Good riddance to May referendum, but Hilton Head’s secret governance must end | Opinion

The Town of Hilton Head Island has, thankfully, come to realize that an unexplained, $65 million new tax proposal was not ready to go to a referendum this May.

But the core problem remains.

We still have governance by press release.

We still have no significant discussion in public by elected leaders on this monumental proposal.

The public has been privy to only the most general, cursory discussion as to why this 25-year tax was needed. The public heard no pros or cons, no discussion about the chosen projects or why others were not chosen, how dollar amounts were reached, or how it fits in with the long-discussed debate on what to do about island arts venues.

While it is maddening that Town Council would approve a referendum on first reading without ever telling the public how $25 million would be spent for the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, that is not the primary problem.

The problem is decision-making behind the scenes.

To repeat: The problem is not a “quality of life” referendum. We have no opinion on it because it has yet to be explained. The problem is reaching done deals behind the scenes.

For citizens, more discussion would go into deciding what brand of peanut butter to buy than the Town Council put into public discussion of a $65 million tax.

That method of operation is — or should be — fatally flawed from the outset in the public arena.

It is disheartening to see the Town of Hilton Head Island take this tack. Earlier, it did the same thing by introducing a proposal to quit paying some $3 million annually for its law enforcement, provided by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office; take over ownership and maintenance of 75 roads; and take over town park maintenance from the county — without a word of public discussion, cost comparisons or explanation. That key piece of public policy came in an undisclosed letter from the mayor to County Council. That too should fail. It is not representative government.

And now, the public has been left out of any discussion as to why the proposed tax referendum was put off until November 2021.

The public got its information via news release, and what our reporter Katherine Kokal could glean by walking into the mayor’s office and asking about it 20 minutes before the button was pushed on a news release.

The news release quoted the mayor: “Over the past several weeks, many of our residents have expressed their support for the concept of a referendum to the individual members of Town Council, while at the same time making known their concerns over the timing of the election and the level of detail available on the several projects that have been contemplated. We have listened to our constituents, and decided to take a step back.”

Good.

Now it should take a step forward.

Town Council must discuss public business in public.

It must give the public a voice before the council votes. And, as elementary-school math teachers always insisted, the council must show its work. Show the public how it reached its conclusions and why.

This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 5:30 AM.