Council sends sales-tax increase to voters

Moore County voters will decide in November whether to raise the combined sales-tax rate from 9.50% to 9.75%

7:11 p.m. Aug. 31, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

The Metro Council voted 12-1 Monday night to send a quarter-cent sales-tax increase to Moore County voters, clearing the second and final reading required to place the referendum on the November ballot.

Sunny Rae Moorehead cast the lone dissenting vote. Council members John Taylor and Houston Lindsey were absent.

Moorehead also voted no during the Metro Council meeting on Aug. 18. She said Moore County had rejected the proposal twice and did not see why it should be before the voters again.

If voters approve the measure, Moore County’s combined sales-tax rate would increase from 9.50% to 9.75%. For consumers, that works out to an additional 25 cents on every $100 in taxable purchases.

County officials previously estimated the quarter-cent increase could generate roughly $80,000 to $100,000 annually. With stronger tourism and taxable sales, that figure could approach $125,000.

Voting in favor were Peggy Sue Blackburn, Arvis Bobo, Robert Bracewell, Gerald Burnett, Douglas Carson, Amy Cashion, Marty Cashion, Bradley Dye, Dexter Golden, Greg Guinn, Jimmy Hammond, and Shane Taylor.

Monday’s special-called meeting was limited to consideration of the sales-tax referendum. After Burnett made the motion and Blackburn seconded it, she encouraged Council members to talk with residents about the proposal.

“I think that all the members should get out and try to talk to as many people as possible,” Blackburn said. “And let them know that this is a positive, not a negative.”

Moore County voters have already seen this proposal twice. The quarter-cent increase failed 590-378 in March 2024. It came back on the November 2024 ballot and failed again, 2,234-1,259.

Moore County voters will now decide in November whether to raise the combined sales-tax rate to 9.75% or leave it at the current 9.50%.

It was the final meeting for Burnett, Mary Cashion, Greg Guinn, Jimmy Hammond, Lindsey, and Taylor as Metro Council members.

During the General Election on Aug. 6, six of the nine regular seats decided in Districts 2, 3, and 5 were filled by new occupants. Five incumbents chose not to seek re-election. One – District 3 Councilman Lindsey – was defeated.

In District 2, Payton Keller will fill the seat being vacated by John Taylor, who did not seek re-election. Carson and Bracewell return to the council.

In District 3, John Oosting led the five-candidate field, followed by incumbent Dexter Golden and Jayson Estfon. Oosting and Estfon will replace Marty Cashion, who did not seek re-election, and Lindsey.

District 5 was guaranteed a new delegation before the first Election Day ballot was cast. Incumbents Burnett, Guinn, and Hammond all chose not to seek re-election. Regiona Adcock, Brady Goodwin, and Brandon Ross will hold District 5’s three seats on the Metro Council.