The Beaufort County Council has formed a Capital Sales Tax Commission to develop a list of capital projects to be funded by a local sales tax increase. The Commission’s goal is to develop the language or question to be placed on the ballot for consideration by voters during the November 2016 Election period. The Commission, or Penny Tax Commission (PTC), has directed that all applications for capital projects that are to be considered must be reviewed and approved by local County and/or municipal governments.

Submissions for review must have supporting documentation including, but not limited to, a full description of the project, the needs associated with the project, the area to be served, and the estimated capital cost including soft cost (planning, engineering, and land acquisition, for example).

The PTC has developed the following basic guidelines for the types of projects that may be considered by the PTC for inclusion on the initial list:
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">1. The project must be a realistic and achievable public capital infrastructure need.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">2. Projects that have other sources of funding as well as completed planning and engineering will be given greater consideration.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">3. Projects must be sized to allow completion in a reasonable period
of time.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">4. The project must have post-development operations and maintenance costs budgeted and funded at the time the project is expected to be completed.</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">5. The project should not be in direct competition with private sector development but may be complimentary in nature (generally a public use).</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">6. Projects must be physical in nature (brick and mortar).</p>
Keep in mind that the PTC will be looking at projects that provide countywide benefits, or those that serve a larger section of the greater community.

The deadline for submitting a project list to the PTC is February 1, 2016. Submissions should be sent to:
<p style="padding-left: 60px;">Beaufort County Finance Department Attn: Linda Maietta
106 Industrial Village Road, Building #2
Beaufort, SC 29906</p>
The PTC will review the initial project list and set up public, televised meetings for the applicants to present and answer questions related to their project list. Presentations will be scheduled as soon as possible after March 1, 2016.