Here’s a recap of Greenville County Council’s July 21 meeting:
Approved: Penny tax referendum for roads, transit, green belts
Council approved third and final reading of an ordinance proposing a one-cent sales tax for roads, public transit and green belts. It will now head to Greenville County voters to approve or deny in a referendum this November.
This is the county’s third attempt to pass a local option sales tax for roads and infrastructure to address what some estimates put at about a $3 billion backlog in road and bridge maintenance needs.
A capital projects local option tax was narrowly rejected by voters in 2024. The county’s renewed push for a roads penny tax was sparked by a change in state law earlier this year that would allow cities to ask their voters to approve a penny tax in counties that do not already have a local option sales tax in place.
Greenville is one of only three counties in South Carolina without such a tax.
Since the May passage of the Municipal Tax Relief Act, the cities of Greenville, Mauldin, Simpsonville and Travelers Rest have taken action to put a referendum question on a penny tax before voters using the new law. All four councils have will have a final vote on the matter in the coming weeks.
The county’s transportation penny tax would be imposed for eight years and is expected to generate $1.1 billion in revenue over that period. The measure stipulates that of that revenue, $990 million would go toward road paving, resurfacing, intersection improvements and other transportation-related infrastructure.
It would allocate an additional $33 million to mass transit and another $77 million to greenbelts.
With council’s approval of the penny tax ordinance, the matter now goes to the Greenville County Board of Elections and Voter Registration, which will prepare the ballot question to appear as a referendum in the Nov. 3 general election.
Introduced: Wireless communication facilities ordinance
Council accepted for first reading an ordinance that would establish guidelines for where wireless communication facilities, such as cell towers, could be located within the unincorporated portions of the county.
Although the council does not typically discuss measures at first reading, a number of speakers addressing council during the public comment portion of the meeting addressed the topic. Most expressed concerns about health impacts from living or working near communications towers.
The measure will require two further readings before taking effect and will also require a public hearing, which typically coincides with second reading. That second reading is expected during the council’s Aug. 18 meeting.
