Incorporation of Corolla
The Joint Legislative Commission on Municipal Incorporations (a Commission created by the North
Carolina General Assembly) will hold a public hearing to receive comment on the incorporation of the
proposed Village of Corolla on Friday, June 1, 2007, at 5:30 pm at the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife
Education in Corolla, North Carolina. The public is invited to attend. Seating is limited, and therefore
proponents and opponents of incorporation are encouraged to select individuals to represent their
position before the Commission. Speakers will be limited to three minutes.
If you have questions about the public hearing, please contact Ms. Gayle L. Moses, Commission
Legal Counsel, at (919) 733-6660 or gaylem@ncleg.net
We encourage all property owners to directly express their opinions to the appropriate
representatives.
Below is a list of contact information for those individuals.
Currituck County Officials
Board of Commissioners
Barry C. Nelms, Chairman, Poplar Branch Township - (252) 453-4153
Gene A. Gregory, Vice-Chairman, Commissioner At- Large - (252) 336-4706
Ernie Bowden, Fruitville Township - (252) 453- 3940
Janet L. Taylor, Moyock Township - (252) 435- 6965
J. Owen Etheridge, Crawford Township - (252) 455- 0586
E-mail for all Commissioners:
commissioners@co.currituck.nc.us
Clerk to the Board of Commissioners
Gwen Keene - (252) 232-2075, ext. 222; gkeene@co.currituck.nc.us
Currituck County Manager
Dan Scanlon - (252) 232-2075, ext. 223; dscanlon@co.currituck.nc.us
State Representatives
Senator Mark Basnight - (919) 733-6854; Marcb@ncleg.net
Representative Bill Owens - (919) 733-0010; Owensla@ncleg.net
Joint Legislative Committee on Municipal Incorporation
Senator Fletcher Hartsell - (919) 733-7223; Fletcherh@ncleg.net
Representative Becky Carney - (919) 733-5827; Beckyc@ncleg.net
Some facts to consider
What the Proposed Incorporation of Corolla Means to You, in a Nutshell:
Corolla is currently funded and governed by Currituck County. Homeowners contribute 32 cents per
$100 value in ad valorem taxes annually. In exchange, services such as solid waste collection, zoning
and planning and police protection are provided by the County. Homes and communities are subject
to zoning and ordinances put in place by the County.
If Corolla is incorporated, a Council made up of 5 residents would control - directly or by contract with
the county for services - all governed aspects of Corolla, including budgetary issues, zoning,
subdivision ordinances and municipal ordinances. Public services, currently funded through county
taxes, would be funded by the newly established town. To support these services, homeowners would
be subject to an increase in ad valorem tax - a minimum of 5 additional cents per $100 value. Taxes
could potentially increase as much as 15 cents per $100 with the approval of Corolla's registered
voters. To date, the Incorporators have yet to establish a revenue sharing plan with Currituck County.
Some Background
To petition for incorporation, a group of Corolla residents formed a group called "People of Corolla for
Incorporation", and drafted a Petition for Incorporation and presented it to the North Carolina
Legislature. The petition, which can be found at www.corollavillage.org, contained their proposed
charter and bill for incorporation, objectives, proposed budget, petition, signatures and the
appointment of 5 of its members to the Interim Town Council.
There are 3659 homes in Corolla and 4753 land parcels.
The total assessed land valuation in Corolla is well over 4 billion dollars.
Depending on how many homeowners own multiple properties, it could be assumed that there are
between 3000 and 3500 property owners in Corolla (the Currituck County Tax Department stated that
they do not know the exact number of individual homeowners in Corolla).
There are 567 full time residents in Corolla. Approximately 200 of the 567 registered voters signed
the petition for incorporation.
A 3 - 2 vote by the Currituck County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution allowing the group
to proceed with their incorporation efforts, making no objection to the introduction of legislation
permitting Corolla residents to vote on the issue.
The next step is the anticipated introduction of a bill in the upcoming legislative session that would
allow registered Corolla voters to vote on incorporation. North Carolina Representative Bill Owens
introduced House Bill 2 in support of the incorporation effort:
http://www.ncga.state.ncus/gascripts/BillLookUp/Bill LookUp.pl?Session=2007&BillID=H2
Currently, the bill is being evaluated by the Department of Commerce Division of Community Affairs
which is likely to submit its recommendation to the full Commission in the next several weeks.
Thereafter, a public hearing may be held in Corolla.
Thoughts
With only 567 of an assumed 3000 - 3500 property owners being registered voters/full-time residents,
and an even smaller fraction of those owners typically voting in elections (approximately 212 voted in
the last election, which included elections for the entire state legislative delegation, a congressional
race and a hotly contested County Commissioners' race), the number of those deciding the fate of
Corolla is disproportionately small. In other words, 51% of the voting residents (51% of 212 = 106
voters in the last election) can dramatically impact property that is owned by over 3,000 property
owners and collectively valued at over 4 billion dollars.
The People for the Incorporation of Corolla feel that incorporation will help to bring local concerns and
interests to the forefront. We agree that Currituck County has not properly invested in Corolla, but is
another layer of government is the answer?
The People for the Incorporation of Corolla recently polled 132 of the 567 registered voters (which
also excludes absentee homeowners) to find out their thoughts on incorporation. Of the 132 residents
surveyed, 48.1% (62) were in support of incorporation, 33.3% (42) were against, and 18.6% (21)
were undecided.
Additional Thoughts
One of the items described in the petition is the improvement of services. Some feel that the
improvement of services promised in the petition will merely result in a duplication of existing services.
The petition describes either no specific improvements for each service, or those that have already
been set in motion by the County.
There is an opinion that the proposed budget is actually flawed and does not support Corolla's
infrastructure. If incorporated, Corolla will inevitably build municipal buildings and will have to pay
additional personnel.
We hope that you will take the time to read over the Incorporators' petition. The petition, can be
found at www.corollavillage.org,
Our goal is to accurately inform and represent the opinions of our homeowners.
Sincerely,
Village Realty