Greenwood penny sales tax collection starts May 1
On May 1, Greenwood County residents will begin paying 1 percent more in local sales tax to finance $85 million worth of capital improvement projects, six months after voters widely approved a referendum authorizing the levy.
On the same day, McCormick County consumers will see the same sales tax increase for a $3.57 million package to cover eight capital projects.
Topping the list of 27 projects to be funded through Greenwood’s local sales tax increase is a $13.5 million Upstate Center for Manufacturing Excellence to be built at Piedmont Technical College using $6.09 million in sales tax dollars along with private capital and state aid.
County Manager Toby Chappell said the tax applies to online purchases on items delivered to Greenwood County addresses. Unprepared food items eligible for purchase with federal Department of Agriculture vouchers are exempt.
Officials expect to bring in about $9.5 million in the first year, though economic factors will play a role in that.
“This is a projection and we will not know the true amount until later in the year,” Chappell said. “Additionally, since this is a sales tax, the amount can fluctuate based on several factors such as the economy, population, new retail, etcetera.”
Although revenue collection doesn’t begin until later in the spring, officials have taken steps toward pre-planning and advanced purchasing in several areas, using the promise of future dollars.
In December, for example, County Council unanimously voted to fast track the purchase of 400 radios that feed into an 800-megahertz system – providing fewer dead zones for emergency response personnel.
Right now, Greenwood’s various agencies use different radio systems and have to rely on dispatch to bounce messages back and forth.
Public safety upgrades are a large part of McCormick’s penny sales tax as well, with a combined $2 million going toward an emergency radio system and new operations center.
The project, listed third out of 27 on the list of items to be paid for by the special sales tax, was pegged at $4.1 million, with an implementation date in late 2018.
But Motorola offered a $435,000 discount and zero percent interest until November 2018 if county leaders moved forward now with a contract.
“I think this is a smart way of dealing with the money and addressing a strategic weakness we have right now,” Chappell said in December.
Of the $5.57 million earmarked for various park and recreation projects, $596,078 is targeted for the conversion of an abandoned railroad right-of-way from Mill Avenue through West Cambridge Park to Lander University’s Jeff May Complex into a bike path, connecting Lander to the Greenwood Mall.
“We cannot ignore the need for these quality of life projects to attract a new generation of millennials and others that demand outdoor recreation,” Greenwood City Manager Charlie Barrineau said.
Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Apr 22, 2017
By ADAM BENSON abenson@indexjournal.com