Here’s how Beaufort County plans to spend $100M if penny sales tax approved by voters

Beaufort County Council approved its Green Space Program on Monday, outlining how money raised from a green space sales tax would be spent if it is passed by voters on Election Day in November.

The penny tax would be in place for two years with a revenue cap of $100 million to buy and preserve green space across the county. It would start in May 2023 and run until May 2025.

Because the tax period will encompass two summers, the county estimates 40% of the revenue would be paid by tourists and part-time residents. Food, medicine and gas would be exempt from the tax to further lessen the burden on locals, officials noted.

The program seeks to preserve open and green space, protect critical and natural resources and/or provide land for recreation. It allows the county to purchase development rights or total ownership of land threatened by development which could have detrimental impacts on land use, traffic, public safety, stormwater runoff, water quality or other conservation objectives.

“The Beaufort County Council recognizes the need to preserve land that has scenic, natural, recreational, rural and open space character which is deemed essential to the County’s quality of life,” reads the ordinance.

Land outside county boundaries, where development may cause problems for county, can also be procured under the plan.

The county will form a seven member Green Space Advisory Committee to “facilitate preservation procurement purchases.” The County Council will appoint the members, whose terms will be four years.

The committee will be a public body composed of:

• One member of county council

• One member of the Beaufort County legislative delegation

• One member who is “knowledgeable about the geography and condition of Beaufort County’s land”

• Four citizen members, each representing the northern, southern, eastern and western portions of the county

The committee will identify properties or areas to target using the Beaufort County Greenprint Plan and the 2040 Beaufort County Comprehensive Plan and make a priority list for county council to consider.

The state of South Carolina adopted the County Green Space Sales Tax Act in May, allowing counties to impose a penny tax, as approved by public referendum, to fund preservation efforts.

Beaufort County was the first in the state to adopt the tax referendum, according to Sen. Tom Davis, who was the primary sponsor of the bill. At the Sept. 26 County Council meeting, Davis said he would be receptive to recommendations Beaufort County has to tweak the bill.

Once proposed to go along with a now scrapped transportation sales tax referendum as a half penny, Beaufort County’s green space referendum has seen a number of reductions since it was first proposed. It originally was set to run for 10 years and generate $700 million in revenue, then was scaled back to four years and $300 million, before finally settling on two years and $100 million.

The council chose to support the green space tax over the transportation tax believing county residents would be more likely to support conservation efforts.