DARLINGTON COUNTY, SC (WBTW) – Darlington County Council discussed an ordinance regarding the downtown courthouse at its meeting on Monday.
 
“Essentially County Council heard during the first reading of an ordinance that will place a ballot question this fall for voters to decide whether they want an additional one penny sales tax to pay for a new courthouse,” County Administrator, Marion Stewart, told News13.
 
Stewart said Council is still unsure of where the courthouse will go.
 
“There may not be a final decision until well after the voters approve or disapprove the sales tax,” Stewart said. “Whether or not there will be one new building, two new buildings, one building and a renovation; It’s still part of what council is trying to determine.”
 
The County Administrator said the new tax would be separate of the one voters decided on last year.
 
“This would be an additional penny on top of what was approved last year for the school district,” he said.
 
Darlington County has discussed different options for a new courthouse for the past few years, and recently held public forums to gain input from the community.
 
“If that penny is approved it can only be used for building a new facility or renovating and refurbishing the current facility for what is in our current courthouse,” said Stewart. “It couldn’t, for example, be to build a building for EMS or fire district because they’re not in this facility.”
 
Over the past three years, there have been several instances of inmates that escaped police custody at the Darlington Courthouse.
 
In 2017, State Senator Gerald Malloy told News13 that a new courthouse was imperative to Darlington County. 
 
“It’s been a long-standing need that we need a courthouse here in Darlington County,” Senator Malloy said. “We still have some safety concerns, not only for our citizens, but for our judges as well.” 
 
Stewart said Council voted for a consulting firm to evaluate the current courthouse building. The County Administrator said it could take between 60 and 90 days to receive the findings.
 
“The reason they approved two studies tonight,” he explained. “It’s to be done by engineers, of what can be done with the current facility to bring it to code and standards, and what can be done, space-wise, within this building [the courthouse] and the space here in the city of Darlington for a new judicial center.”
 
Stewart said the second reading of the ordinance will take place at its next meeting in June.