Berkeley County penny sales tax, if passed, expected to fetch $500M in project funding

Berkeley County will be asking voters to “continue” the one cent sales tax for roads in November’s general election. The 2008 and 2014 penny sales tax referendums have been critical in addressing infrastructure needs in our county from major capacity projects, intersections, resurfacing, and paving dirt roads. The ’08 referendum brought in $143 million that included $46.1 million for Clements Ferry Road Phase I. The ’14 referendum was projected to bring in over $230 million and included $76 million for Clements Ferry Road Phase II and $2 million for the roundabout at Daniel Island Drive and Seven Farms Drive. Projects like these have occurred all over the county and the 2022 referendum is designed to address our most immediate infrastructure needs in the next seven years.    

 

The ’22 referendum differs slightly from the previous referendums in that it provides significantly more funding for local road resurfacing and incorporates funding for “Greenbelt” initiatives throughout the county. Resurfacing projects will be allocated a minimum of 20% of all funds collected and is estimated to be in the $500 million dollar range. We anticipate resurfacing a minimum of 200 miles of roads throughout the county in the seven year period. Each county council representative will receive an allocation annually for resurfacing roads in their district with the supervisor receiving funds to address resurfacing countywide. 

 

Additionally, the county has allocated, for the first time, a minimum of 10% of all funds collected to go to “Greenbelt” initiatives to include contributing towards conservation efforts, creating active and passive greenspace, and protecting natural resources and scenic corridors. Though this will be our first time asking voters to consider this initiative, the program has been in place in Charleston County for many years and has produced tremendous results. In a county growing as rapidly as Berkeley, we unanimously supported this initiative as part of our referendum so that we are in a position to not only preserve and protect what we hold dear, but to provide public access to parks and scenic corridors.

 

The referendum will continue to address areas of congestion in our county through widening projects and intersection improvements. An intersection improvement at River Landing Drive and Seven Farms Drive would be addressed as well as improvements to Rivers Reach Drive.  Phase I of the Clements Ferry Road project included a multi-use path that was removed from the project as it was delaying the overall widening project. The county has since taken over this project but the cost has increased due to design changes and delays. The original funding source is still secure and the additional funds needed to complete the project are included in the ’22 referendum. The county is committed to completing this project regardless of the outcome of the referendum.

 

Berkeley County has 1,068 miles of state roads and 330 miles of county-maintained paved roads in the county. SCDOT is set to spend $7 billion to widen 526 and is in the process of spending hundreds of millions of dollars along I-26. Through their own admission, the state is behind on addressing interior roadways that are off the major travel corridors. This is our best effort at proactively addressing our infrastructure needs in the county. It is estimated that as much as 30% of what is collected comes from outside of the county so we feel the sales tax continues to be the best option vs. increased mileage on homeowners and businesses. 

 

Unlike referendums in neighboring counties that go out for public input and support on average every 15 years, we have decided to continue to utilize the seven year window to allow:

 

1. Better predictability on what the specific needs are while, 

 

2.Providing the public more frequent opportunities to weigh in. 

 

The voters of Berkeley County will have the opportunity to make their voices heard in November for this very important and what has been a successful program. The question I am often asked is, “Do you think the voters will support the next referendum?” I usually answer with a question I ask myself, “Where would we be without the local penny for roads?”