Committee recommends removing groceries from proposed sales tax, extends collection window to preserve $780 million program

The Beaufort County Facilities Committee voted May 18 to recommend that county council remove unprepared foods (groceries) from the proposed transportation sales-tax base. Staff and bond counsel told the committee that including unprepared foods increases the revenue estimate by roughly 14 percent and shortens the collection time; removing groceries preserves the policy choice of exempting basic groceries but lengthens the collection period by about a year to hit the program's $780 million projection.

Staff presented an ordinance draft that earlier estimated $780 million over eight years using Department of Revenue guidance that included unprepared foods in the base. Bond counsel explained that the ballot and ordinance can be drafted to include or exclude that category; if excluded, the same project list could be funded but the collection period would extend. "Without unprepared foods, the eight-year cumulative projection drops by about $100 million," staff said, adding the delta equates to roughly one extra year of collections to reach the stated program total.

Committee members debated the tradeoffs between faster funding and protecting grocery purchases; several members argued groceries should not be taxed. After discussion the committee voted by roll call to recommend removing unprepared foods and to keep the program total at $780 million while allowing staff to extend the collection timeframe accordingly. The committee also asked staff to correct several stray references (for example, references to mass transit that staff agreed to scrub) before first reading.

The recommendation will be forwarded to county council on a time-sensitive basis for first reading and final drafting ahead of the proposed ballot question.

Votes at the committee were recorded by roll call; the recommendation to remove unprepared foods and extend the collection period passed 5' 2.