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Commission moves to require 1% sales tax question to fund $50 million detention center
Summary
The Chesterfield County Commission voted to change ballot-question language from 'shall' to 'must' to align with statutory requirements for a proposed special 1% sales and use tax that would fund a $50 million detention center. Commissioners approved the wording change by voice vote and set follow-up outreach events.
The Chesterfield County Commission voted to change the wording of a proposed ballot resolution so the question will read that a special 1% sales and use tax "must" be imposed in Chesterfield County for up to eight years to raise funds for specified projects including construction of a new county detention center estimated at $50,000,000.
Staff member (S4) read the draft question into the record: "Must a special 1% sales and use tax be imposed in Chesterfield County, South Carolina for not more than 8 years to raise the amount specified for the design, engineering, purchase, construction, renovation, equipping, and furnishing of the following? Item 1, construction of a new county detention center for $50,000,000." S4 told commissioners the change was intended to make the question "very strictly compliant" with statutory language and to reduce risk that the process could be invalidated.
Commission member (S3) asked for the first paragraph to be read aloud so the public could hear the exact change. After the clarification, S4 moved to approve changing the word from "shall" back to "must," and the Chair (S1) seconded the motion. The Chair then called for the vote and recorded verbal assent; the transcript records members saying "Aye," but it does not include a roll-call tally or a full recorded roll call. The chair noted uncertainty about one member's voice and said she assumed that member voted in the affirmative.
The change affects the wording of a proposed sales-tax question that, as read in the meeting, would authorize a one-cent local-option sales and use tax for up to eight years and lists the detention center as Item 1 at $50,000,000. Staff framed the wording change as a technical/legal clarification to follow the applicable state statute as read in the meeting.
Next steps discussed at the meeting included coordination with the county council and public outreach; commissioners indicated they would pursue public promotion of the proposal at upcoming meetings. The commission took no additional substantive policy votes during this short meeting.
