Aiken County to narrow sales tax projects tonight

AIKEN - Aiken County's sales tax committee will narrow down the list of possible 1-cent sales tax projects in a meeting this evening.

Committee members will prioritize the $220 million list of projects that includes suggestions to pave 130 miles of dirt road, new emergency vehicles and other equipment. Council members Kathy Rawls, LaWana McKenzie and Gary Bunker met earlier this month to review the list.

Bunker said the list would have to be shortened due to an expected decline in tax collection. The projects proposed Tuesday would equal about $220 million in tax collection, but only about $62 million will likely be available, Bunker said.

Last year, the state Department of Revenue changed the tax law, requiring unprepared grocery items be exempt from the 1-cent sales tax, County Administrator Clay Killian said.

It's uncertain what effect that will have, but the collections will likely be less, he said.

Aiken County began collecting the sales tax in 2000, and the current package will have collected about $114 million by the end of 2011, Killian said. About 30 percent of the tax collections are from out-of-area residents who use county services, Killian said.

Killian and his staff will present the committee with a list categorized by department this evening during the meeting.

"They'll take a second look at the list with the way we've grouped it," he said. "They'll narrow down the list, and will go from there.

The meeting begins at 4:30 p.m. in council chambers located at 736 Richland Ave.