Travelers Rest voters will decide in November’s general election whether the city imposes a municipal penny tax for parks, trails, roads and other capital projects. City Council voted Aug. 10 to approve putting the referendum on the ballot during a special called meeting.
The city estimates a penny tax would generate $19.8 million over the next eight years to fund $15.8 million in capital projects and provide nearly $4 million in property tax relief for residents. It also estimates a little over 60% of the revenue would come from visitor spending.
The measure was made possible by the state General Assembly’s passage of the Municipal Tax Relief Act in May, which extends the authority to impose a 1% local sales tax to cities located within a county that has not enacted a penny tax.
Greenville County Council has approved sending its own transportation penny tax to voters in November, where it will join municipal measures, either approved or pending, in Greenville, Mauldin, Simpsonville and Travelers Rest.
Under the new municipal measure, cities must dedicate 20% of penny tax revenue to property tax relief for owner-occupied homes. In Travelers Rest, for example, that could translate into a little more than $440 in property tax savings for homes valued at around $400,000, according to the city.
If approved by Travelers Rest voters, the penny tax would be imposed on every dollar of eligible retail purchases — excluding most groceries, prescription medicines and gasoline, which are exempt under state law.
Travelers Rest proposes spending penny tax revenue on 29 projects in the following categories:
- $4.9 million for parks and recreation projects
- $3.9 million for sidewalk and trail connectivity projects
- $3.1 million for roads and traffic projects
- $2.6 million for parking projects
- $1.3 million for stormwater infrastructure projects
The projects are organized into two tiers to reflect the order in which each would be funded and completed. For more information, visit travelersrestsc.com/tax-relief.
