Charleston voters say no on sales tax referendum

Updated, 9 a.m., 11/6/24 | Charleston County voters sent a solid “no” message Tuesday to Charleston County Council on its request to extend a half-cent sales tax to raise billions for road and other projects.

“This is a huge grassroots victory of big importance,” Republican County Council member Larry Kobrovsky told the City Paper Wednesday morning. “It shows you can fight back against City Hall — or in this case, County Hall — for what you love and for fiscal responsibility, and win. Any fair-minded person looking objectively would have to see this is all about I-526 and trying to ram stuff down with it.”

The first ballot question, which would have implemented the tax, was rejected by 127,385 voters (61.4%) out of just over 200,000 people who voted. The second ballot question, which would have approved the issuance of $1 billion in general obligation bonds to the county, was rejected by 120,256 voters (59%) out of the 200,000 who voted.

The referendum was rejected by every precinct on James and Johns islands, where about half of the funds from the referendum (about $2.3 billion) would have gone to the extension of Interstate 526, including more than $600 million to pay interest costs on a tax-backed loan worth $1.8 billion.

“The Coastal Conservation League is proud of voters who stood up for our environment, community, and future by voting down the unbalanced and unfair 2024 special sales and use tax,” Coastal Conservation League Executive Director Faith James Rivers said in a Tuesday night statement.

What happened Tuesday

The reason for the decisive rejection: a vague question and a shady track record, according to opponents.

The new tax would have paid for millions of dollars of work that was supposed to be covered by a referendum passed in 2016. About 5% of all the new tax’s revenue, or $282,223,000 would go toward “carryover projects” from that previous tax. Not only that, but the vast majority of the funds, about $1.7 billion, were marked for the controversial Mark Clark extension.

“Charleston County voters deserve to make informed choices when they head to the polls. They should not be forced into an all-or-nothing decision,” James said in a previous report. “Voters deserve the right to vote for preferred needed improvements — like Greenbelt and CARTA funds — without being forced to support the destructive and unnecessary Mark Clark extension as the priority project.”

Kobrovsky, who represents the East Cooper area, added that there was no guarantee all of the projects funded by the new sales tax would be built, either, adding to the uncertainty of the measure.

“You have to be transparent, humble and lay it all out there,” he said. “If you lose that good faith, you deserve to be beaten.”

Kobrovsky said by all accounts, the rejection should be the end of the massive push for fundraising for I-526.

“I have to think that the depth and the breadth of the opposition will give them pause,” he said.