Over the last week, you may have seen posts and headlines suggesting that Greenville County Council has failed to prioritize public safety, that we could somehow meet a new $12,000 raise request for every Sheriff’s Office employee “without raising taxes,” and that if we don’t, we’re “defunding the police.”
Let’s take a moment to walk through the facts, calmly, clearly, and transparently.
The 7-Mill Question
Some have claimed that the 7-mill increase passed in 2023 was “for public safety,” and that deputies haven’t seen that money.
But the official record, the 2024 Budget Ordinance adopted June 23, 2023, shows otherwise.
The ordinance set our total operating millage at 55.4 mills (General Fund 43.7, Public Safety Interoperable Communications 0.7, etc.) under the CPI + population growth formula.
There is no language earmarking those mills to the Sheriff or to public safety.
Public safety was discussed as a countywide priority, but legally and fiscally, those funds weren’t dedicated to any one department.
I can’t speak to what internal conversations were had between the sheriff and the administrator or council leadership at the time about that particular budget season, but I had never heard once that the increase was simply to support public safety. It was presented as a countywide adjustment, not a targeted law-enforcement raise.
In fact, I voted against that increase, due to the fact that it went to things other than public safety or road funding.
The Timeline: What Changed and When
In June 2025, Council was originally presented with a proposed 3 percent raise for law-enforcement personnel.
At the request of Sheriff Hobart Lewis, that figure was doubled to 6 percent, even though doing so required adjustments elsewhere in the budget.
At that time, Sheriff Lewis personally told me, in a meeting with another councilman present, that he would not return this budget year to request another increase.
That conversation took place just four months ago.
Then, on October 9, we received an internal email from Major Moore, implying that another raise would be needed.
Just twelve days later, on October 21, during what was meant to be a preliminary budget discussion, the request was brought up publicly, accompanied by statements suggesting that if Council didn’t agree, we’d be “defunding the police.”
That was especially disappointing, because I personally invited the Sheriff and Major Moore to attend that meeting, based on the email, so they could explain their needs. My goal was to make sure both council and the public were aware of the request as we began moving forward with the budget process.
Unfortunately, that invitation resulted in rhetoric that was politically charged and misleading about Council’s consistent support of public safety.
Here is the reality. Council has not even been presented the new budget yet!
To criticize publicly before we’ve seen a single page of numbers is both unfair and unproductive.
The Fiscal Reality
Over the last five years, the Sheriff’s Office budget has increased substantially, growing from about $54.9 million in 2021 to roughly $76.6 million in 2025. That’s an increase of $21.6 million, or nearly 39 percent in just half a decade.
Most of that growth has come from personnel costs, which rose from $49.3 million to $68.4 million over that same period, showing that Council has already made public safety a consistent funding priority.
Now, the new request to raise every Sheriff’s Office employee’s salary by $12,000 would add another $6 to $7 million in recurring costs every year, bringing the department’s total annual budget near $83 million.
That would represent roughly a 50 percent increase in the Sheriff’s Office budget since 2021, all in the span of five years.
To put that in context, each 1 mill in Greenville County generates about $4 million in revenue. Meeting this new request would therefore require 1.5 to 2 mills, and without raising taxes, those dollars would have to come directly from cuts to other essential services, or from strategic efforts to reduce the property tax burden to our citizens.
That’s why the claim that we can “simply reallocate funds” is misleading at best.
Municipality & State vs. County Reality
Another major source of confusion in this debate is how compensation rankings are being framed.
We’ve all seen the claim that “Greenville County ranks 31st in law-enforcement pay statewide.”
But those rankings mix together city police departments, county sheriff’s offices, and even state-funded agencies like SLED.
Municipal police departments have smaller forces, no jail or court obligations, and very different funding bases.
- Greenville City Police starts at $53,172 – $56,526, roughly equal to the County’s entry level, but the City doesn’t fund detention, EMS, or courts.
- Comparing cities to counties ignores the scale and responsibilities counties must carry.
State agencies such as the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) are funded from statewide appropriations, an entirely different tax base.
Expecting Greenville County to match SLED salaries without raising local taxes simply isn’t realistic.
When you compare counties only, the picture changes dramatically.
According to the SC Association of Counties 2024 Wage & Salary Report, large-county law-enforcement officers average $72,561 – $85,308 (midpoint ≈ $78,935).
Greenville County’s Deputy I scale, $56,994 to $65,543, falls squarely in line with peers when factoring education, experience, and incentives.
That places Greenville within the upper third statewide among counties, not near the bottom.
When city and state agencies are blended in, it skews the numbers and creates an apples, oranges, and tractors comparison, one that’s unfair to taxpayers and the truth alike.
Our Priorities Work Together
Public Safety is Priority #1 for County Council.
But Transparency and Fiscal Responsibility are Priority #2, and equally vital.
They’re like constitutional amendments. Each are important, and none are optional.
We can’t abandon fiscal honesty to serve one department, nor can we ignore public safety to balance the books.
Both matter equally.
What We’ve Already Done
In our most recent budget, we:
- Granted the Sheriff’s Office a 6% raise, double the original proposal
- Tripled road-funding to improve infrastructure and safety
- Reduced property taxes by over $4 million.
Early projections showed we might be able to lower taxes again this year by nearly $5 million, but this new request, if adopted in part or fully, would clearly wipe out that relief entirely.
Those are the trade-offs most people never see, and I intend to be transparent about them.
My Commitment Going Forward
Until October 9, every indication was that no new raise request would come this year.
So yes, seeing that change so quickly, and then be spun publicly, is frustrating.
But even with that frustration, I’m committed to doing what’s right.
If the trade-off this year is between lowering taxes or helping deputies, or any other core government functions, I can live with that, as long as our taxpayers know the full truth.
My job is to lead with facts, fairness, and fiscal integrity. We will continue supporting public safety and every other essential county service, while fighting for taxpayer relief wherever possible.
As more information becomes available, I’ll share it here so you always have the full picture.
