Constitutional Amendment 4: Vote no
The temptation for many is to vote yes in the belief that it will reduce their tax bill. It won't.
According to state economists, tax experts at Clemson University's Strom Thurmond Institute and a judge, a 15 percent cap on property assessment will shift the burden to two-thirds of the property owners in South Carolina.
The S.C. Constitution requires equal application of taxes. That is the reason the governor has vetoed similar attempts to legislate a cap. Now legislators want voters to change the S.C. Constitution.
The premise behind the proposed amendment would allow owner-occupied homes to appreciate no more than 15 percent over five years (3 percent per year) for property taxation purposes. When the property is sold, higher values of the property would be added back in, and the new owner would pay taxes based on new value, then the 15 percent cap would kick in again.
But all property doesn't appreciate at the same rate. People who live in Big Estate, Mossy Oaks or in some areas near Yemassee might not see their property values go up rapidly, but they would shoulder a higher tax burden to offset the lower rate assessed to a person with oceanfront or other waterfront property would.
While people with modest-priced homes will feel a greater tax burden, business owners who are taxed at 10 percent of the assessed market value of their property will feel the greatest wallop.
Finally, tax reform will take place whether question No. 4 passes or not. Homeowners will benefit in 2007 from tax-swap legislation approved in the General Assembly this year. Property taxes for school operations will be eliminated and the state sales tax will rise by a penny to 6 cents to pay for it.
Local question 2A/2B: Vote yes
Voting yes would allow local officials to spend $152 million to build additional infrastructure, including a parallel structure to the J.E. McTeer Bridge on S.C. 802 over the Beaufort River.
Voters will decide whether to approve $152 million to finance 10 transportation projects that blanket nearly every section of the county.
Many who oppose the project do so for solid reasons: Building roads should be a state function, and wider roads often lead to more development.
The key to the future is for local government officials not to approve additional development until completion of the Northern Regional Plan. Government officials have to make hard choices for the future.
But the reality is that much development already has been approved and the choice may be between driving on clogged, unsafe roads or allowing people and commerce to proceed at a normal pace.
The reason for the referendum is the same as it was during the previous two: The battle for infrastructure dollars is likely to increase in intensity before the state meets county needs.
As in the previous referendums, a selling point of the proposed sales tax to support an effective transportation system is that at least half of the overall cost will be borne by tourists.
Local question No. 1: Vote yes
As one of the fastest-growing counties in South Carolina, the referendum to create a $50 million land purchase fund might be the most important on the ballot. The fund would continue the county's land preservation program another five years. In the 2000 election, 67.9 percent of the voters approved a similar referendum to fund $40 million worth of land purchases.
Preservation of open space has been a priority with citizens for decades, and with the demand for more development and roads, removing developable land from the market place could be the wisest move voters (and taxpayers) could make.
The pressure of development in Beaufort County today is greater than it was six years ago when the first preservation funds was created.
Beaufort County's population won't stop expanding. Its 40 percent population growth was the state's fastest during the 1990s. In 2004, studies said that Beaufort County had a population of more than 121,000 people. The Charleston-based Coastal Conservation League estimates that the county's population will more than double by 2025 to 280,000 people. Jasper County also is growing at a fast pace. Depending on whose figures one uses, it costs between $1.30 and $1.87 for every dollar of taxes collected to provide services each new home.
Preserving the dream of thousands of people who live in Beaufort County is costly, but the alternative to controlling growth is more costly -- financially to property owners and aesthetically in loss of sense of place and history.
