Beaufort County staff eye 1% transportation sales tax for November ballot

Beaufort County engineering director Brian Bauer told the Transportation Advisory Committee that county staff are "looking at another transportation sales tax referendum to get on the ballot in November for a 1% local sales tax," saying the revenue would fund road safety, intersection improvements, resurfacing and dirt-road paving with no increase in property taxes.

The presentation recalled three previous transportation sales-tax efforts that together raised more than $300,000,000 for county projects, including a four-year, $120,000,000 measure passed in 2018. Bauer said six reprioritized projects from prior lists are complete, one project is in construction (an alternate pathway), and five more are expected to reach construction by the end of the year. County staff set a goal of having the remaining projects completed by 2028, except for one bridge identified as an exception.

Bauer described the advisory structure and schedule: county council formed a 15-member committee that has held meetings at each municipality, with nine meetings planned and a recommendation to be delivered to council by May 11. He urged public engagement at upcoming TAC meetings and via the county's outreach channels, saying project recommendation forms and member lists are available through the Beaufort County "penny" website and county social media.

Committee members asked about which projects are eligible and whether mass transit is part of the package. Bauer said the measure is focused on safety, intersection and resurfacing categories; he noted that mass transit has not yet been a recommended project and that, to date, no TAC member had proposed a transit project. He also said estimates of how much of the tax would be paid by visitors versus residents range between roughly 40% and 60%.

When asked what would happen if a future referendum failed, Bauer said county staff are exploring alternatives but cautioned that existing non-sales-tax funding streams—vehicle registration fees (a portion of which is earmarked for transportation), state gas-tax allocations split across many counties, and other sources—are unlikely to cover large-scale projects at the same scale as a dedicated sales-tax measure.

The next TAC evening meeting was announced for Wednesday, April 1 in Bluffton from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.; staff said outreach and an education campaign are under discussion to explain the proposed measure to voters.

The committee did not vote on placing a referendum on the ballot during the meeting; the item remains under study and staff will return with a refined project list and recommendation.