S.C. promoters work to get transit tax on ballot

Backers of a 1 percent transportation tax in Richland County don't have a campaign manager yet and haven't started raising money to promote the issue. They've been focused on getting Richland County Council to put the question on the Nov. 2 ballot.

Tuesday, they find out if a once-reticent council now agrees that voters should decide the issue, which could pay for 25 years worth of improvements to roads, the bus system and pedestrian byways.

A preliminary 10-1 vote signals that the council is receptive after stalling in 2008.

But if the issue moves forward, will promoters be able to convince voters to raise taxes in a weak economy? And will they be able to depend on County Council members to work for passage of the tax?

A campaign with broad appeal could work, local public relations professionals say, focusing on street improvements to make daily driving safer and easier for everyone.

But it won't be an easy sell.

First, the effort must get the support of elected leaders, from County Council to local legislators, people willing to meet with constituents to explain the proposal.

"It has absolutely no chance of passing if you don't have that kind of buy-in," said Darrell Jackson, a state senator who owns a public-relations firm, Sunrise Communications. "And if you have elected officials, on the other end of the spectrum, saying it is ill-advised and the timing is wrong, it will definitely fail."

Promoters are going to have to figure out how to target the message to people in each part of the county; assure voters the county will do the specific projects County Council has identified; and let people know when construction will start, marketing executives said.

Forming a campaign organization and budget would be premature before County Council decides whether to put the issue on the ballot, said Rick Silver, with Chernoff Newman, the firm that promotes the bus system's Central Midlands Regional Transit Authority.

But the campaign is sure to pull in members of the chamber of commerce, environmental groups, the United Way, neighborhood organizations and bus riders. They will need to raise at least $250,000 in private money for a campaign, said public relations chief Bob McAlister, who worked on a similar effort in Florence County.

The campaign will focus on educating people about the list of council-approved projects that would guide expenditure of the proceeds - an estimated $1 billion over 25 years.

The project list that comes before County Council on Tuesday is the same one developed by a citizen's group two years ago, with updated numbers.

Sixty-one percent would be used for road improvements, with 6 percent going to sidewalks, bike lanes and trails.

But it's the need to find new funding for bus service that is pushing the referendum now. Thirty-three percent of the money would go for public transportation. And even with more than two-thirds of the money tagged for road improvements, McAlister said funding the bus system will be troublesome for voters who don't use the service.

"So the question will be: Will the community as a whole look at that pressing need and conclude that, even though it doesn't affect me, for the betterment of the whole community, will I vote to raise my tax?" said McAlister.

So far, chamber representatives have focused their message on the need to keep the buses running so workers can get to their jobs at hospitals, restaurants and stores.

But Carolyn Sawyer, with the Tom Sawyer Co., said that message should broaden to include the need to attract new businesses. A better transportation system, including better bus service, would make Columbia more competitive when businesses look to relocate or expand, she said.

"The tax base comes from creation of new jobs, industry that pays new taxes, people who pay taxes," Sawyer said. "Anybody you talk to - left, right, center - who's going to argue with that?"