Greenville Co. Council votes on sales tax referendum to repair roads, residents speak out

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) — Greenville County Council approved the second reading of an ordinance to add a one percent sales tax to the November ballot.

If adopted, the tax is expected to generate about $1 billion over eight years. The funding would be used to repair 1,445 roads and bridges.

The ordinance was approved 8 to 4. Council Members Benton Blount, Steve Shaw, Stan Tzouvelekas and Rick Bradley voted against it.

Before the meeting began, Council Members Blount, Shaw, Tzouvelekas and Bradley as well as councilors-elect Frank Farmer, Garey Collins and Curt McGahhey held a news conference to discuss why they do not support the proposed tax.

“The truth is this really is double taxation,” Blount said.

Blount said if the sales tax is adopted, Greenville County residents will be taxed twice to fix state-owned roads because they are already paying a statewide gas tax.

“We are not against funding to fix Greenville County roads,” he said. “We are against Greenville County taxpayer dollars fixing everyone else’s roads.”

Instead, council members suggest the county find other ways to pay for road improvement projects.

“We’ve never really gone through the entire budget with a fine tooth comb to see if there is anywhere we can make any budget cuts,” Blount said. “We’ve never experienced the opportunity to discuss impact fees, which would cause the developers to have to take care of infrastructure in real-time.”

Once the meeting began, the County Council heard from residents and local leaders about why they believe the tax should be added to the November ballot.

“If we don’t do something now, we’re going to leave our children and grandchildren dirt roads,” Jeff Hilderbran said.

“I’m asking you to let our residents decide this question — should our highest priority road projects wait another 20 or 30 years for state gas tax money to catch up with our needs?” Fountain Inn Mayor GP McLeer asked.

“It is the only tool that will help us begin to fix our broken roads, relieve congestion and make various safety improvements throughout our county,” Mauldin Mayor Terry Merritt said. “Best of all, 30 percent of the money raised will come from those who don’t live here.”

The County Council also heard from those who do not support the proposed tax.

“For seniors on fixed incomes and low-income families, it can be a significant hit,” a resident said.

“The school district is raising our millage,” Gary Collins said. “The fire department is raising our millage. You just raised our millage, and now you want another for roads that should have been taken under your watch?”

The ordinance must go through a third reading before the proposed tax is added to the ballot in November. Voters would then decide if the tax is enacted.

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