How Will We Fund Road Improvements?

Glad to resume the Rising Tide column after taking a respite to run for office.  The number one concern I heard from voters while running for County Council was poor road conditions and excessive traffic.
I have documented in previous columns that one of our biggest problems with local roads is that most of them are controlled by the SC Dept. of Transportation (SCDOT).  The SCDOT has an inventory of 44,000 road miles, the fourth largest in the country.  I support a system in which the SCDOT would transfer control of secondary roads to local governments with maintenance funding attached based on usage.
It is clear that the state will not provide much assistance in fixing our roads in Charleston County.  After two years of debate in the General Assembly, a plan was approved to borrow $2.2 Billion over ten years for road construction and repair.  The only Lowcountry project included in the plan was widening I-26 west of Summerville.
The burden of fixing our roads will clearly fall on Charleston County taxpayers.  Charleston County Council is considering placing a referendum on the Nov. 8 ballot for another 0.5% sales tax increase for roads, mass transit and greenspace.  Keep in mind that Charleston County already has the state’s highest sales tax rate at 8.5% and an additional 2% sales tax on prepared food.
The County Council staff set up five public meetings to discuss the sales tax increase referendum in June, including one at West Ashley High School.  The staff did not make a presentation nor did it allow for public comment on the measure.  Those who attended were merely allowed to fill out surveys on the initial proposal, which included no funding for completing I-526 (connecting West Ashley near the Citadel Mall with Johns Island and James Island).
More than 1700 surveys on the referendum proposal were completed at the public meetings or online.  As of this writing, no summary of those surveys has been provided to the County Council or the public.  County Council has until Aug. 15 to submit the referendum wording to the Charleston County Board of Elections.
The proposed sales tax increase is projected to generate $2.1 Billion in revenue over 25 years.  A draft proposal shows that $1.4 Billion would go to road projects, $600 Million to mass transit and $125 Million to greenspace.
The draft proposal does include the I-526 extension but does not specify the amount.  There is speculation that the project may only extend from West Ashley to Johns Island.  It is also unclear whether the state Transportation Infrastructure Bank will supply the $420 Million in funding for the project initially committed in 2012.
Other road projects on the draft proposal of interest to West Ashley residents is an overpass at Main Rd. and Savannah Highway going onto Johns Island, widening the Glenn McConnell Parkway,  intersection improvements along Savannah Highway and various road resurfacing projects.
The mass transit list does include specific dollar amounts for three projects, including a controversial bus rapid transit system from Summerville to downtown.  No survey has been done to project how many people would use the system.  With the likelihood that most riders would be coming from Dorchester and Berkeley Counties, it is unclear why Charleston County should be funding the entire system.
The mass transit projects in the draft proposal include more than $350 Million for Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) operations and new buses.  I question using an additional tax to fund what should already be included in the CARTA budget if those items are justified. The greenspace component on the draft proposal does not specify any projects.
I hope that more specificity will be provided to voters before placing the sales tax increase referendum on the ballot.  County Council will have to act quickly to meet the Aug. 15 deadline.
Sandy Senn, who recently won the primary for Senate District 41 representing West Ashley and is unopposed in Nov., proposed funding road projects with a local option gas tax.  She has committed to sponsoring a bill authorizing the collection of the tax.  Unlike the state gas tax, all of the money collected in a local option sales tax would go to Charleston County projects.  We all know the roads need improvement!
John Steinberger is the former chairman of the Charleston County Republican Party, a leading Fair Tax advocate, and a West Ashley resident. He can be reached at John.steinberger@scfairtax.org.