The Greenville County Council moved forward this past Tuesday evening in advancing two proposals that, if passed, could reach even further into the pockets of county taxpayers.
Each of these votes were 8-4. Although voters in the June primaries overwhelmingly voted against reelecting three of the tax raisers on council, those defeated councilors, Butch Kirven, Chris Harrison and Mike Barnes still retain their seats until the newly elected individuals take office in January.
One proposal calls for a one-cent raise in the sales tax. The other would authorize $70 million in bonds for renovations to be made to the downtown entertainment facility known as the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, formerly the Bi-Lo Center. The arena was built after the 1997 demolition of the old Greenville Memorial Auditorium.
A number of people showed up to speak on both proposals. Most of those who spoke to the arena proposal were in favor of the issuance of the bonds.
A couple of arena workers spoke in favor of the proposal, saying that the arena provides employment for several individuals. Curiously, both of these workers live in neighboring counties and thus would not be burdened with having to contribute to the repayment of these bonds.
One speaker said that, without the local arena, people would have to travel to Charlotte, Atlanta and beyond. Another speaker noted that, just as a 25-year old car needs renovations, so does the arena, which is a quarter century old. He said that Greenville needs to be competitive with other arenas across the nation.
Support for and against the penny sales tax increase for roads, which is projected to raise $1 billion over eight years, was about evenly divided. One supporter said that sales taxes are the fairest taxes in that they allow out-of-county travelers to share in the burden of road upkeep.
Another speaker noted that a local sales tax would be collected here and would stay here,unlike state sales taxes that go to Columbia and then are divvied up among the counties.
Both GP McLeer, the mayor of Fountain Inn, and Travelers Rest mayor Brandy Amidon spoke in favor of the proposal, saying that the voters should be allowed to decide.
Councilor Chris Harrison asked, “What is the fear of putting it on the ballot?” Blount, who voted 'No,' replied that there is no fear, that he is just listening to his constituents. If council gives final approval to the proposal at third reading the proposal would appear on the November ballot.
Terry Merritt, the mayor of Mauldin, said that waiting for the state to fix the roads is a copout and that council needs to show “moral courage.”
Several people spoke against the penny sales tax, including Diane Vreeland, who stated that many councilors are “tone deaf to the will of the people.” She told council that they need to do a forensic audit before raising taxes.
A couple of speakers said that developers need to invest in the roads, which would involve the payment of impact fees.
Several speakers noted that raising the sales tax, even a penny, would cause an added hardship to many seniors and other lower income residents. Derrick Quarles, who narrowly lost a bid to unseat long-time councilor Ennis Fant in the June primary, said that he knows people who are already struggling financially. Some speakers want council to delay the ordinance until the new council is seated in January.
Council nominee Garey Collins, who defeated 20-year councilor Butch Kirven in the June primary and who will take over Kirven's seat in January, was critical of over-taxation. “The school district is raising our millage, the fire department is raising our millage, you just raised our millage (June 2023) and now you want another?” he said.
The proposal to put the penny sales tax to a referendum will appear on the docket at third reading on Tuesday, August 6.
Just prior to the 6:00 p.m. start of the regular council meeting, four current councilors – Benton Blount, Rick Bradley, Steve Shaw and Stan Tzouvelekas, as well as three council nominees – Frank Farmer, Garey Collins and Curt McGahhey held a press conference to oppose what they referred to as double taxation.
