By Tony Kukulich
Beaufort County Council will soon debate a new 1% sales tax recommended this week by the Citizen Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC).
The tax, if approved, is projected to raise $700 million for critical transportation and mobility projects. That amount could grow significantly if the county qualifies for state and federal matching-fund programs.
“As we weaved through the process and reviewed the gravity of the assignment and the critical needs for improvement and new components for our local mobility, it became quite evident that there is much to do,” wrote TAC chair Dean Moss in the proposal to the county council dated May 10. “It appears that we are not just behind the eight ball, we are under it, and it will take a coordinated public relations effort to move even this limited referendum forward for a better mobility future for all of us.”
The council will first consider the proposed tax during its May 23 meeting. Three readings of the proposal are required. If passed by the council, the measure could be placed on the ballot for the November general election. Then, if approved by voters, the tax will go into effect in May 2023. It will remain in effect for either 10 years, or until the projected $700 million is raised, whichever comes first.
Application of the sales tax will follow state guidelines. Groceries, pharmaceuticals, newspapers and magazines are among the items exempt from the collection of the sales tax by state statute. Certain services are also exempt.
Included with the tax proposal were two lists of recommended transportation projects. Specific projects were named roadways and recommended budgets. These projects accounted for $335 million with projects north of the Broad River receiving $115 million and projects south of the Broad slated to receive $220 million.
The TAC recommended that the Lady’s Island traffic corridor improvements project receive $40 million. A project to improve capacity from Bell Bridge to Boundary Street and Woods Memorial Bridge was slotted for $75 million.
“The committee wanted to ensure recommendations matched the long-term transportation goals and at the same time benefited every citizen in our county,” Moss said. “I thank all the members for their dedication and hard work over the last three months.”
The proposal also included $365 million in recommended general transportation-improvement initiatives such as $25 million for mass transit and $20 million to address the effects of flooding, sea level rise, stormwater and drainage.
The creation of a standing Transportation Advisory Committee was included in the TAC recommendation. Members would “be appointed to assist the county council and staff in the prioritization and implementation of the projects and activities to be funded by the referendum.”
A similar 1% tax was approved by voters in 2018 to fund improvements to the Route 278 bridges to Hilton Head Island, make improvements along the Lady’s Island Corridor and extend the network of pathways in the county. That tax expired earlier this year. Experience with the 2018 process helped shape the county’s approach to the current initiative. The result was a greater emphasis on pre-planning.
“Only one project has been completed off (the 2018) list,” said Chris Ophardt, Beaufort County public information officer. “The rest are about to start because it took four years to go from the initial planning to the public hearing and then do the design phase. We’re in a much better place to get (the new) projects done sooner and get them all done because of the planning that the county and towns have done. The whole county, top to bottom, is in a better place to start these and get them done within the 10-year period.”
The committee consisted of 17 members, one each from the 11 county council districts, one each from the five municipalities and one from the city of Hardeeville.
“I would like to thank the members of the citizens of the committee that spent the last three months developing a balanced list of projects,” said County Administrator Eric Greenway. “If passed, these projects would improve citizens’ commute times, business opportunities and quality of life within our county.”
Tony Kukulich is a recent transplant to the Lowcountry. A native of Wilmington, Del., he comes to The Island News from the San Francisco Bay Area where he spent seven years as a reporter and photographer for several publications. He can be reached at tony.theislandnews@gmail.com.
