Time for a change? York County voters face council term length decision

Voters will have a simple choice on election day — yes or no — of whether to double the length of York County Council member terms to four years.

Business leaders, local leaders and most of the county councilmembers themselves are in favor of the move.

Many feel it’s the best way for new councilmembers to get up to speed, engage in long-term projects and make decisions without having to worry about a new election every two years.

York County is one of only two South Carolina counties in which County Council members serve two-year terms rather than four-year terms.

It soon could be the only one. Anderson County voters will decide in November whether to move to four-year terms there.

“I think the term limit needs to be four years,” said Councilmember William “Bump” Roddey. “It helps give you a longer range of planning. It takes a while to get settled in, to work with the staff, county manager and county attorney. Two years just isn’t the best format.”

If voters approve, York County Council members would begin serving staggered four-year terms.

Half plus one of the council members who receive the highest vote in the next election would serve four-year terms. Those remaining would serve two years and then all members would serve four years after that.

Two-year terms are a holdover from the days when York County was governed by a board of directors.

This is the first time since the late 1980s that York County voters have been able to decide their county council’s term lengths. Similar proposals were on the ballot in 1984 and 1988, and a draft ballot with a referendum was found for the 1980 election.

Although the county entertained discussion of the matter six years ago, it never reached the 2010 ballot.

Opponents have been wary to give elected officials more leeway, said councilmember Chad Williams. He said he “gladly signed up” for the two-year term limit, and he’d be happy to live with whatever choice the voters make on Nov. 8.

“I’d like to err on the side of too much public input,” he said. “Any chance you have that, it’s a good thing.”

A “yes” vote would make for well-needed continuity between elected officials and incoming economic development projects, said Rob Youngblood, president of the York County Chamber of Commerce.

He said it takes at least a full year for a new councilmember to understand procedures, make connections and learn the ropes, not including making relationships with staff leadership and other councilmembers.

Youngblood said he would be fully advocating for the referendum.

“There are many business-related projects before the county council that need the constant and continuous focus of our elected officials,” he said. “That’s difficult on a 2-year cycle.”

The Rock Hill City Council passed a resolution earlier this spring to support the referendum.

Rock Hill school board chair Jim Vining asked board members to support the move to four-year terms for County Council members during a Monday (Oct. 17) school board meeting.

Vining said the County Council needs the stability that could result from longer terms.

The Rock Hill Council of Neighborhoods also came out in favor of the referendum, saying that continuity on the county council would give citizens and businesses more certainty that local issues would be addressed.

“We’re hoping to get a good turnout for the polls for the citizens to vote on this,” said Roddey. “I think this will put us in a better position than we are when it comes to complex issues on the county level.”

This story was originally published October 29, 2016 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Time for a change? York County voters face council term length decision."