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Berkeley County adopts 'worst‑first' approach for 1¢ sales‑tax resurfacing packages
Summary
After a staff presentation on alternatives, Berkeley County council and committees moved to prioritize the county's worst‑condition roads for the 2025–26 1¢ local resurfacing packages, a shift officials say accelerates repairs for poor roads but may leave some fair roads for later years.
Berkeley County Council and its standing committees voted to prioritize the county’s poorest roads when selecting projects funded by the local 1¢ sales tax resurfacing program for the 2025–26 packages.
Amanda Deaton, a county staff presenter, told council members the package modeled under equal funding by district would resurface 164 roads in the 2025–26 package and include 37 "fair" roads. Under a "worst‑first" approach, Deaton said staff estimated 172 roads would be resurfaced and that all the poorest roads could be addressed sooner — under that scenario, no fair roads would be included in the initial packages. Deaton cautioned the outcome depends on assumptions about available funding and construction costs through 2030.
A council member moved to adopt the worst‑first selection method for the 2025 and 2026 packages; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote in committee and later echoed in the operations committee report. Supporters said the approach speeds repairs on the most degraded pavement and reduces the risk that more roads will deteriorate further if construction costs rise or funding falls. Critics and some members urged staff to continue monitoring assumptions and present the final road list for council approval next month.
The decision changes the program timeline laid out under the equal‑funding plan: staff’s comparison showed that, with worst‑first selection, all poor roads could be resurfaced by the projected 2027 package, whereas equal funding could stretch some poor‑road work into the 2030 package if costs or funding change.
Council will receive the recommended list of specific roads under the approved plan at the next meeting for formal approval and to allow members to review the parcel‑level recommendations.
The committee action was procedural and directed staff to proceed with the worst‑first approach; final confirmation of specific road projects will occur when the list is presented to council.
