Letter: Referendums were not realistic

Why did all three ballot measures for Beaufort County — the sales tax for capital projects, sales tax for schools and bond initiative — fail? Perhaps the financial obligation of nearly $420 million and 10-year term were simply too much for taxpayers to swallow.

Trying to get north-of-the-Broad residents to vote for projects on Hilton Head or persuade Blufftonians to vote on stuff for Port Royal is a tough way to do business. And the general public is not equipped to understand the back stories of each project in a lengthy referendum — council members are. The one referendum council should seriously consider for the next ballot is the Local Option Sales Tax that would allow each entity within the county to fund projects as they see fit.

As for school projects, there are legitimate needs that will continuously come up — but forking over $300 million for a decade isn’t happening. School board members must whittle this down — way down — to absolute needs over a reasonable term.

Beaufort County voters will do the right thing, but that includes shooting down proposals that overreach.

This story was originally published November 14, 2016 at 4:08 PM with the headline "Letter: Referendums were not realistic."