City Residents Will Now Support County Parks and Recreation Facilities with Taxes

Council-Meeting---6-13

Greenville County Council voted Tuesday night to dissolve the county Recreation District board of directors and make the former district a department of Greenville County Government. The move was a surprise to most county residents. Greer city government representatives and residents streamed to the microphone during a public hearing at Greenville County Square to express their objections. Joe Baldwin, who represents Greer on County Council, was one of only two councilmen who voted against the measure that passed by a vote of 9 to 2 with Liz Seman absent from the meeting.

The special recreation tax district excluded the cities of Greenville, Greer, Simpsonville and Mauldin. The residents of those four cities were exempt from paying taxes to support the county recreation facilities, although they could use them. Under the new arrangement, residents of the four cities will now be required to pay their share of the cost of operating Greenville County’s 55 parks and recreation facilities.

A Greenville County Spokesman said the average homeowner in the four cities could see a $20 increase on their next property tax bill. With the expansion of the tax base, other county residents could see a $10 decrease in their property taxes on an average size home.

Travelers Rest Mayor Wayne McCall spoke in favor of the proposal during the public hearing. Simpsonville Mayor Perry Eichor and Greer City Council Member Wryley Bettis spoke in opposition.

Aggressive annexation policies by the cities were one of the reasons given for the merger. Each time Greer or another city annexed part of the county into the city, the Recreation District lost part of its tax base. The merger will provide a more sustainable flow of funding for recreation facilities.

A controversy developed between Councilman Joe Baldwin and County Administrator Joe Kernell as to how much taxes would be increased for city residents. The exact amount will not be known until computed by the county auditor prior to the time tax bills are mailed to county property owners in the fall.

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