|
Sales tax increases may not pave way for road projects
By Jessica Johnson
Contributing Writer
Voter-approved measures to improve transportation in Charleston and Dorchester counties may come up short of crossing every transportation need from the original lists.
Transportation tax measures were approved for specified projects. Charleston County residents approved their measure, a half-cent sales tax, with one list of guaranteed projects and a second list that would receive any remaining funds. Dorchester County approved a 1 cent sales tax with a list of 22 projects.
Officials in both counties say the volatile fuel prices have affected the cost of road construction, meaning neither list may be completed.
“The cost related to fuel and petroleum products goes to the bottom line real quick,” said Donnie Dukes of Davis & Floyd the program manager for Dorchester County’s proposed road improvement projects.
Road-building construction costs are affected by the fuel used for equipment and the petroleum-based products such as asphalt used in the building process.
“The price of fuel is driving inflation,” Charleston County Council Chairman Leon Stavrinakis said.
Labor costs are also increasing. Demand for skilled workers increased due to rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina.
“Construction prices are high across the country, but particularly in the Southeast,” Stavrinakis said.
Charleston County
Charleston County residents approved a ballot measure to implement a half-cent sales tax to complete seven projects.
“Unlike the other counties that did this stuff, we included a list that we could safely complete,” Stavrinakis said. “We didn’t want to make promises we couldn’t keep.”
Funds left over would have been used on a second list, which was not included on the ballot, so remaining dollars would not be tied up, he said.
Those initial projects include: an Interstate 526 loop ramp to Glen McConnell Parkway, widening Bees Ferry Road, improvements to the intersection of Folly and Camp roads, widening Maybank Highway and road improvements to the Medical University of South Carolina area.
On May 24, the council voted to use the remaining funds to meet the county’s match in order to get a loan from the State Infrastructure Bank to finish the Mark Clark extension. The loan would also help fund a port access road.
Charleston’s half-cent tax for road projects is estimated to generate $1.3 billion over a 25-year period. It is anticipated that the county will collect that amount before the 25-year period is up.
Dorchester County
Dorchester County residents approved a transportation sales and use tax in November 2004. The estimated $125 million in funds was to be used only for 22 specified projects.
At the time, the cost of those 22 projects was estimated at $165 million, but the state Department of Transportation said it would finance $40 million if Dorchester County supplied the rest. Now those projects are estimated at more than $200 million.
The projects were originally ranked in order of importance, but council members removed the ranking after voters approved the measure. Dorchester County Council Chairman Skip Elliot cast the lone dissenting vote.
“We know we have $125 million. The question is: What is going to happen when that 125 million runs out?” Elliot said.
All projects to date have been under budget, and all 22 may be able to be completed despite increases, Dorchester County Sales Tax Transportation Authority Chairman Marshall Murdaugh said.
“A cushion was put in there for an increase in cost,” he said.
Since the board is pursuing the projects without priority, those that require the least amount of engineering, including miles of dirt roads throughout the county, have been moved up the list.
The money requested from the DOT to complete portions of state roads would be requested over a period of years, Murdaugh said.
The Department of Transportation has seen a $60-million cut in federal funding through the federal highway bill for the fiscal year ending in September 2006.
Currently, the DOT budget is near $1.3 billion. However, the DOT expects its total budget to sink below $1 billion for the fiscal year ending July 2008, South Carolina Transportation Commissioner Bob Harrell Sr. said.
“We’ve never had to deal with this before. Nobody is quite sure what is going to happen,” Harrell said.
Elliot planned to draft a letter to DOT Executive Director Elizabeth Mabry to get answers, and remains optimistic.
“I think the South Carolina Department of Transportation is listening to us and it’s my impression that they are going to do everything they can to help us. My concern is that you can’t get blood out of a turnip,” Elliot said.
|
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version