This opinion piece was written and submitted by Ann Ubelis, Co-Founder and Chair of the Beaufort TEA Party.
This month, on Monday, October 21st, early voting begins in South Carolina. Much is at stake on this ballot—for the nation, the state of South Carolina, and Beaufort County. Beaufort County Council is placing two referendums on the ballot, amounting to over $1 billion in taxpayer liability.
Let’s look at the first referendum.
County Council is asking you to trust them with $950 million for a 2024 Transportation Sales and Use Tax (TST) that will last 10 years, starting next May. They call it a “Penny Tax,” but it is actually a 1% sales tax on all taxable goods and services countywide. What’s different? Previous Transportation Sales Tax referendums, dating back to 1998, were limited in scope, did not exceed $152 million, or lasted no more than six years. This referendum fails to meet those previous standards.
In 2018, we passed a Transportation Sales Tax for $120 million over four years, covering 34 projects. To date, only four of the 34 projects are completed. The vast majority of those remaining are still in the “pre-design” or “design” stages. Council told the public that inflation and cost overruns were the reasons for the delays, and that the COVID pandemic slowed progress.
This explanation doesn’t quite add up. Protocol requires multiple contract bids and adherence to contract cost packages. Why weren’t contractors held to their bids? The COVID lockdowns are another excuse for the failure to move forward on the projects. It’s hard to understand why so many projects remain in “pre-design” or “design” stages. During the lockdowns, there was extensive use of off-site work teams using Zoom, Skype, and other internet apps. Government entities and businesses were able to maintain workflow continuity. Why didn’t this happen with the 2018 TST projects?
According to the Beaufort County Penny Tax website’s 2024 Financial Statement, approximately $150 million remains from the 2018 TST. This raises the question: Why isn’t County Council moving forward with completing the 2018 TST projects before asking for additional money for new projects? Worse yet, Council has included the unfinished 2018 TST projects alongside the projected 2024 TST projects. We call that “double dipping.”
What initially drew the taxpayers’ critical eye to the 2024 TST referendum was its original price tag of $1.65 billion over 15 years. During the January and February 2024 County Council public meetings, where the ordinance referendum for the 2024 TST was read and discussed, the public expressed disapproval. They despised both the amount and the lifespan of the referendum. The public demanded that the 2018 projects be completed before the Council places a new TST referendum on the ballot.
In the past, the projects were clearly defined. The 2024 referendum, however, includes projects that are vague and not clearly outlined. The referendum also contains slush funds for Council wish lists and project administrators’ pet projects.
The best surprise for voters? A second referendum was not introduced until the final reading of the ordinance. In the three previous public council meetings when the ordinance was read, only the 2024 Transportation Sales and Use Tax referendum was discussed. Suddenly, during the final reading on June 24th, a second referendum for a $515 million General Obligation Bond issuance was introduced. This was the only time the public was notified of the bond referendum, which was placed on the ballot without the mandatory three readings and public discussion.
According to South Carolina law, Council is required to present three public readings and discussions of an ordinance, followed by a vote, before it can be placed on the ballot. While the Council may have followed the letter of the law, they did not follow its intent. By not placing information before the public in Council public meetings, information sessions, and on county websites that informed and promoted the ordinance—containing both a “Penny Tax” referendum and a second bond issuance referendum—they neglected the law’s intent.
Council and County Assistant Administrator Jared Fralix made numerous presentations about the ordinance, always focusing solely on the 2024 TST referendum. A search of the websites, including BeaufortCountyPenny.com, reveals no reference to the bond referendum. Mr. Fralix could not provide a reason or explanation for this omission. Omitting a $515 million General Obligation Bond referendum from public presentations, county websites, and County Council public meetings is one heck of a mistake—or is it?
Now it’s up to you, the voter. Can you trust County Council with both referendums? Can you trust this Council after they withheld, for nine months, from Beaufort County Sheriff Tanner, Solicitor Duffy Stone, and SC Attorney General Alan Wilson a report detailing possible criminal actions involving county officials and employees? When AG Wilson convened a grand jury that issued subpoenas to County Council in reference to this misconduct, can you trust the Council to responsibly administer the sales tax and bond issuance?
When you step up to the voting machine and scroll down to the local issues, to Referendum 1 and Referendum 2, ask yourself: What has County Council hidden from us, and why? Before we give them one more penny of our money, let’s demand they earn back our trust. Tell them by voting NO! Tell them to finish the 2018 projects first, then come back with a new referendum for new projects, for less money and a shorter time period. Demand they clean house first and give us responsible, transparent government. No trust, no tax!
They fooled us once before. Vote NO on the “Fool Me Twice Tax!”
Ann Ubelis
Ann Ubelis is a retired business owner and manager. She is co-founder and Chair of the Beaufort TEA Party, SC, and hosts a weekly podcast, “Southern Sense Talk”.
The fat proposal for issuing the bond is their standard operating procedure in that they immediately borrow all they can so we can pay interest on it for years before they ever start the first project because they have a way of asking for money before they even have a plan, i.e. the Lady’s Island projects! Yes, we were suckered in 2018, but we won’t be fooled again. Maybe they’d like to start following the requirements for Capital Improvement Projects and list every single project, as well as noting that the taxation will stop when their goal is reached. Maybe the AG should be made aware of this proposal. Bottom line: They have no idea at this point WHERE we’ll need new roads and they have no designs ready. Somebody in Engineering/Planning needs to be fired!!!