Abracadabra! Tell Hilton Head to quit pulling ‘magic’ from behind the curtain | Opinion
Once again, the Hilton Head Island Town Council is playing “Abracadabra” with the public.
Like a magician pulling a surprise from behind a curtain, the council has mysteriously produced a proposed new 25-year tax to raise $65 million. It was first mentioned publicly in December at a council retreat in Beaufort. Last week, a motion to get it on a referendum ballot in May was unanimously approved, the first of two required public votes by council.
This idea is problematic on several levels, but primarily for the lack of public discussion and lack of specifics.
We’re told it’s something the town manager and mayor discussed.
The result is a list of private entities that would receive millions of dollars — a list that was selected (Abracadabra!) before it was presented to the public.
It is problematic because this is a rush job, to get it on a ballot in May — when few are likely to vote.
That’s no way to do business, public or private. It raises suspicion.
It is problematic because we have no context. How were these outlays chosen? It appears that somebody has an agenda, but the public does not know who or why because the proposal was given to the public as a done deal, with no input.
Somewhere, we missed the public discussion of whether we should tap this revenue stream at all. Do we really want to continue a tax that was approved for only five years and for something different: the singular, well-documented need of hurricane recovery. Since that tax will go off the books in two years, we’re now told — with scant public discussion — that it needs to be extended for 25 years.
There may be great merit in spending $35 million on the arts and culture scene, and $30 million on parks and recreation. But here’s the problem: We don’t know. And, based on the lack of specifics offered to the public by Town Council members, neither do they.
Why is this Town Council under Mayor John McCann afraid to conduct public business in public? That is the true problem, and one that supersedes a million bucks here and a million bucks there.
Recently, the mayor (Abracadabra!) decided the town should quit paying the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office for the extra service $3 million-plus a year is supposed to provide. And at the same time, the town would take over maintenance of 75 roads, as well as parks. No discussion. Just a done deal, with the public told not to worry, residents would have a few minutes to comment when the done-deal is about to be signed.
Now comes the $65 million tax hike, with no discussion.
Suddenly, we’re going to spend $25 million on the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, and (Abracadabra!) it will have a new alliance with the University of South Carolina Beaufort, which will maintain the aging building. Different arts venues have been studied for much of the past decade, so why now is this the way to go? Who said so? What will the $25 million buy?
We support the arts, and certainly public parks. But more importantly, we support open government and a mature, measured discussion with taxpayers. The Abracadabra approach should and will fail.