SPOT tax to appear on this year's ballot

Voters will be asked this year to again approve the Specific Purpose Sales and Use Tax (SPOT), which raises money that goes directly to the four municipalities and the county and is used for infrastructure needs that are often difficult to fund elsewhere.

This time, at the suggestion of Pine Haven Mayor Karla Brandenburg, the amount to be raised for each entity may be increased from $1.5 million to $3 million.

This doesn’t change the amount of the tax itself – it’s still just a penny, she said, and it’s a penny that is already in place, so it would have zero impact on the residents and visitor...