During a meeting held Tuesday (Aug. 5), Anderson County Council held third and final reading on an ordinance to proceed with a referendum for voters to decide on a Capital Projects Sales Tax to pay for road and safety improvements throughout the county.
Nine people spoke during public comments prior to the vote, including two members of the Anderson County Legislative Delegation and several members of the Road Tax Committee.
SC House members Lee Gilreath and April Cromer both expressed concerns about the One Percent Sales and Use Tax.
Gilreath chastised Council Chairman Tommy Dunn for his response to some residents during County Council meetings, stating he was “rude and abrasive to citizens” and “these people have every right to be heard”. He stated the one percent tax will be wasted on other applications. He also had a problem with a special called meeting at four in the afternoon to hold second reading on the issue. Gilreath also expressed concerns about Fee in Lieu of Tax agreements, stating they were costing school districts.
Cromer stated that Anderson County offers growth, jobs, prosperity and better lives but is seeing explosive growth with thousands of new homes being built. The result, she said, is schools over capacity, doctor waiting lists, sewer bills up, property tax up “and now you want one percent for roads.” “One percent may not sound like much but for when you go to the grocery store and can’t afford groceries, it matters.” She urged Council to look at money that could be reappropriated and to not give discounts to industry.
A resident of Council District 1 told Council the issue had already been voted down and they “simply don’t listen to people you are serving. You are forcing people to pay twice, there is great waste of taxpayer money and this vote will come when there is no countywide election. This is a slap in the face to the people of Anderson County,” he said.
Another speaker said Council was “subverting the will of the voters who made it very clear we did not want it”. She said that the gas tax enacted in 2017, which increased 2 cents each year until 2022, resulted in a 28 cents on gas tax, “would take care of roads”. She said residents pay school taxes, income taxes, property taxes and now you want money for roads and repairs. “This is poor management of money you have.”
A resident of Council District 7 had complaints with Fee in Lieu for a 500,000 sq. ft. warehouse at 134 Long Road. The warehouse is located adjacent to residential and agricultural property and there is “very little demand for this space,” he said. “It is inappropriately located and council wants to reward the owner. A better idea is to collect his tax.”
A resident of Council District 2, who served on the committee for the capital sales tax, said that a pothole had recently cost him $250 for a tire. He said that fee in lieu and impact fees would not live up to the amount needed to fix roads in Anderson County. “We spent a lot of time working on that (the capital sales tax).”
A resident of Council District 7 stated she had been researching the budget and that Council was kicking the plan down the road concerning potholes. She said they were trying to sell the tax and use tax to taxpayers by listing roads on the ballot “that wouild be seven years down the road” getting repaired. She also said the County was paying $7 million for employees and only $1 million for supplies.
Another speaker said that common people are suffering from decisions made by the boomers. “People said then, hopefully it will work out, but we won’t be here”. He said “We must have a tax on people moving in.”
Another speaker, who served on the road tax committee along with “two buddies” said, “We don’t trust “anybody” . He assured voters “We will take this money and improve roads. There is no other money we can put to this. He told about his son hitting a pothole on his way home from work and having to go help him. “Law enforcement, roads, sewer and water make us a civilization. There is no other option than to pay a tax to fix our roads. We have to use the funds we have. I promise we will spend every penny to fix our roads.”
Later in the meeting, Council approved third and final reading on the ordinance to proceed with a referendum for voters to decide yes or no on a Capital Projects Sales Tax to pay for road and safety improvements throughout the county. No one spoke during the public hearing.
District 6 Councilman Jimmy Davis said that Anderson County is now paying employees a “liveable wage”. ” Anderson County is leading the Upstate now”, he said.
He mentioned the explosive growth in the Piedmont area which he represents. “There are 2000 houses being built. It is a tough situation we live in.” He pointed out that the County budget has no millage increases, though property taxes have gone up due to reassessment. He offered to work with Representatives Gilreath and Cromer to get state money for roads. “We will support that,” he said.
He also stated that the County does receive some money from the State gas tax. “We need $30 million to $40 million a year. We need money for these roads.” He admitted that “Yes we are putting it back out there. We have got to figure out how to pave roads. I don’t know where else we can get those $30 to $40 million.” Davis explained that of the County tax bill, only 3 cents of each dollar collected goes to roads.
“We are giving Anderson County the opportunity to say yea or nea one more time. We are notvoting to raise your taxes. We are giving you the opportunity to vote on it.”
Council unanimously approved moving forward with the referendum. District 2 Councilman Glenn Davis was not present for the vote.
The One Percent Sales and Use Tax will be subject to the approval of a referendum to be held with the mid-term elections on November 4, 2025.
If approved, the one percent sales and use tax will be for a period of 8 years beginning May 1, 2026 and will raise $277,999,013.62 for 271 paving and road projects and $52,241,707.34 for 17 bridge/culvert projects and 18 intersection safety improvements.
The referendum will also decide if the County will be authorized to issue and sell general obligation bonds not exceeding $20,000,000, to begin work on road projects which will be done in four phases. The project list will be on the referendum and cannot be changed.
The total principal amount of the authorized capital projects will be $379.6 million.The referendum will include a general list of projects in each area of the County.
