to act so far has not been a negative message to investors
Mainland taxpayers are going to be paying even higher tax bills as a result of past inaction.[18]
It is time for County management to show who is in charge, leaders or politicians? ________________________ REFERENCES ______________________
[1] https://www.ncleg.gov/enactedlegislation/sessionlaws/pdf/2003-2004/sl2004-95.pdf
[2] Currituck Board of Commissioners minutes 9/19/2005
[3] https://www.currituck2030.com/2011-edab-advice
[4] https://www.currituck2030.com/2013-tax-hike
[5] Currituck Board of Commissioners Minutes 9/29/2013
[6] https://co.currituck.nc.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/county-wide-survey-summary-with-charts.pdf and https://www.currituck2030.com/land-use-plan-survey-results
[7] https://www.saveourbeach.net/pine-island
[8] Ibid. dunes page 6
[9] Ibid. recreational beach sand loss page 7, narrowing page 8
[10] Ibid. sand gained offshore page 9
[11] https://co.currituck.nc.us/doc-engineer/ and https://www.saveourbeach.net/2020-beach-erosion-study
[12] https://www.saveourbeach.net/2021-cpe-brief-to-county page 10
[13] Currituck County Website, Tax Records - AA502NCCUR-Parcel.xlsx
[14] https://www.saveourbeach.net/2020-beach-erosion-study page iii
[15] Currituck County Website, Tax Records - AA502NCCUR-Parcel.xlsx
[16] https://www.saveourbeach.net/2021-cpe-brief-to-county page 27-35
[17] Bob White email
[18] May 17, 2021 FY 2022 Budget Presentation http://currituckcountync.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=12&ID=2374&Inline=True