Greer officials want public vote on proposed tax for road work

Greer’s elected officials want Greenville County voters to decide whether the county should adopt a 1 percent sales tax to pay for road improvements and related projects.

City Council approved resolution supporting a referendum by a 6-1 vote, with Councilman Wryley Bettis as the sole dissenter.

The city’s resolution is an acknowledgment that road funding and improvement is an important issue to the Greer community, said Mayor Rick Danner.

“We need to inform people so if they have the opportunity to vote in a referendum, that they have all of the information,” Danner said.

The idea of a sales tax vote stems from Greenville County Council’s decision last year to form the Greenville County Citizen Roads Advisory Commission. The commission’s task was gain citizen input on road needs and compile a list of road priorities.

The commission presented its list to County Council last month. The total came to about $600 million, close to the amount that a 1 percent sales tax hike would generate over eight years.

However, County Council members remain divided over the idea of letting county voters decide in a referendum whether to impose the sales tax as a way to pay for the improvements.

Reno Deaton, executive director of the Greer Development Corp., and local real estate broker Donna Smith served on the commission and reported to Greer City Council about the commission’s findings.

“We saw a huge need for sidewalks around schools,” Smith said.

County Councilman Joseph Baldwin, whose District 18 includes Greer, said he’s glad the city has weighed in on the issue. Baldwin said he’d like to see other municipalities take a stand.

“Let us know whether they support it or they don’t support it,” he said.

Greer’s resolution has no force of law and Greenville County will do what it wants with or without city support, Bettis said.

“I don’t know that I would support to vote Greenville County in anything. I would have appreciated such a resolution when it came to recreation at the appropriate time.”

Bettis was referring to a series of votes last year that allowed the Greenville County Recreation District to dissolve itself and become a county department. County Council made the merger final with a 9-2 vote in June with Baldwin county Councilman Dan Rawls opposed.

The end result was a 4.6 mill property tax in Greer, Mauldin, Simpsonville and Greenville, and property taxes for everyone else dropping slightly.

Baldwin said Bettis makes a good point, but he added: “The county is doing this on the inaction on the part of the state Legislature. I would like for our Greenville County (Legislative) Delegation to take a stand on this. I think it’s obvious to most people that the roads in Greenville County are not in good shape and more needs to be done.”

Bettis said taxpayers shouldn’t have to shell out more money for a problem that stems from poor road management by the state.

“That’s where you need to investigate. I just don’t believe it takes another penny of our tax dollars to accomplish what should already be done,” he said. “I would support a resolution to try and discover why we are not getting the correct service from the state for our dollars.”

The Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce supports a referendum, as well.

“We believe on an issue like this that has business and safety implications for decades to come, that the people of Greenville County have the right to decide whether they want to pay an additional 1 percent sales tax to invest in the infrastructure of Greenville County,” chamber President Allen Smith said.

Bettis said he appreciates the work done by the Road Advisory Commission.

“I think they have identified where the needs are. I think they did a super job in that and I applaud them for that,” he said. “But I wouldn’t dare put that in the hands of Greenville County because they are just not trustworthy.

“I’m very leery about putting this on a ballad because everything I’ve read points to a pretty concerted effort to pass it. I would be surprised if the average man voted in favor of another penny tax but if you get the right people putting the right money behind it in the right places, anything can happen.”

Councilman Jay Arrowood said he doesn’t like the idea of a tax but it’s an issue that might be best for the public to decide.

“I don’t like that we are at the point that we are at that we are having to take these kinds of steps to maintain roads,” Arrowood said. “We are going to have to take someone else’s problem and fix it because it directly affects us.”

The roads in the poorest shape are state roads, Arrowood said.

“The majority of the roads that we drive on are state roads. The state, in my opinion does not have the means to fund all the repairs it needs to make,” he said. “I’m afraid if we don’t do something, the roads are going to be in such shape that it’s going to start to affect economic development. Let it be known that our city streets are in pretty good shape.”

Contact staff writer Cheryl P. Allen at 864-298-4026 or follow her on Twitter @CPAllenNewz.