Mount Pleasant mayor calls off local option sales tax proposal for Patriots Point projects

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD)— Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie on Monday called for an end to a local option sales tax proposal that would have funded development projects around Patriots Point.

The town council approved the first reading of an ordinance last week that included a tourism development fee.

The proposed 1% tax would have funded the construction of a new convention center, parking structure, athletic complex upgrades, and other public infrastructure projects. If approved, it would have pushed Mount Pleasant’s sales tax rate to the highest in the state.

The plan was quickly rebuffed by residents, many of whom were expected to voice their concerns at a special Town Council meeting scheduled for Dec 10.

Several councilmembers, including Jake Rambo, also raised questions about how the plan came before the council for a vote, suggesting that standard processes were not followed.

“We were given a large binder with all of the details just prior to the meeting, with little time to thoroughly review,” Rambo wrote in a post on Nextdoor last week. “As council often does, first reading was approved knowing that we would have time to review the details and gather feedback from constituents before any final vote would occur.”

“Looking back on it, I am questioning why this proposal never went through the proper committee process before being presented to full council,” he continued.

The proposed projects were projected to cost a combined $186 million, according to Rambo.

In response, Haynie said Monday that the idea will now be “dropped completely,” leaving much of the planned development on hold until another funding source is secured.

“As the leader of the Town of Mount Pleasant, I come before you today to take full responsibility for the shortcomings and bad optics of the rollout of the plan the town is considering for the Patriots Point district and to ask for your forgiveness,” Haynie said.

The mayor further asked for “a little extra grace,” as he explained that one of his parents was hospitalized just before the Dec. 2 council meeting and that he and his family had made the “difficult decision” to move them into a memory care facility in Mount Pleasant.

“I don’t claim to possess any super powers,” Haynie said. “There are many things I would have handled differently and communicated better prior to last week’s Council meeting under normal circumstances, and I have demonstrated that over my seven years as mayor.”

The Medal of Honor and promenade portion of the plan are expected to move forward.

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