May 23, 2013
Henry County officials are moving ahead with plans for a one-cent sales tax increase. Residents will vote on the one-cent sales tax increase later this year.
Part of the revenue would benefit senior citizens but the bulk of the money would be used to upgrade county roads.
Henry County has more than 500 miles of paved roads and county officials say over 200 miles, or more than 40-percent, are in dire need of re-surfacing.
Seveny-five-percent of the proposed sales tax hike would be earmarked for roads and bridges, which is about $1.1 million a year.
Of course, Henry county's roads didn't get this bad over night. County engineer Chris Champion says a series of natural disaster took their toll on the county's resources.
When the last two Henry county bridges are upgraded later this summer, Champion says their bridges will rank among the top 15-percent in the state. Their roads, however, are another matter.
