The most important local election that Charleston County voters will decide this year is whether to extend a half-percent transportation sales tax -- more commonly but less accurately called a "half-cent" sales tax -- that is expected to generate more than $5 billion during the next 25 years. We urge voters to vote "no" for many reasons having little to do with the tax itself and everything to do with what County Council would -- and would not -- spend it on.
County Council decided to designate only one priority project to be funded by the Charleston County Special Sales and Use Tax question: the controversial extension of Interstate 526 across Johns and James islands; it will be completely up to the county which if any of the other projects on its lengthy list of other projects to fund. The 526 project would take up about half of the total revenue given its $2.3 billion price tag and the additional $648 million in borrowing costs that would be enabled by the second question, which voters also should reject.
The project is controversial not only because of the wetlands and communities it would claim along its 9-mile route but also because its construction would further fuel development on Johns Island, an island many want to see retain at least some of its rural character. New development will occur there regardless of whether the highway is built, but this project would speed it up. As we've noted, Hilton Head Island has a larger population than Johns, Wadmalaw, Kiawah and Seabrook islands combined, but its new bridge will have three lanes in each direction. Even without 526, Johns Island soon will have four lanes both ways.
Also, the $2.3 billion cost is likely to rise, perhaps dramatically, given the inflation seen with other road projects. Since it's the only priority project, that would jeopardize other far more popular and needed road projects elsewhere in the county, such as rebuilding and elevating the oft-flooded ramp leading from the U.S. Highway 17 bridge to S.C. Highway 61 in West Ashley. County Council should have broken I-526 into a separate question but did not, knowing that it likely would fail. A lawsuit to force the question to be rewritten was set aside by a judge, whose ruling noted opponents could raise that issue legally if voters approved the referendum proposals.
Make no mistake, the county has never tackled a road project this large, and it's unclear how successfully it can, even with the S.C. Department of Transportation's help. The county has struggled to complete much smaller projects from its 2016 sales tax referendum, including building a flyover at Main Road and Highway 17, where traffic can back up for more than a mile. County officials blame bonding rules, permitting and the general complexity for the delays, but it's hard to ignore that completing the project would have addressed the biggest traffic jam for those heading to the island, likely lessening support for the Mark Clark extension.
Beyond the Mark Clark extension, voters should reject these questions because of the relative lack of money for needed park and land conservation work. While the county set aside $432 million for these greenbelt projects, that's only 8% of the total pie, far less than the 17% allocated to greenbelts in the 2004 tax and down from the 10% greenbelt share in the 2016 sales tax extension.
If this sales tax proposal fails this year, some County Council members vow to put the question before voters again in 2026. After all, the original half-percent sales tax is in effect until 2027, and a third one would not take effect until then, at the earliest. Voters should vote "no" this time and send an unmistakable message that bringing the same proposal back again two years from now would be nothing more than a big waste of everyone's time.
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