Y’all this is a yes or no vote November and does not even mention more than half funds the Mark Clark expansion which is a boondoggle. Write the Charleston County Council and let them know this is dishonest for their constituents. Kobrowvsky and Wehrman voted against this hidden agenda.
Their emails are here:
https://www.charlestoncounty.org/departments/county-council/index.php
MORNING NEWSBREAK | Charleston County Council on Tuesday night voted 6-2 to ask voters in November to extend a transportation sales tax.
Those voting for the measure were: Opposing the measure were council members Larry Kobrovsky of Sullivan’s Island and Rob Wehrman of North Charleston. Henry Darby of North Charleston, who previously opposed the measure, was absent.
The ballot referendum would extend a current half-cent tax approved in 2016. Renewal of the half-cent tax would fund the county’s share of the $2.3 billion Mark Clark extension project plus more than $2 billion in other projects. Funding also would include borrowing of more than $600 million to pay interest costs on a $1.8 billion loan to pay its share of the road extension project from West Ashley across Johns Island to James Island.
Areas including James Island, John’s Island, West Ashley, Mount Pleasant, North Charleston and the upper peninsula of Charleston are supposed to receive roadway improvements as well.
Kobrovsky, who voted against the referendum, criticized the proposal, saying that more than half of the money would be used toward the Mark Clark expansion project, leaving little for the other projects listed.
“If it’s going to be a legitimate referendum, people need to know when they vote for something that the projects listed will be built, but we know going into this that they’re not going to be. They’re just a wish list,” Kobrovsky said.
Kobrovsky added that projects from the previous transportation sales tax referendum from 2016 haven’t even started yet. The new tax would pay for millions of dollars of work that was supposed to be covered by the 2016 referendum.
“I strongly urge people to use fiscal sanity and reject it and make them come back and put something on the table that addresses our county needs in a way that makes fiscal sense and can be morally acceptable,” Kobrovsky said.
Charleston County sued for illegal ballot question.
“If the referendum only provides me with one yes-or-no question and only one opportunity to vote on all of these projects together, I will have to make a difficult choice between projects I strongly believe in and a $2.3-billion-dollar boondoggle. I’m concerned that others opposed to the I-526 Extension may not be aware that voting for this transportation sales tax will largely fund the extension project, leaving no money for anything else. This lack of knowledge will lead them to unknowingly vote yes to enact the tax because they support local road improvements and greenbelts—which will not be left any money once I-526 is completed.”
Mary Edna Fraser