Letters: State should drop attack on Richland roads program

While former state Revenue Director Rick Reames might have done some good things, he left office Jan. 3 still clinging to his misguided, politically motivated claim that Richland County Council and reputable local business owners misused penny sales tax revenue.

He never apologized for his wrongheaded attacks that cast an unfair cloud over all involved, even vowing that the matter would continue after his departure.

I hope he is wrong; new Director Hartley Powell should end this charade.

Reames’ unfounded claims of conspiracy, illegal acts and corruption by the council and local businesses are baseless. In June, Judge Thomas Cooper ruled that the agency didn’t have the authority to withhold penny sales tax revenue.

This never was about protecting taxpayers. Reames’ real objective was to undermine the penny program, which he tried but failed to do in 2012 as a private attorney, when he filed a protest of the referendum that approved the tax.

After he was named Revenue director, he tried to bully County Council into making changes that could damage, if not kill, key elements of the penny program, such as the policy that gives small and local businesses an opportunity to participate in the procurement process.

Director Powell should waste no time distancing himself from this political vendetta and bringing it to its end.

This story was originally published March 12, 2017 at 6:14 PM with the headline "Letters: State should drop attack on Richland roads program."