Should Richland County’s penny tax be extended? Some voters say yes, but only with more transparency

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) ― When voters in Richland County head to the polls in less than a month, they will have the opportunity to extend the county’s current penny transportation tax, which is set to expire in 2026.
The penny tax has been funding infrastructure and transportation projects since it was approved by voters in 2012.
It is a one percent sales tax, which county officials say has already funded more than 120 miles of resurfaced road, and the pavement of nearly 100 roads.
At a town hall meeting at Hand Middle School on Thursday evening, many of the questions from voters about the tax centered around transparency ― and some questioned what would happen to these projects if the penny were not to pass.
The exact schedule of new projects is still being ironed out, and these new ones won’t begin until sometime after 2026 when the current penny runs out.
Some of the projects that are being considered, according to Richland County Council Chairwoman Jesica Mackey, include more road widenings in northeast Columbia and Lower Richland, and some repaving of roads downtown and in Forest Acres as the county continues to grow.
The new tax would collect more than the 2012 one and will last for two decades.
It hopes to collect $4.5 billion over the next 25 years, or until that number is reached.
It would be divided up into three buckets: the first is for community investment, which would be 48% of the funds. That includes things like improved intersections and those road widenings.
Next are county advancement projects at 30%, which includes projects like new construction and intersection improvements.
Finally, 22% of the funds would go to the COMET, the county’s public transit system.
This is more money than the comet received in 2012.
If voters decide to pass on the penny, council will have to make quick adjustments to fund some of these priorities.
When asked about whether there is a plan B, Mackey said council would “have to go back to the drawing board and figure out other solutions.”
“Right now, there is not enough funding from the state, there is not a property tax increase that we could even do that could provide the funding needed to fund the roads and transportation improvements or to able to fund our transit system, the COMET,” she said.
Mackey said she urges voters to support the penny, and noted that 40 percent of the funds collected come from people who do not live in the county and may be visiting for a Carolina game.
The penny has faced scrutiny after the S.C. Department of Revenue said that funds from the 2012 penny tax were misspent.
Mackey says to earn voters’ confidence, council has taken steps to make the process more transparent by engaging with the public at every step of the way, including through its new website and these town hall meetings.
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