Long time Beaufort resident and public representative, Edie Rodgers, addressed County Council during public comment at Monday’s meeting. Proudly wearing her “I Voted” sticker, Rodgers took her full three minutes to tell the council why she did NOT vote for the 2024 Beaufort County Transportation Sales Tax (TST) questions when she went to the polls earlier that day.
Rodgers’ scolding would have stung no matter who had delivered the message, but coming from a woman who truly ‘knows her stuff’ and served as the SC Representative for District 124 from 1996-2002 it had a special kind of authority. Rodgers doesn’t speak out publicly very often, but last night it was clear she felt she could no longer stay in the background on the issue of the TST.
Rodgers spoke specifically about the current 2024 TST and the lack of details included about proposed projects, stating that putting a price on a project prior to any kind of design or specifics is “putting the cart before the horse.” Rodgers went on to say, “I’ve lost my trust in your ability to do the best thing for Beaufort County, and there are many others who join me in that feeling. … You won’t regain our trust until you put the horse in front of the cart. … Show us some real transparency and integrity. … In the meantime, we’re voting ‘no’.”
When the meeting broke up to go into executive session, Ms. Rodgers handed each of the council members a printed copy of her full statement. You can watch her full statement here.
Ms. Rodgers was referring to these two questions that Beaufort County citizens will answer on the ballot:
Question 1: I approve a special sales and use tax in the amount of one percent (1%) to be imposed in Beaufort County for not more than ten (10) years, or until a total of $950,000,000 in resulting revenue has been collected, whichever occurs first, to fund the following projects: Project (1) For financing the costs of highways, roads, streets, bridges, and other transportation-related projects facilities related thereto including, but not limited to, drainage facilities relating to the highways, roads, streets, bridges, and other transportation-related projects; and mass transit systems operated by Beaufort County or jointly operated by the County and other governmental entities $900,000,000. Project (2) For financing the costs of greenbelt initiatives $50,000,000. Instructions to Voters: All qualified electors desiring to vote in favor of levying the special sales and use tax shall vote “YES” and All qualified electors opposed to levying the special sales and use tax shall vote “NO.”
_____ Yes, In favor of the question _____ No, Opposed to the question
Question 2 I approve the issuance of not exceeding $515,000,000 of general obligation bonds of Beaufort County, maturing over a period not to exceed ten (10) years and payable from the special sales and use tax described in Question 1 above, to fund completion of projects from among the categories described in Question 1 above. Instructions to Voters: All qualified electors desiring to vote in favor of levying the special sales and use tax shall vote “YES” and All qualified electors opposed to levying the special sales and use tax shall vote “NO.”
_____ Yes, In favor of the question _____ No, Opposed to the question
The proposed 2024 TST has faced intense scrutiny in large part because the 2018 Transportation Sales Tax referendum has so many projects that have not even been started or are still unfinished. BeaufortCountyPenny.com shows that four of the 34 total projects have been completed, and that four others are in process, leaving 26 out of 34 either “on hold” or in the pre-design/design phase. Opponents of the upcoming 2024 TST, including Edie Rodgers, question why Beaufort County citizens would vote for a new referendum when the projects from the last one have barely begun. Another prevalent argument against the 2024 TST is that the county’s own project list includes an additional $30M for “2018 Existing Pathway Projects” that citizens thought were already paid for with the last referendum.
It seems every County Council member would do well to reach out to Ms. Rodgers and give her more than three minutes to educate them on the concerns of the community.
For more information about the 2024 Transportation Sales Tax questions that will be on your ballot, you can read these previous Beaufort Insider articles: Beaufort’s Growing Pains: How the County’s Transportation Tax Could Address Challenges; As Beaufort Prepares to Vote on New Tax, Questions Linger About Past Transportation Spending; OPINION: Why We Should Reject the 2024 Transportation Sales and Use Tax Referendum; OPINION: We Can’t Trust Them!
It’s RODGERS
I apologize for the error. It has been corrected. Thank you!
When I moved here in 1992 I was blown away by the women political leaders we had back then–Edie Rogers, Beth Grace, Harriet Keyserling… Not that we don’t have good women in elected positions now, but it would be even better if we had a large pool of candidates to avoid burn-out after several hard-working years.
Your silence on the appeals court ruling that the hotel and garage approval process followed by the city was not illegal is a signpost on your bias and who really makes the decisions about what is published by this fake news website.
Good things come to those who wait: https://www.beaufortinsider.org/new-updates-in-graham-trask-v-dick-stewart/