A new tax on short-term vehicle rentals could be on the way to help fund regional bus service in Davidson County, NC following a recent county commissioners' vote, the Lexington Dispatch reports.

The board voted 5-1 to authorize the Piedmont Authority for Regional Transportation (PART) to levy a 5 - percent tax on all such rentals in the county after a public hearing.

Should PART's Board of Trustees vote to initiate the tax, it would yield revenues that would act as the county's required 10 percent match for PART funding.

The short-term rentals tax could yield an estimated $90,000 annually.

According to the Lexington Dispatch, though the $90,000 will fund the project temporarily, PART will eventually have to come back to the county seeking another revenue stream after it has depleted the reserve funds it will use to make up the difference in operational costs.

Several commissioners noted that the county can opt out of PART service at that time if they choose.