Sloane: It's time to move forward

Warren Sloane said the town of James Island is under siege from the outside and that it "got a raw deal" when Charleston County chose to no longer provide drainage and dirt- road services after the town's third incorporation in 1996.

While paying tribute to Mayor Mary Clark, a founder of the town, Sloane said it's time for James Island to move beyond its infancy and become a modern, open and streamlined municipality.

"We must be able to work with our neighbors to find solutions and share resources in fixing the issues on the island," Sloane said. "After talking with city and county elected officials, it is clear that they are willing to work with the town, but the town refuses to even consider cooperative efforts to find solutions. This has to be a first priority goal for any new mayor."

Sloane is one of five candidates hoping to win the mayor's seat in Tuesday's mayoral election.

A property manager, Sloane said he's best positioned to give the town full-time service and dedication. The town needs to cease being at odds with its residents, Sloane said, citing experiences with town government and Clark.

"To get financial information from the town, you need to file an FOI (Freedom of Information request) and it takes two weeks for the mayor to deny it," Sloane said. He said in his administration, budget information and contracts would be posted promptly on the town's website.

He accused the town of using "tomfoolery to hide a nearly $250,000 shortfall in the proposed 2010-11 budget." He said the spending plan counts grants in the revenue section but doesn't show them in the expenditure side, creating the illusion the town has about $2.5 million more in revenue than it has.

Sloane said he'll call for an audit to determine "the true status" of the town's finances. With salaries and overhead costs consuming 60 percent to 80 percent of the budget, he said, the town must consider such measures as staff cuts, salary reductions or the combining of positions.

"I will make the difficult decisions on staffing so that money is freed up to provide the services that we have an obligation to provide to the citizens of the town," Sloane said. He said he'll also change the way the town seeks bids for dirt-road grading and ditch cleaning.

Sloane said the town should work to lessen the scope of the planned Harbor View Road widening. Completing Interstate 526 to the island will benefit its residents, he said, and the town should be at the table negotiating the final design to lessen adverse impacts.

"I agree that the connection at Lockwood and Calhoun is a mess, and to be put bluntly, it was screwed up from its inception," he said. "There should have been some way for traffic to get directly to the Crosstown."

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Post and Courier is profiling each of the five James Island mayoral candidates this week. Information about the 10 Town Council candidates is in today's edition of Your Lowcountry that covers the island.