Two ballot initiatives in St. Johns County failed Tuesday, one for the second time in months.

The first was a proposal that would have given the county a charter, or "home rule," style of government instead of the structure set forth by the state.

The charter government proposal, which would have maintained the makeup of elected boards but allowed for citizen initiatives as well as recall of elected officials, was a familiar sight to voters in St. Johns County: The initiative had been on the ballot in August as well, with votes going 2-to-1 against it. Some business groups opposed it, but in past elections support for the idea was stronger in the northern part of the county, while the southern part opposed it.

This time around, with a slightly greater effort from county officials to educate voters, a fairly thin majority rejected it.

Still, with voters rejecting the proposal twice in one election season and with two of its major political backers - indicted Commission Chairman Tom Manuel and Commissioner Ben Rich, who lost in the August primary - off the board, the loss likely spelled the end, at least for now, for charter government.

The second countywide ballot initiative was a five-year one-cent sales tax proposal intended to raise more than $20 million a year for five years to buy conservation land and pay for county road improvement.

The initiative was backed by the Trust for Public Land. The group has successfully backed similar initiatives in other counties. But with a souring economy, most voters turned down the chance to pay 7 percent sales tax instead of 6 percent, whatever the benefit.

Adam Guillette, state director for the group Americans for Prosperity, said voters in St. Johns sent a message to the county commission to cut "reckless" spending and reduce taxes.

deirdre.conner@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4504

Florida Times Union