Sanford says no to special election on tax referendum

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford refused Tuesday to set a special election on a $1.3 billion Charleston County tax referendum, saying it was not right to do so based simply on the needs of the local bus system.

Instead, Sanford issued an executive order allowing county voters to go back to the polls in November to again consider a half-cent sales tax increase to generate the money over a quarter century to keep buses running, preserve open land and build roads.

"The general election is the appropriate format for this kind of referendum," Sanford told reporters in Columbia.

County voters narrowly passed the tax increase in 2002, but the results were tossed out when the state Supreme Court ruled the ballot language appeared to favor passing the increase.

Local officials wanted Sanford set the vote for April, about the time the local bus system is expected to run out of money. Tourism officials have said the industry will suffer if the bus system is shut down completely.

But in a letter to Charleston County Council Chairman Barrett Lawrimore, Sanford said that, as governor, he must make sure the will of the voters is fairly expressed.

"I do not believe the $1.3 billion tax issue facing the voters of Charleston Country should be decided in a special election with low voter turnout," he wrote.

Holding the referendum at the same time as a presidential election would mean more voters will consider the matter, Sanford wrote.

He said while there have been numerous requests for an earlier vote because of the bus system's financial problems, only 18 percent of the tax revenue would go to CARTA - the Charleston Area Transit Authority.

"It would be unfair to the voters of Charleston County for me to set a $1.3 billion referendum solely on the immediate cash needs of CARTA," the governor wrote.

Sanford said he realizes the importance of the buses to the local community and said the state is close to locating about $800,000 in grants and loans that, if matched by local contributions, could keep the buses running until the election.

"I think it's a plan that makes a lot of sense," he told reporters.

Lawrimore said that, even if passed, the referendum won't generate new money until well into 2005. He said by law the county can't start collecting under the referendum until the May after the voting.

"The local governments will have to stick their heads together and see what the possibilities are of coming up with additional money," Lawrimore said.

Sanford said he also wanted the bus system to look at ways to raise or save money, such as advertising on buses or using smaller vehicles on more remote routes.

"Are there ways of moving to vans, perhaps, which have a lower operating cost than a large bus?" Sanford asked.

CARTA Executive Director Howard Chapman said he wouldn't know how much the grants and loans would help until he knew the source of the money. "Until we know where the $800,000 is coming from, we can't make any assumptions about how much farther that would take us," Chapman said.

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Associated Press Writer Jim Davenport in Columbia contributed to this report.