Accessibility

A Bulging Piggy Bank
Revenue from 1-cent increase in sales tax will transform area roadways

Interstates 95 and 20 intersect here, and they bring sales tax revenue that will help fund further road improvements.

Benjamin Franklin would cherish the financial wisdom of Florence County.

The iconic American statesman graces $100 bills, but in his day he prized the frugality of a penny saved.

In November 2006, Florence voters prized that same frugality, pledging an additional 1-cent sales tax – bringing the total tax to 8 cents per $1 purchase – and placing the penny in a sound investment: roads.

The investment made for a relatively easy sale when local legislator Hugh Leatherman Sr. did the math. The Finance Committee chairman in South Carolina’s Senate, Leatherman secured a commitment from the State Infrastructure Bank to fund six significant road-building projects. If Florence County could come up with $148 million in matching funds, the state would bankroll the remaining $250 million.

The tax goes away after seven years. Meanwhile, the $398 million transportation package will yield $876 million in increased economic activity in Florence County during the construction period and nearly 9,000 new jobs and a $1 billion impact in the greater Pee Dee region, according to Francis Marion University School of Business professors David Franck and Jeffrey Pompe.

Leatherman credits the success to Florence County Forward leaders who met weekly prior to the referendum.

“Frankly, the group went out and raised money from the private sector and brought outside campaign people and approached this just as you would a political campaign,” Leatherman says. “In this case, you were selling an idea. And I can’t think of anything that will impact the Florence County community in the next decade more than this.”

Cementing the bargain are projections that travelers along Interstates 95 and 20 will pay half of the local tax. Another bonus: With money for the six projects now allocated, smaller jobs financed with other dollars are expected to get the green light, too.

Airport Upgrades

Air transportation in Florence will thrust forward, too, in 2008. Up to $10 million in work will expand gate departure areas and terminal-building amenities at Florence Regional Airport.

“Since we’ve been here as a regional airport authority in 1998, we’ve probably done about $12 million in airport improvements,” says Executive Director Hartsell Rogers. “This undertaking will be by far the largest we’ve taken on.”

Among the airport’s advantages are $7.50 daily parking, easy terminal access within three minutes of parking, and a combined 11 flights daily on regional carriers Atlantic Southeast Airlines to Atlanta and US Airways Express to Charlotte, N.C. Passenger volume is running about 50,000 annually, up 20 percent since 9/11, Rogers says.

“The very first question a (business) prospect will ask is, ‘Where is the nearest airport?’ ” he says. “The very next question is, ‘Where is the nearest commercial airport?’ So having a commercial airport in the Pee Dee is absolutely great for economic development.”

Rail Here, Ports Nearby

So, too, are rail lines offering Amtrak passenger service and a CSX freight yard linked to the largest rail network in the Eastern United States.

Through 2010, CSX will average $1.6 billion annually in systemwide capital improvements. The company employs 1,250 in South Carolina with an annual payroll of $57 million, according to spokesman John Dillard.

Completing the county’s transportation trifecta is its proximity to the busy ports in Charleston, S.C., Wilmington, N.C., and Savannah, Ga.

Story by Gary Perilloux
Photo by Ian Curcio

Additional Accessibility Articles

From Here to Anywhere