As I continue forward in my campaign, I am committed to what have become my everyday core values since taking the oath as a Special Agent with the United States Secret Service: duty, justice, honesty, loyalty and courage. What I have discovered, during the course of my journey to represent the people of Hilton Head Island, is a reaffirmation of what initially motivated me to take on this charge – the voters’ lack of “trust and confidence” in their elected representatives.
This lack of trust and deepened skepticism toward politicians hit home during the past few weeks as my campaign conducted the necessary due diligence regarding the “1% Sales Tax Initiative.” I am a fiscal conservative and while I hate the idea of a tax increase, I also believe strongly in the idea of “Home Rule”. This is a Home Rule issue and something that should be dealt with locally. If the tool is needed it is in the toolbox.
A true leader does not operate within a vacuum and a primary principle of leadership is the ability to listen. I have personally spoken with many throughout our community and found very little support for an additional increase at this time. For me, as a voter and resident of our community, the following provisions will need to be met and/or included before I can offer my support and advocacy of this initiative:
1. Final passage through the use of a “referendum”. While I understand that, as an elected official, it would be my job to represent our community and make the tough decisions that reflect your values, I feel that this particular piece of legislation must be put before the electorate in order to provide the transparency needed at this time.
2. Our Chamber of Commerce and members of Town Council supporting this initiative need to take their argument to the people and clearly articulate the reason this increase is necessary, including full transparency of the details. Showing this leadership will help restore faith in the process.
3. The provision currently included in the legislation regarding a mitigation in property taxes must be a 30% reduction and not “up to” 30%. As a fiscal conservative, I believe we want this to be as “revenue neutral” as possible and a play on those words has only deepened the lack of trust in how this added revenue will be used.
4. The Chamber of Commerce must agree to NOT seek future discretionary funds available through the ATAX.
We are at a crossroads on Hilton Head Island and are working to identify who we are going to be tomorrow and how we will get there. We need to work together, fully recognizing our collective mission – protecting what makes us unique and preparing for future prosperity.
