Beaufort County voters may be asked to approve another penny sales tax in November 2026 — despite the fact that nearly seven years after the last tax passed, just a fraction of the promised road and traffic projects are finished.
Frustration over stalled or slow-moving projects led voters to reject a 2024 attempt to renew the tax. Now, Beaufort County Council is considering putting it back on the ballot, but without real progress and better communication, it could fail again.
“We should absolutely not have another penny sales tax,” Steven Baer, a retired Beaufort County Council member, said. He later added, “The population of Beaufort County would be absolutely crazy to vote for another tax managed in the same way by the same group.”
How many projects are complete?
Only 3.5 of the 34projects funded by the 2018 referendum — roughly 10% — have been completed, according to county engineering documents. Of the projects, one is under construction, two are in procurement, 2.5 are in right-of-way acquisition, 14 are in design, four are on hold and the rest are not yet in development. The U.S. 278 Corridor project is with the State Infrastructure Bank for review…