Transportation on the Ballot in Greenville & Anderson
When you head to the polls on November 5, or vote early starting October 21, and you live in Anderson or Greenville county, you will see not only candidates for office on your ballot - you’ll also see a referendum aimed at funding transportation improvements through a 1% sales tax.
In effort to ensure you are well informed about what is on your ballot if you live in either of these counties, we are providing a general overview of what exactly is on the ballot and its intended impact on each county.
Please note that the Upstate Mobility Alliance, nor our fiscal sponsor Ten at the Top, as nonprofit organizations do not endorse ballot initiatives. This content is meant to inform you, the voter, so that your vote is based on the most accurate information possible.
What Kind of Tax?
Under state law counties have the authority to enact certain taxes by referendum (vote of the people during an election) to fund various initiatives. Much of how the two county taxes are structured is rooted in state law.
Greenville County Council approved the inclusion of a “Capital Project Sales Tax” (CPST) on the November ballot to establish a 1% sales tax on everything except groceries, prescription drugs, and fuel. By state law, CPSTs must be attached to specific projects. Other counties across the state have seen their CPST fund facilities, parks, and more, but Greenville’s list of projects is specifically roads and intersections. More on Greenville’s project list is in the summary below.
Anderson County on the other hand opted for a different tax, the “Transportation Tax”. This 1% sales tax, on the ballot in November, provides some greater flexibility in funding transportation-related projects under state law - not only roads, but also greenways and public transportation. However, Anderson County has restricted that scope to only include road-related projects. Before June, this particular tax required the taxation of groceries - but state law changed this summer to allow counties to exempt groceries if they chose to. Anderson County elected to exempt groceries through a vote in July.
GREENVILLE COUNTY - CAPITAL PROJECT SALES TAX
The Need: Greenville County identified over $2 billion in road-related repairs needed across the county (local, county, and state-owned roads) to bring all roads up to “Good Repair”.
Funding Potential: Greenville’s CPST referendum would apply a 1% sales tax for eight years. Over that period, the tax is estimated to bring in an additional $1 billion for road projects. It is estimated that around 30% of those funds would be collected through purchases made by non-county residents visiting the county.
The Process: By opting for a CPST, Greenville County had to follow a state-mandated process to develop a list of specific projects to be funded through this proposed tax. This included a Steering Committee comprised of citizens to collect and determine final project lists, and holding a series of public meetings to gather input from the public.
The Projects: By law under the CPST model, all projects must be identified in advance, and the tax can only fund the projects on the approved list. A full list of projects to be funded through the CPST can be found here, or you can see them all on this interactive map (the map is much easier to navigate). The project list includes:
1,445 roads slated to be repaved ($473.9 million)
51 intersection improvements ($216.1 million)
31 road safety and congestion relief projects ($313.2 million)
37 bridge repair and road drainage improvements ($43.6 million)
Projects are placed into one for four tiers. Projects will be completed starting with Tier 1 projects and then moving down to Tier 4 over the course of the eight-year tax period. Projects were placed into Tiers not only based on conditions, but also based on complexity, estimated cost, and other factors. (Read: Just because it’s not in Tier 1 doesn’t mean it’s not a high priority, it just may be a very complex improvement or very costly, which will take more time to finalize before moving dirt)
ANDERSON COUNTY - TRANSPORTATION TAX
The Need: Anderson County owns over 1,500 miles of roads, plus bridges and intersections. Nearly a third of county bridges are in need of repair and cannot be used by school buses or commercial trucks at this time.
Funding Potential: The 1% Transportation Tax over a seven-year tax period is estimated to bring in around $35 million per year, or nearly $250 million total. As this is a sales tax, a portion of these funds would be paid by visitors (non-residents) of Anderson County.
The Projects: The Transportation Tax model under state law does not require a specific list of projects to be identified before the referendum is voted upon. Anderson County is targeting all 1,500+ miles of county-owned roads, plus its bridges and some safety improvements.