Vote Yes GVL, an initiative by a coalition of community leaders organized as Investing for Greenville’s Future, officially launched Sept. 14 in support of Greenville County’s transportation penny tax referendum that will appear on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
The initiative is also supporting four municipal local option measures that will appear on ballots in Greenville, Mauldin, Simpsonville and Travelers Rest.
The referendums represent a chance for voters across Greenville County to approve vital, long-overdue investments in infrastructure that will help ensure the region’s ongoing quality of life and economic vitality, according to Carlton Owen, chairman of Investing for Greenville’s Future.
“We need to make these investments,” Owen said. “We need to begin paying it forward.”
He said the county’s transportation penny tax would generate $990 million over eight years in desperately needed funding to address repair and maintenance needs for the more than 2,400 miles of locally owned roads within Greenville County.
Equally importantly, he said, the measure would provide needed funding in two other areas important to the county’s quality of life:
- $77 million to expand protections for clean drinking water, working farms, wildlife habitat and other greenbelts
- $33 million to expand transit services through Greenville Transit Authority that could include adding Sunday bus service, more frequent buses and additional routes
During the launch event at Flywheel Greenville coworking space, Travelers Rest Mayor Brandy Amidon said the municipal measures like the one her city is putting before voters are complimentary to the county’s effort but address different needs.
She said she realized asking taxpayers to consider one penny tax was a big ask and that asking them to consider two was an even bigger ask.
“But I believe these two referendums address two very different needs and together they give us the opportunity to do something very important together: plan for growth instead of simply reacting to it,” she said.
The county’s transportation penny is ultimately an investment in the area’s continued success and quality of life, according to Mike Sarvis, Upstate market executive for Carter Bank and Trust and incoming chairman of the board for the Greenville Chamber of Commerce.
“This referendum is fundamentally a business and economic opportunity question for Greenville County,” Sarvis said. “We cannot assume that our economic success will simply continue on autopilot. We have to maintain the infrastructure that made our growth possible and invest strategically in the infrastructure that will allow the next generation of businesses and workers to succeed.”
In closing remarks, Owen said voters can find useful information at voteyesgvl.com, onegreenville.org and investgreenville.org.
For those interested in assessing the budgetary impact of the local option taxes, the Onegreenville site has a calculator tool, Owen said.
