Beaufort Co. voters will decide in November on tax, form of government. What that means
Beaufort County voters will decide in November whether they want to change the county’s form of government — the second referendum added to the off-election year ballot.
Beaufort County Council on Monday voted 6-5 to place the issue — which, if approved, would give the council power to appoint the county’s treasurer and auditor — on the Nov. 2 ballot.
The question will ask Beaufort County voters whether they approve of changing the government structure from council-administrator to council-manager, effectively giving the county power to make the auditor and treasurer non-elected positions. Under the current form, used by 74% of county governments in South Carolina, the treasurer and auditor are elected by voters and serve four-year terms.
Monday’s approval means the change in government will be the second referendum on this year’s ballot. Last month, Beaufort County Council voted to add a 1% local-option sales tax on all taxable purchases countywide.
County Council members have been split on both issues for months, and they’ve been tight-lipped about why they’re pushing a plan to change the government structure.
Though County Council members have not said specifically why they want the new form — Vice Chair Paul Sommerville previously cited “slander and libel” concerns as a reason for remaining mum — the change in government structure appeared to be how the council wants to handle problems with County Auditor Jim Beckert.
Called Tuesday, Sommerville said he supported the referendum because it would allow the council to appoint the two positions if there are “serious complaints” or problems with the people holding the positions. Recent run-ins with Beckert caused the council to consider the change “a little more than we would have had to otherwise,” he said.
Beckert was embroiled in a volatile tax rate dispute with the county last year and faces lawsuits alleging harassment and stalking from female county officials, The Island Packet previously reported.
Critics of the proposal, including some council members, say making the treasurer and auditor non-elected positions will consolidate too much power within county administration and council. Others say the council has not been forthcoming with its true motives, and that may lead to low voter turnout.
“I don’t see how we have a County Council that can’t even agree on most things unanimously, but yet, we want to appoint officials for the rest of the county,” Council member Logan Cunningham said Monday. “I don’t think that’s our job.”
Cunningham, along with fellow council members Brian Flewelling, York Glover, Chris Hervochon and Stu Rodman, voted against placing the issue on the ballot.
The ballot question
On Nov. 2, Beaufort County voters will be asked whether they want to retain the county’s current form (council-administrator) or shift to the council-manager form.
There are four forms of government in South Carolina allowed by state law:
▪ Council
▪ Council-supervisor
▪ Council-administrator
▪ Council-manager
Of the state’s 46 counties, 34, including Beaufort County, operate under the council-administrator form of government.
That form gives a professional administrator responsibility for the county’s day-to-day operations. The administrator is hired by and reports to the county’s elected council.
If the referendum question is approved by voters, Beaufort County would join only two counties, York and Greenwood, that operate under the council-manager form of government.
Council-manager is similar to council-administrator in that the administrator or manager oversees county operations and reports to the elected council. The only real difference is that, in the council-manager form, the auditor and treasurer may be appointed by council rather than elected.
If council decides to appoint the two positions, they would serve as department heads hired by and reporting to the county manager, rather than elected officials accountable only to voters.
What led to this referendum?
Beaufort County Council proposed a similar referendum in 2012, but 63% of voters shot it down.
In March, the council floated the idea again after extensive acrimony and run-ins involving the council, Auditor Jim Beckert and Treasurer Maria Walls.
Both Beckert and Walls were elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2018. Their terms expire in 2022.
Beckert did not return a call for comment Tuesday.
Walls said Tuesday she was not surprised by the council’s decision, but she said voters are being asked to give up their right to choose who represents them as auditor and treasurer.
The current form of government allows for separation of powers, she said. That separation would go away if the treasurer and auditor are non-elected positions.
As an elected official, Walls said, she’s able to do her job without the layers of bureaucracy in county government.
“I think the voters who ultimately will make the decision need to decide what kind of government service they want,” she said. “Right now, they have outstanding services from the treasurer’s office.”
After council approved the proposal on first reading in April, Deputy County Attorney Brittany Ward asked the S.C. Attorney General’s Office whether, in a council-manager form of government, the auditor and treasurer positions must both be established in the same way. Ward asked if council could appoint one position and voters could elect the other, according to a letter obtained by The Island Packet.
On May 20, Assistant Attorney General Elinor Lister responded that one position could not be elected while the other was appointed.
With that in mind, Beaufort County pressed forward with the proposal’s final vote on Monday.
This story was originally published June 29, 2021 at 1:57 PM.
