County to revisit Courthouse options
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Darlington County Council plans to review the issues facing the aging Darlington County Courthouse and revisit their options for the future.
“What we’re planning to do is arrange for County Council to be briefed by our bond attorney at our next meeting on financing options for building a new courthouse. We will discuss among Council members how they wish to proceed and let them be a part of this decision,” says Darlington County Council chairman Bobby Hudson.
Hudson says that the two new members elected to Council in 2016 – Lewis Brown from District # 7 (Hartsville and Kelleytown) and Joyce Wingate Thomas from District # 3 (Darlington) – have not had the chance to formally weigh in on this issue, and they should not be married to the positions of their predecessors.
“We need to get everybody brought up to speed at one time,” says Hudson. “We really need a new courthouse, or renovation of the existing building. But Council as a body needs to have a full and unified plan on how our Courthouse Construction Advisory Committee should proceed.”
Darlington County Administrator Charles Stewart says Council will likely get a primer on the financing options available for three potential courses of action: construction of a new multi-purpose courthouse and administrative building; renovation of the existing courthouse and construction of a new solely judicial facility; or a full rehabilitation of the current courthouse to remedy longstanding problems with inadequate space, parking, water damage, and security.
Stewart tells the News and Press that the county is already working with Sheriff Tony Chavis to address security concerns cited in a letter from Roger E. Henderson, Chief Judge for Administrative Purpose of the Fourth Judicial Circuit.
Henderson’s letter notes that during criminal court, “there are no holding cells for the prisoners and the judge has to actually walk down the hallway where prisoners are often standing.” Henderson also observed there is no secure parking area for judges and court personnel.
Further, he wrote that Family Court litigants “involved in highly emotional litigation are confined to small waiting areas,” creating the potential for volatile encounters.
Stewart says that when County Council revisits this issue, there will likely be members who support the idea of a new courthouse facility and view the potential $40 million cost as an investment in the county’s future, while other members might prefer a more conservative $12 million plan to rehab the current building.
“The important thing is to get those options out there in front of Council, get all the facts laid out and let Council say which direction they want to go,” says Stewart.
At Council’s April 3 regular meeting, a review of financing vehicles will likely include a capital project sales tax. This option would, with public voter referendum approval, add another penny to each regularly taxed purchase countywide. South Carolina’s base sales tax is 6 percent, and Darlington County tacks on a 1 percent Local Option Sales Tax (which the county and municipalities use for taxpayer relief), and another 1 percent for the Darlington County School District (renewed by voter referendum in November of 2016). Adding another penny would bring Darlington County’s de facto sales tax to 9 cents per dollar.
“That would, if you look at the books, make us the highest sales tax anywhere in our area, and that doesn’t include anyone’s Hospitality Tax (usually 2 percent on prepared food) or Accommodations Tax (usually 2 percent on hotels, inns, etc.),” says Stewart. “It would push us a penny higher than everybody else, all things being equal, because we would have three local options versus two.”
Another option, a millage increase, would lay the financial burden for the courthouse project solely on property owners.
Darlington County Council’s next regular meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m., April 3, at the Courthouse Annex located at 1625 Harry Byrd Highway in Darlington. This meeting is open to the public.