Hardeeville Mayor Harry Williams discusses the referendum question

Harry Williams
| Mayor of Hardeeville

On Election Day, we will all be asked to answer a referendum question. Both Beaufort and Jasper County residents will be asked if they want to fund road projects with a 1% transportation sales tax.

First, let me say that state law prohibits elected officials from “advocating” for a referendum question. But we can “educate.” So I’ll stick to the facts to help you make an informed choice.

Beaufort County’s referendum calls for a 10-year, $950 million, 1% sales tax. They have a list of projects and estimated costs. Jasper County is proposing a 15-year, $470 million, 1% tax. Hardeeville is in Jasper County, so I’ll only talk about Jasper today. What’s important to note is that Beaufort’s project list includes their portion of the “triangle” which includes widening 170 and 278 to the county line and Jasper’s list includes widening Argent Blvd. and 278 from the county line to I-95. If passed, this would be a “regional” attempt to accommodate the future of this growing corridor.

First, some facts about the state law. The state has a 6% sales tax, and counties can, if approved by referendum, impose three 1% taxes. Since 2017, Jasper County has used all three for a total of 9%. The 1% is a “Local Option Sales Tax” (LOST). Some of this is refunded to homeowners, and some is retained by the county and municipalities. If you check your property taxes, you can see the amount you have refunded. The 1% was a 20-year expiring school tax. The school district asked voters to renew it in 2022, but the referendum failed and the 1% is no longer collected. The last 1% was a transportation sales tax for road projects that passed in 2016 and is also expiring. Jasper County’s sales tax is being reduced from 9% to 7%. If this new referendum passes, the tax will be 8%.

Another state law that is important to understand is that the tax expires when the dollar amount or number of years is reached. In Jasper, if 15 years is reached but only $400 million is collected, it expires anyway. If $470 million is reached in 12 years, it expires.

On July 2, the Jasper County Council held a workshop and invited Hardeeville and Ridgeland, and the public, to provide input. Here is the list of projects that will be included in the referendum: a) Widening of Argent Blvd. b) Widening of 278 from the county line to I-95. c) Improvements and widening of the 46/170/315 corridor. d) Improvements to the 17/321 intersections. e) Improvements to SC 336. f) Improvements to exits 18 and 22 intersections. g) Improvements to Glover Rd. h) Improvements to US 278/SC 652 intersection. i) Widening of SC462 from 170 to Snake Rd. j) Improvements to US 17/MacKay Point Rd. intersection. k) Improvements to US 321/336 intersection. l) Reconstruction of Levy Rd. m) Greenbelt initiatives. Each part of the County has projects.

The cost of this list is $470 million, but an additional $256 million was identified. These “Plan B” projects are important to note because predicting the future 15 years from now is not an exact science. Many things can change. For example, we may receive a grant from the state or federal government for a project on the list. SCDOT may take care of the exit needs. That’s what happened with Exit 8 after the last referendum. SCDOT will take care of that exit as part of the widening and we didn’t have to use sales tax money. On the other hand, we may not collect $470 million or some projects may cost more than estimated. Some projects may have to wait or we may have to pursue other sources of funding.

Priorities were discussed and an advisory committee was formed for that purpose. This will consist of the mayors of Hardeeville and Ridgeland, the County Council President, and a School Board member. Regular meetings will be held to discuss the status of tax collections, cost estimates, and priorities. These meetings will be open to the public for transparency and to hear the concerns of our residents.

South Carolina, and especially coastal communities, typically prefer to fund road projects with sales taxes because of the large influx of tourists. These welcome guests help the local economy, but they also use our roads, our first responders, and more. Local sales taxes are one way that tourists help pay for the services we provide. Of every tax dollar collected, 40-45% is paid by people who don’t live here. If we had to tax real estate, our residents would pay 100% of the cost.

This is just a “high level” representation of the referendum question you will be answering. Jasper County has two more readings and votes on the ordinance before it becomes official. I will return to the subject as we get closer to November.