COLUMBIA, S.C. — Michael Letts, Chairman of Citizens for Better Government, and an outspoken critic of the Richland County Penny Tax weighed in on recent allegations of alleged misspending.
“We campaigned heavily against the tax because we knew that the mechanisms were not in place at the time it was on the ballot to adequately provide safeguards and checks to make sure this kind of thing did not happen. We were concerned it would, unfortunately our words have come true,” Letts said.
So far, neither Richland County nor SCDOR will release the preliminary report publicly.
“We need to find out exactly, to this point, where every dollar has been spent, why it has been spent that way, what was improper, what was misappropriation, and how the taxpayers are going to be made whole,” Letts added.
Letts, who pushed against the tax since 2012, said it has been mismanaged and had repeated public issues for years.
“What's happened to Clemson Road? I'm using that as one illustration, Hardscrabble Road? They've been working on it for 10 years, are we ever going to see any progress? If those dollars would have been managed, handled the right way, there is more than adequate resources to turn that project around in 24 months or less. Not in 10 years and still not be anywhere close to completion. I want to also be fair in my comments, there are some projects that have been accomplished and completed that are a benefit to the public. But, not a billion dollars’ worth,” Letts told WLTX.
He also criticized spending on things like lobbying, which the COMET chairman said was an overlooked aspect of one of their contracts.
Letts said he has not seen the preliminary SCDOR audit report and said the agency should trust the public with the information.