Voters back tax for roads

MONCKS CORNER — Berkeley County voters approved a 1-cent sales tax to pay for new roads and decisively rejected a proposal to eliminate the county supervisor position, according to unofficial early returns Tuesday.

With 47 of 51 precincts reporting, 56 percent of voters cast a ballot in favor of the seven-year sales tax while 44 percent voted against it. About 55 percent of the voters supported borrowing $150 million in bonds to pay for the road work. The money will be paid back as the tax money is collected.

The sales tax will increase to 8 cents as result of the vote. Proponents of the increase said it was drastically needed because it will help the county compete for federal and state matching funds that neighboring counties get for their roads because they have a similar tax.

The list of roads was compiled with the help of the Berkeley County Chamber of Commerce to make sure all corners of the county were represented. The list includes large-capacity projects in the high-growth areas and dozens of paving projects in rural parts of the county.

Proponents of the tax increase knew they were in for an uphill battle because of the economic downturn.

One supporter, state Sen. Paul Campbell, R-Goose Creek, praised voters for stepping up and approving the sales tax.

He said it's the only way the gridlock and safety issues could have been fixed.

"The folks in Berkeley County have realized that we need to take responsibility for our roads," he said.

Campbell was equally happy that the county shot down a proposal to get rid of the supervisor position.

Campbell is one of many who think the elected position is one of the reasons the county has seen so much growth in recent years.

With 47 of 51 precincts reporting, 64 percent voted to keep the supervisor position while 36 percent voted to change it to the administrator form of government.

The controversial question was raised earlier this year by a majority of council members who said voters should have a choice because Supervisor Dan Davis made changing the form of government a campaign promise two years ago.

Davis never raised the issue because he said most of the voters he met weren't interested in a change. Also, he said, he only promised to circulate a petition during his campaign, which he did.

Reach Andy Paras at 745-5891 or aparas@postandcourier.com.