Why is spending $146M on traffic fixes complicated? Beaufort Council looks to repeat it
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Beaufort County Traffic
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Four years after Beaufort County residents voted to approve a 1% sales tax to fund transportation and traffic projects — of which only 10% have been completed — county council members are moving forward with placing a similar tax back on the ballot, despite two dissenting voices.
Seven of the 11 council members shared their perspectives with The Island Packet & Beaufort Gazette on why 90% of the 2018 projects remain incomplete and their reason for supporting or opposing putting the new penny tax, which would ask taxpayers to raise $950 million and then repay it over 10 years, on this year’s ballot.
David Bartholomew, York Glover, Alice Howard, Joe Passiment, Anna Maria (Tab) Tabernik, Paula Brown and Tom Reitz provided their standing on the taxes. Gerald Dawson, Logan Cunningham, Mark Lawson and Lawrence McElynn did not respond to comment after multiple attempts throughout the week.
Council members’ viewpoints
Gerald Dawson, District 1, serves Burton and other areas North of the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. Term expires December 2024. Contact: 843-986-7265 or gdawson@bcgov.net
Dawson, a council member since 2005, did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails throughout the week. He voted to put the new 1% sales tax on the upcoming November ballot.
David Bartholomew, District 2, serves parts of Beaufort, Lady’s Island and the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. Term expires December 2026. Contact: 843-986-7430 or dbartholomew@bcgov.net
Bartholomew, who is in his first term, voted to put the 1% sales tax on the ballot. As a constituent, he said he supported the 2018 referendum to improve infrastructure in the county, but became frustrated by the slow progress and lack of communication about the projects. When he became a council member, he said his goal was to focus on the Lady’s Island corridor and get the projects within completed.
His perspective of the slow progress began to shift while on the council after gaining a deeper understanding of the projects’ timelines and processes. He believes communication has improved greatly and encourages the public to check the Beaufort County Penny Tax website for updates on the projects.
York Glover, District 3, serves part of Beaufort and St. Helena Island. Term expires December 2024. Contact: 843-812-2909 or yglover@bcgov.net
Glover, a council member since 2017, voted to put the 1% sales tax on the ballot. As a member of the council when the 2018 penny referendum was voted on and passed, he said he hadn’t expected the infrastructure projects to have taken so long to complete. However, he said he understands the complexities involved, such as acquiring rights of way and addressing community concerns.
Glover voted to put the new tax on the ballot after recalling advice from a Coastal Conservation League member about the need to build infrastructure before growth occurs, using Charleston as a cautionary example. By planning ahead, he hopes to ensure Beaufort can handle the increased demand over the next 10 to 20 years by reducing congestion and supporting smoother development.
“I can understand why there’s only a small percentage,” Glover said. “However, infrastructure is here for us, and we got to deal with it, and you either deal with it now or deal with it later.”
Alice Howard, District 4, serves parts of Beaufort and the Town of Port Royal. Term expires December 2026. Contact: 843-986-7403 or ahoward@bcgov.net
Howard, a council member since 2015, voted to put the 2024 1% sales tax measure on the ballot, noting that it is up to each individual voter to make up their own mind if they wanted to vote for the tax or not.
Her reasoning for why so many of the 2018 projects have not been completed include the time it took getting the town of Hilton Head to agree to a memorandum, which was needed for the bridge to Hilton Head, as well as the increase in construction costs due to delays because of COVID-19.
“I don’t think any of us could have predicted what happened in 2020 with COVID,” she said. “ It was disappointing, but there were so many extenuating circumstances during that period of time. They are excuses, but they’re very valid excuses.”
Joe Passiment, District 5, serves parts of Okatie, Sun City and some areas along Robert Smalls Parkway. Term expires December 2026. Contact: 732-995-2102 or jpassiment@bcgov.net
Passiment, a council member since 2019 and the council chairman, voted to put the 2024 1% sales tax measure on the ballot. He emphasized that while delays have occurred with the 2018 projects due to factors like rising costs due to national issues, he said the council is fully aware of the situation and committed to completing the projects. The money has been secured and many projects are already under construction, he said.
“Are we going to finish the projects? The answer is yes,” he said. As for the proposed referendum to finish the remaining work and start new projects, he said the decision is ultimately up to the voters.
Anna Maria (Tab) Tabernik, District 6, serves parts of Sun City and the New Riverside area. Term expires December 2026. Contact: 843-986-7380 or anna.tabernik@bcgov.net
Tabernik, who is in her first term, voted to put the 1% sales tax measure on the November ballot. It is up to the public to decide on the matter, she said.
Speaking on the original 2018 penny tax, she said she became aware of the progress of the 2018 projects at a council meeting where she was informed of the process it takes to complete each project, adding how “nothing happens immediately.” During the meeting, she learned of delays that had been exacerbated by COVID-19, supply chain issues and inflation. The result? A shortfall of funds needed to complete all the projects, she said, which is why the upcoming referendum includes additional money to finish them.
“We’re of victims right now of the environment and the inflation, she said. “But I can’t speak for sure about anything other than what I was told by engineering.”
- Logan Cunningham, District 7, serves western Bluffton. Term expires December 2024. Contact: 843-986-4722 or logan.cunningham@bcgov.net
Cunningham, a council member since 2021, did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails throughout the week. He voted to put the new 1% sales tax on the upcoming November ballot.
Paula Brown, District 8, serves parts of eastern Bluffton and a small portion of Hilton Head Island. Term expires December 2026. Contact: 843-941-9936 or paula.brown@bcgov.net
Brown, who is in her first term, voted against putting the 1% sales tax on the ballot. She initially voted to support it, but said she has since opposed it due to feeling “misled down the wrong road.” She also expressed a general reluctance to raise taxes, citing her conservative stance on taxation.
“I’m a Republican, I’m conservative and I’m for no taxes period,” she said.
Brown wasn’t on the council when the 2018 tax was implemented and is not fully familiar with the details of past expenditures, she said. However, she noted the new tax could place a significant burden on residents, particularly those with lower incomes.
Mark Lawson, District 9, serves parts of eastern Bluffton and Daufuskie Island. Term expires December 2026. Contact: 843-986-7045 or markl@bcgov.net
Lawson, a council member since 2019, did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails throughout the week. He voted to put the new 1% sales tax on the upcoming November ballot.
Lawrence McElynn, District 10, serves parts of Hilton Head Island. Term expires December 2026. Contact: 843-941-3159 or lawrencem@bcgov.net
McElynn, a council member since 2019, did not respond to multiple phone calls and emails throughout the week. He voted to put the new 1% sales tax on the upcoming November ballot.
- Tom Reitz, District 11, serves the south end of Hilton Head Island and communities up the east coast of the island including Shipyard, Palmetto Dunes and Folly Field. Term expires December 2026. Contact: 843-941-3931 or thomas.reitz@bcgov.net
Reitz, who is in his first term, voted not to put the 1% sales tax on the 2024 ballot on behalf of his constituents. During a council meeting where the 2018 referendum projects’ statuses were shown, he said it was clear to him and the public how little had gotten done.
He added that the high inflation and low level of trust in the council were other reasons why his constitutes said no.
If passed on November 5, the additional penny increase to the county’s sales tax will go into effect immediately after the current tax is completed.
This story was originally published August 30, 2024 at 1:31 PM.
