LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. — Lexington County vehicle owners may pay extra starting in January. Council members are considering a new annual fee.
In a public hearing council meeting Tuesday night, leaders heard what residents thought about the potential $30 service charge on registered vehicles in Lexington County.
According to the council, this uniform service charge would cover roads and associated storm-water maintenance, improvements and construction.
There were fewer voices for than against at the 5:30 p.m. meeting at the Lexington County Administration Building.
"This fee may seem small on paper, but its impact will be large and unfair, especially for the most vulnerable members of our community," resident Brent Munnerlyn said.
People in attendance cited inflation, insufficient transparency about current fund use, and a negative impact on business.
"We live in Lexington County. It is a rural county. How many people around here are farmers? Whether it's crops or chickens," another resident, Anthony Rogers, said.
Some proposed alternative solutions include requesting more money from the state or using a sliding scale.
"If there could be a sliding scale where the heavier equipment for builders, who have big trucks, would be charged maybe $30 and those of us with lighter, smaller cars be charged like maybe $15," Lexington resident Liesha Huffstetler said.
The one person who spoke for the fee said growth is happening, and the county needs to keep up.
"An intersection project today is going somewhere between $1.5 and $3 million," retired South Carolina Department of Transportation Deputy Secretary of Planning Brent Rewis said. "For one intersection improvement, and we know we have those needs here in Lexington County."
District 9 Councilman Todd Cullum said they have three options: The penny tax, which didn't pass, this fee, or nothing.
"We just didn't pull a number out of the air and say 30 sounds good or 10's not enough," Cullum said. "So, it was just amount of how much revenue could we generate to have a meaningful impact."
If approved, the fee would go into effect in January 2025, according to the council. Lexington County Council's next meeting is slated for Nov. 12. Cullum said the council might take a vote on the fee at that meeting, but he expects a vote sometime before the end of the year.
Lexington County said that in addition to the people who spoke at this meeting in person, there were electronic comments received about the potential fee, including two in favor and 122 against.