NC Supreme Court Backs Currituck Tourism Safety Spending
The state's highest court ruled the county may use occupancy tax revenue for public safety services that support tourism.
Updated on Nov. 15, 2026 in Law
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The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Currituck County may use occupancy tax revenue for public safety services in and around Corolla. The court reversed the Court of Appeals and directed summary judgment for the county.
Why it matters
The decision clarifies that state limits on occupancy tax spending give county commissioners discretion to fund public safety when they judge it will attract tourists or business travelers. It affects how tourism-dependent counties across North Carolina can allocate lodging tax revenue.
The ruling rests on the statute's judgment-based standard, with the court noting that deleting illustrative examples from the law increased flexibility rather than narrowing authority. The dollar amount of occupancy tax funds directed to public safety and the dates of the statutory amendments are not stated in the source.
The players
Currituck County
A coastal county in northeastern North Carolina whose Outer Banks communities, including Corolla, depend heavily on seasonal tourism and the lodging occupancy tax.
The details
Currituck County levies a tax on short-term lodging rentals and directed part of that revenue toward law enforcement, emergency medical response, fire protection, beach lifeguards, and related infrastructure in Corolla. The court found no evidence that county officials acted arbitrarily, capriciously, or in bad faith.
Timeline
The Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and ruled for the county on 2026-11-15.
The statute once listed police protection and emergency services as approved uses before later amendments removed those examples; the date of that change is not specified.
Political Context
The decision reads the state's occupancy tax statute as granting county commissioners broad discretion over tourism-related spending, which narrows the arguments that public safety costs fall outside permitted lodging tax uses. Opponents of tourism-funded public safety spending would need to rely on the statute's remaining limits rather than on the removed examples.
Visitors and property owners in Currituck County may see lodging occupancy tax revenue continue to fund public safety services in tourist areas such as Corolla. Local commissioners now have clearer legal footing to direct those funds toward law enforcement, fire protection, and lifeguard services.
The takeaway
Lodging tax revenue in North Carolina tourism counties can be spent on safety services that keep visitors coming, as long as local officials can show the spending serves tourism goals. Residents who want to track how their county allocates these funds can review commissioner decisions and budget documents.
Further reading
For related coverage of how courts interpret state tax statutes, see Law in North Carolina politics.
Source note: This article includes information reported by North Carolina Lawyers Weekly.
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