Tag Archive for: #warrencountyboardofcommissioners

Warren County Seeks Members To Form New Tourism Development Authority

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The Warren County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution to establish a Warren County Tourism Development Authority.

State and local statutes require establishing a TDA to oversee revenue generated by the newly levied 5 percent occupancy tax on short-term lodging.

The occupancy tax is not a property tax; rather, it is similar to sales tax, in that it is passed on to visitors and occupants of short-term rental lodging facilities. While the tax is collected by the Warren County Finance Office, the established TDA board is the sole entity that oversees how revenues are spent.

Revenue must be spent on tourism and marketing and tourism-related infrastructure.

Individuals interested in participating should complete a statement of interest before Aug. 9. The form

can be found on the www.warrencountync.com website or by visiting https://www.warrencountync.com/FormCenter/County-Commissioners-9/Statement-of-Interest-to-Serve-on-the-Wa-79

The TDA composition includes:

  • One (1) Town of Macon representative recommended by the Town of Macon’s Board of Commissioners to be appointed to a three-year term.
  • One (1) Town of Norlina representative recommended by the Town of Norlina’s Board of Commissioners to be appointed to a three-year term.
  • One (1) Town of Warrenton representative recommended by the Town of Warrenton’s Board of Commissioners to be appointed to a three-year term.
  • One (1) representative recommended by the Lake Gaston Regional Chamber of Commerce to be appointed to a three-year term; this representative should be staff of the Chamber, or a member of the Chamber’s board that is also a Warren County-based business owner.
  • The Director of Warren County Community and Economic Development (CED). The CED Director’s term is not limited to the number of years.
  • One (1) short-term rental owner to be appointed to a two-year term; this membership position is intended to be filled by a property owner renting out a private residence as a short-term rental.
  • One (1) Warren County hotel, motel, or bed-and-breakfast operator to be appointed to a two-year term; in the absence of such a business, this member can be a private residence short-term rental owner.
  • One (1) Warren County tourism-related business owner to be appointed to a two-year term.

For more information on the Warren County occupancy tax, visit https://www.warrencountync.com/876/Occupancy-Tax-5.

Contact Paula Pulley, clerk to the Board of Commissioners, at paulapulley@warrencountync.gov or call 252.257.3115 to learn more about serving on the county’s boards and commissions.

Warren Commissioners Schedule Public Hearing On Proposed Occupancy Tax For Short-Term Rentals

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The Warren County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing at their Monday, June 3, 2024 regular meeting at 6 p.m. to hear public comment about the proposed occupancy tax for short-term rental accommodations in Warren County.

A local occupancy tax applies to the same transactions that are subject to state sales taxes on accommodations mandated by general statutes.

Occupancy taxes on short-term rentals are not levied against the property/business owner; they are levied on the occupant/renter. However, facilitators, rental agents, and business owners engaged in short-term rental accommodations are required to charge the occupancy taxes to the occupant and to remit that revenue to the local government.

In 2023, the General Assembly granted Warren County the authority to levy an occupancy tax up to 5 percent. The approval for the occupancy tax can be found in N.C.S.L. 2023-144, Senate Bill 154, Part 13.

A short-term rental accommodation subject to a local occupancy tax is anything supplied to one person for less than 90 days. Short-term accommodations include hotel and motel rooms, residences, cottages, or a similar lodging facility, as well as any type of structure that is rented for temporary residential use such as houseboats, tents, yurts and train cabooses. Parking spots for recreational vehicles, campsites, and boat slips would not be subject to local occupancy taxes. Occupancy taxes do not apply to enrollment in school, camp or hospital programs.

Occupancy taxes apply to the cost of the accommodation rental, as well as to other mandatory charges of the rental, such as early or late departure fees, cleaning fees, pet fees, etc. (all mandatory charges that are directly related to the use and occupancy of a rental accommodation).

The three parties held liable for collecting occupancy taxes from tenants and for remitting the taxes locally are: retailers (ex: hotel operators, bed and breakfast operators), facilitators (ex: Airbnb, Vrbo), and rental agents (brokers and other persons engaged in property management).

The penalties for delinquent occupancy taxes are the same as the penalties for delinquent sales taxes. Counties are allowed to enforce collection remedies with the exception of placing liens on properties and governments cannot foreclose on properties that do not property remit their occupancy tax collections. Occupancy taxes are not subject to successor liability (they do not go with the property when it is sold).

For more information, visit www.warrencountync.com or email Charla Duncan, Director of Warren County Community and Economic Development, at charladuncan@warrencountync.gov.

Warren County Native Returns – As County Attorney

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Warren County has a new county attorney, and she is set to begin her job next week.

The name Shiekel Richardson may ring a bell with Warren County residents – she is a native of Warren County and was graduated from Warren County Schools. She went on to get a bachelor’s in criminal justice and then a law degree from N.C. Central University, according to information from Charla Duncan, senior assistant to Warren County Manager Vincent Jones.

Richardson was appointed to the position last week at a specially called meeting that convened after the county board of commissioners’ annual strategic planning work session.

Richardson was admitted to the North Carolina Bar Association in January 2020. Her first day will be Feb. 28, 2023.

She previously worked for the town of Wake Forest as an assistant to Town Attorney Hassan Kingsberry. Kingsberry is the former Warren County attorney.

In addition to her work with the town of Wake Forest, Richardson has experience as a hearing officer for the N.C. Department of Commerce, working with the N.C. Employment Security Commission, Legal Aid of North Carolina and in private practice with the local law office of Stella D. Jones.

Board Chair Bertadean Baker said she welcomes Richardson back to Warren County. “With all the great things happening in Warren County, the board of commissioners and I are pleased that we have a Warren County native who has become an attorney, and has now chosen to serve the county where she received her start,” Baker said. “This is an outstanding example for the community and our students here in the county.”

Glen Raven Announces $82 Million Expansion At Norlina Plant

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Glen Raven, Inc. Custom Fabrics, LLC, in Norlina announced today (Wednesday, July 21) an $82 million capital investment plan that will create 205 new jobs.

The expansion at the Warren County manufacturing plant will add about $6.5 million in annual salaries, according to a press release from Warren County. Governor Roy Cooper also announced on Wednesday that a performance-based grant of $1 million from the One North Carolina Fund will help facilitate the expansion.

The Glen Raven Norlina plant opened in 1984. It produces the synthetic yarn used in performance fabrics, including their well-known flagship Sunbrella brand.

Glen Raven plans to renovate the existing building, constructed in 1970, as well as add new buildings and new equipment.

“Glen Raven has been an indispensable fixture of our business community for 37 years. To take part in the company’s realization of their strategic growth doesn’t just feel good; it feels right,” stated Charla Duncan, Warren County economic development director.

“As a halo county of the Triangle, we look very different than our urban and more populous neighbors, and we’re ok with that because we know that Warren County, too, can be a place for sustainability, growth and vitality,” Duncan stated in the press release. “It’s our goal to be a part of the Glen Raven family as well, knowing that in turn, we are also supporting our families here in the community.”

The Warren County Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to approve a local incentive package to compete for the expansion of the existing Warren County industry.

The total local incentive package offered to Glen Raven includes 10 annual performance-based grants equaling 60 percent of the paid tax liability for the year and a fee waiver of up to $150,000 in county building and inspection fees. The grant will not be issued until the year’s property taxes have been paid.

“This project is a trajectory changer for Warren County. Glen Raven has recognized the value in Warren County, the workforce we can attract, and how that will positively impact their bottom line,” commented County Manager Vincent Jones. “I have to commend our board of commissioners for pushing us as county staff for results, as well as our Warren County team that helped us through this economic development process, especially our community & economic development director, Charla Duncan, who led our efforts.”

“With the devotion and commitment of the county commissioners, coupled with the hard work of our staff, we were able to secure this much-needed economic growth,” stated Tare “T” Davis, chairman of the Warren County board of commissioners. “This expansion speaks to what the citizens have been asking to happen in Warren County — good paying jobs and good opportunity for people to advance. We look forward to a continued partnership with Glen Raven.”

The average salary of the jobs that will be created is predicted to be $31,710, which exceeds the median income for Warren County. Of the total $82 million capital investment, $58 million is in real property and $24 million is in personal property.

“Glen Raven has been an anchor in our local, regional, and state business community for decades. We are thrilled that they have called Warren County home for so long and that they believe our community can help in the growth of their company,” said Victor Hunt, vice-chair of the Warren County board of commissioners and member of the economic development commission board.

Glen Raven, a 2020 Governor’s Export Award Winner (NC), is a global company headquartered in North Carolina, recognized by the state for being a Top Large Business Exporter. Founded in 1880, Glen Raven is a provider of performance fabrics with sales in more than 120 countries.

Duncan, herself a Warren County native, said she hasn’t known a day of her life that Glen Raven hasn’t supported working families in the region.

For more information, contact the Warren County Community & Economic Development Director at 252.257.3114 or charladuncan@warrencountync.gov.

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Warren Co. Board of Commissioners to Meet April 6 With Procedural Adjustments

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100.1 FM ~ 1450 AM ~ WIZS, Your Community Voice ~ Click to LISTEN LOCAL

-Press Release, Warren County Government

The Warren County Board of Commissioners will hold its regular meeting on Monday, April 6, 2020, at 6 p.m. at the Warren County Armory Civic Center; however, adjustments will be made in regular procedure in accordance with the Governor’s Stay at Home Executive order.

Mitigation efforts are made in compliance with state law and as a means to keep citizens, officials, and staff safe.

The public will not physically be in attendance at the Warren County Board of Commissioners meeting on April 6. The meeting will be live-streamed on Facebook via the County’s Facebook page @WarrenCountyNCOfficial; video footage of the meeting will be linked via the County’s website the following day.

The public can make submissions for public comment via email at WCGOV@warrencountync.gov. Members of the public are limited to one submission per person; each submission is limited to 350 words. The deadline for submissions is Monday, April 6, at 3 p.m. Submissions made after this time will not be read aloud by the Clerk to the Board of Commissioners at the meeting.

For more information, contact the Warren County Manager’s Office at 252-257-3115 or visit www.warrencountync.com.