With two months before county voters decide on the issue, the Mathews Board of Supervisors met to discuss the upcoming referendum on the proposed meals tax.

Supervisors held a work session on the initiative, which will appear on the Nov. 8 ballot, last Wednesday afternoon in the historic courthouse.

This is the second time that Mathews residents have faced a vote on a meals tax referendum. In November 2014, the proposal was defeated by a 63.21 percent to 36.78 percent margin.

With a large share of the county’s budget designated for unfunded state and federal mandates, County Administrator Mindy Conner said that there are some upcoming big-ticket budget items that involve simply maintaining property the county already owns, “and that’s not even talking about other improvements.”

If the county doesn’t pass a meals tax, said supervisor Charles Ingram, “we’ll have to go after the real estate.”

Supervisor Jack White said people have quest...