There have been a couple of articles recently written trying to update the status of the 2-year-old Capital Project Sales Tax. I feel it is time to take a moment to recap why the CPST was and continues to be so critically important to the current and future success of Greenwood County.

My wife Denise and I have always felt very blessed to call Greenwood home for the past 20-plus years. During this time we have seen many positive changes; however, we have also felt that Greenwood’s potential was so much greater.

During our time living here in Greenwood, I have had the unique opportunity and honor to serve on many local business and nonprofit boards of directors. Through my experiences of serving on the Greenwood Partnership Alliance board, Piedmont Tech board, the Self Regional board, The Humane Society of Greenwood board, or the LPGA/Symetra Tour tournament, I had found myself actively engaged in working with both Greenwood County and City councils.

As a result, I had quickly learned just how challenging and difficult it is for our elected leadership to balance a yearly budget. Once all the necessary operating expenses,such as fire and police protection to name a few, are totaled there is very little left if it at all to address our future needs. A few cases in point were our continued important economic development activities to recruit new businesses and industries were rapidly becoming hampered because of a lack of buildings, infrastructure product to sell. A further challenge or opportunity was for having or helping to produce a trained and ready work force. And finally, of equal importance, continued quality of life improvements or enhancements.

How do these very necessary needs get addressed when there is little to no know extra money in producing a balanced budget each year? Well, like many other progressive and forward-thinking counties, they have successfully used a capital sales tax, also known as a penny tax, to raise the necessary funds to help address these critical needs.

So now, just after a short two years of our capital sales tax being collected, we can immediately measure our success or return on investment by several big wins such as the announcement of Tejin coming to Greenwood and building a major new facility and producing initially 300-plus new jobs with an upward projection of more than 1,000 new jobs. The announcement and construction started at Piedmont Tech’s O’Dell Center for manufacturing training excellence, critical countywide necessary infrastructure improvements, many other quality of life initiatives such as parks and recreation areas throughout the county and now significant new home construction. None of this would have been possible or happened without the passing of our Capital Project Sales Tax initiative.

We are firm believers that Greenwood County’s future remains very bright for all us to enjoy. Denise and I are proud to call Greenwood home.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Oct 14, 2019

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/opinion/columns/guest-column-why-is-the-capital-project-sales-tax-so-important-to-greenwood-county/article_71a4fd2a-392b-5615-90cb-364cf2d45fb2.html

We will readily admit we are not the best mathematicians, but let’s do a little math anyway.

In 2016, the voters of Greenwood County cast a majority “yes” vote in support of a penny sales tax. The tax, called a Capital Project Sales Tax, was touted as having the potential of raising $87,938,185 for 27 detailed and specific projects throughout the county. The tax is to remain in place for eight years, unless the $87.9 million is collected in less time. But it must sunset in eight years and cannot remain in place until the $87.9 is raised.

Got that?

The tax has been collected for two years now, but is being projected to fall short of the anticipated/calculated/projected $87.9 million. That revelation was made during the Aug. 28 State of the City and County Address hosted by the Greenwood SC Chamber.

How short? That’s a question the newspaper wanted to know. We figured voters and taxpayers might also want to know. Moreover, we figured voters and taxpayers might well be interested in finding out which of the 27 projects might not come to be realized as a result of a shortfall in tax collections.

So, what did we do? We asked the folks in county government who are supposed to be able to answer these questions.

The answer we got apparently is the same answer some of the folks whose projects are on – excuse us, potentially on – the cutting room floor. Those folks received a letter on Greenwood County letterhead from the capital projects sales tax coordinator’s office. It clearly points out the need for recalculating projections:

”According to state law, Greenwood County can collect the 1% capital projects sales tax for a maximum of 8 years, or until we reach $87,938,185 in revenue. Based on our quarterly average, we are projecting to collect $67,902,834 at the end of our eight year time limit.”

Here’s where some of the math we mentioned comes in handy, and we are using the numbers straight from the letter that went out to the project “stakeholders.”

$87,938,185 — $67,902,834 = $20,035,351.

Now, best we can tell that lines up with the $20 million potential shortfall we were quoted when we sought clarification and details on the Aug. 28 revelation. And that explains why we used “$20 million” in subsequent story headlines. Hey, remember what we said. We are not all that good at math, so we used the figures given to us by those in the know as we attempted to tell the rest of the residents who we think might also want to be more in the know.

OK, let’s look at some more math, based on more of what was contained in the letter that was sent to the stakeholders of projects that likely will not get done. At least not yet.

”As you may recall, the 2016 referendum for the Capital Project Sales Tax listed 27 projects in order along with the amount of money allocated for each project. Also per state law, these projects have to be funded in the order they are listed on the ballot. Based on our total projected funding of $67,902,834, Greenwood County will only be able to fund through project 17 on the list. Unfortunately, Projects 18-27 on the list are not likely to be funded in this round of the Capital Projects Sales Tax.”

The letter then lists those potentially ill-fated projects:

• $3,397,273 for the rehabilitation of Katherine Hall in Ware Shoals

• $429,939 for the repair and maintenance of the Greenwood County Detention Center

• $208,998 for the purchase of a case management system for the 8th Circuit Solicitor’s Office

• $358,283 for the installation of fiber optic cable and related equipment on the campus of the Greenwood Genetic Center

• $2,447,774 for the construction of the Carolina Avenue Connector, a new road with related infrastructure between South Main Street and the campus of the Greenwood Genetic Center on Liner Circle in Greenwood

• $685,987 for the renovation of the Arts Center at the Federal Building in Greenwood, including but not limited to the replacement of the roof and certain flooring, and painting of the exterior

• $1,221,806 for the construction of an exhibition hall replicating the former Southern Passenger Depot for the Railroad Historical Center

• $1,468,664 for the purchase of a platform fire truck and related equipment for the City of Greenwood Fire Department

• $1,223,887 for the placement of lines for water service and fire suppression in the area of Harris Landing

• $4,895,548 for the placement of lines for water services and fire suppression in the area of Highway 25 South

Now add those figures up and you will get $16,338,159. Of course, that’s not $20 million, but again, we were told the same thing those stakeholders were told in the letter. We refer you to the earlier math that shows the county anticipating as much as a $20 million shortfall.

Yet, somehow, the Index-Journal is made out to look like bad guys in this tale, according to some county officials and council members. The shortfall wasn’t revealed publicly until it was brought up to about 200 people attending the Aug. 28 State of the City and County Address. We did what we should in asking questions and seeking more details. We shared those details in an extensive special report published Sept. 8.

And up until County Council met Tuesday, no one in county government contacted us about our reporting, and certainly not to say it was inaccurate. Instead, Toby Chappell, county manager, in giving a CPST update to council, said “The number $20 million has been thrown around in the media recently. Is it possible that the 2016 capital project sales tax will be $20 million short in 2025? The short answer is yes. However, it’s also possible that you win the South Carolina Powerball at 1 in 292 million odds, and it’s possible that FERC may approve our fuse plug issue, but it’s not likely.”

While we all still give a damn about the dam at Buzzard Roost, Chappell might have hit on a good idea. Perhaps county officials should, with their own money, buy Powerball tickets and, if they win, make a magnanimous gesture by donating whatever the shortfall winds up being.

We were also more than a bit disappointed by Councilman Chuck Moates’ response, following Chappell’s report to council Tuesday.

“To anyone who can read and hear logic, this makes perfectly good sense, and it’s a shame that we’ve had to deal with this turmoil, but I appreciate you addressing it in such a professional and dignified manner and I hope it will be reported as such,” he said.

We can only take that to imply that the newspaper, in trying to inform taxpayers, voters — who we rank as stakeholders in this — created turmoil. And we take it to imply our process of coverage is deemed both unprofessional and undignified.

This is particularly disappointing, considering what Moates had to say at an August County Council meeting only days after this newspaper’s former publisher and president, Judi Burns, died.

“As a champion of the freedom of the press, she stood up against partisan forces that would hinder the right of the public to know what was going on in local government,” Moates said. “At a time in our society when powerful governmental leaders are prone to denigrate the press, spreading false and malicious rumors, undermining the public’s trust in the Fourth Estate by labeling accurate reporting as ‘fake facts,’ Judi Burns stood fervently up and defended the role of journalism to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. … As a champion of the freedom of the press, she stood up against partisan forces that would hinder the right of the public to know what was going on in local government.”

And that, readers, taxpayers, voters and stakeholders, is precisely what we have continued to do in covering the CPST issue.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Sep 22, 2019

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/opinion/editorials/our-view-why-shoot-the-messenger-when-the-message-is-yours/article_a0a8df31-98e8-5d0d-bc18-e6a28a6a3081.html

Piedmont Technical College’s push to improve student retention seems to be working, the administration reported at Tuesday’s Area Commission meeting.

CAREplan is a redesign of the college’s advising plan for students in health care programs. Last year, the college unveiled the CARE Planning Center, a one-stop-shop on the Greenwood campus for health care students’ advising needs.

President Ray Brooks said the goal was to make sure students didn’t waste their time and money jumping among programs, trying to make up their minds regarding what exactly they wanted to study.

As the Index-Journal reported in January, the persistence rate among CAREplan students from fall 2018 to spring 2019 far exceeded expectations, Karla Gilliam, an instructional specialist at Piedmont Tech, told commissioners.

Architects of CAREplan hoped that 55% of the students who took advantage of the service would come back for a second semester. More than 80% did.

The administration also tracked the percentage of students who had made degree plans and followed through on them. Gilliam said the goals were ambitious: 100% of students were expected to complete a plan by the end of the semester, and two-thirds were expected to be following it.

About 90% of students eventually made degree plans. A little more than half of the fall 2018 cohort and just under two-thirds of the spring 2019 cohort were following them by the end of the spring semester.

Smaller planning centers will open at Piedmont Tech’s Laurens and Newberry counties’ campuses this year. In year three, centers will open at the remaining satellite campuses.

Randy Cooper, of the Brittingham Group, presented the commission a summary of his firm’s audit of the college. Cooper said it received an unmodified, or clean, opinion.

In other business:

– Jack Bagwell, vice president of academic affairs, said Piedmont Tech recently signed an articulation agreement with Anderson University. According to a press release, students from PTC who meet transfer requirements will be guaranteed admission to Anderson. Bagwell said that similar discussions are taking place with Lander, Augusta and S.C. State universities.

– Commissioner Y.J. Ahn asked Brooks whether a projected shortfall in Greenwood County’s Capital Project Sales Tax revenues would jeopardize the Upstate Center for Manufacturing Excellence. It is financed partially though the CPST. Brooks said the project was one of the first on the list to receive funding and, as such, is safe.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Sep 19, 2019

By ALEKS GILBERT agilbert@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/piedmont-tech-to-expand-advising-center/article_a961934c-59dc-5891-a178-174a0b8ac0cd.html

We don’t know.

That was the assessment given Tuesday by Greenwood County Manager Toby Chappell to council members about how much money might be raised during the next six years when a 1-cent sales tax assessment to pay for millions of dollars worth of capital projects sunsets.

But, Chappell said, officials are confident the final tally will be closer to an $87.9 million figure included on 2016 ballots than a possible $67 million performance, which would sideline 10 of 27 planned projects.

“When someone tries to say the capital project sales tax will be a specific amount short, the best case is that they’re giving you an educated opinion, the worst case is that they’re merely speculating,” Chappell said in his first public comments on the issue since an Aug. 28 State of the City/County forum where County Council chairman Steve Brown disclosed that actual collection rates are falling behind projected amounts.

That same afternoon, Josh Skinner, the county’s CPST coordinator, said based on averages from eight quarters worth of revenues, the penny sales tax might generate a total of $67.9 million.

The Index-Journal published a nearly 6,000-word account on the CPST issue in its Sept. 8 edition and received no correspondence from county leaders or other officials close to the initiative disputing the newspaper’s reporting.

Chappell gave the County Council an “extraordinarily numbers heavy” presentation where he responded to the newspaper’s report, based on the potential $20 million gap.

“The number $20 million has been thrown around in the media recently. Is it possible that the 2016 capital project sales tax will be $20 million short in 2025? The short answer is yes. However, it’s also possible that you win the South Carolina Powerball at 1 in 292 million odds, and it’s possible that FERC may approve our fuse plug issue, but it’s not likely,” Chappell said.

For such a shortfall to take place, “you’d have to have catastrophic economic events to occur, none of which the county knows of or anticipates.”

To date, $17.52 million has been raised since the tax took effect on May 1, 2017.

So how did the county come up with the $87.9 million figure that went to referendum in November 2016?

Two dates in September 2015, plus the final year outcome of a 2007 capital project sales tax answer that question, Chappell said.

In August 2015, county leaders asked the state’s Office of Revenue and Fiscal Affairs for a projection of how much Greenwood could collect through a second penny sales tax.

On Sept. 10, the office responded with an estimate of $5.81 million in first-year collections.

But since Greenwood County brought in $8.4 million worth of sales tax dollars in 2010 through a 2007 penny tax initiative, officials asked for a second look at the numbers.

And on Sept. 30, 2015, Chappell said, the state came back with an updated projection of $9.5 million.

Extrapolating that across eight years, Chappell said, gave the county a baseline figure of $76 million.

As a hand-picked committee waded through applications, the costs of projects making the cut were recalibrated to take into account inflation and annual growth, adding about $11 million to the number, for a cap of $87.9 million.

For the county to perform at a clip that ends with only $67.9 million being realized, it would mean zero growth for the remaining life of the collection.

“If you wanted to believe that we would be $20 million short, this is the math that gets you there,” Chappell said.

But since Year 1 to Year 2 revenues jumped by $624,000 — that theory has already been proven faulty, Chappell said.

However, county leaders themselves were using the $67.9 million figure as recently as August. According to minutes from an Aug. 8 Greenwood Commissioners of Public Works meeting, General Manager Jeff Meredith said he received a “formal letter” that week from Skinner saying the last projects on the list — placement of lines for water service and fire suppression to be installed at Harris Landing and along U.S. Highway 25 — wouldn’t be funded.

Meredith provided a copy of the letter to the Index-Journal.

“Greenwood County receives the sales tax revenue from the S.C. State Treasurer on a quarterly basis and we are currently averaging $2,190,414 per quarterly check … Based on our quarterly average, we are projecting to collect $67,902,834 at the end of our eight year time limit,” the letter says.

Several members of the County Council said they took issue with the Index-Journal’s reporting on the matter following Chappell’s update.

“To anyone who can read and hear logic, this makes perfectly good sense, and it’s a shame that we’ve had to deal with this turmoil, but I appreciate you addressing it in such a professional and dignified manner and I hope it will be reported as such,” County Council member Chuck Moates said.

Theo Lane, who was chairman of the Capital Project Sales Tax economic development committee and advocacy chairman for the Greenwood SC Chamber of Commerce in 2016, also was upset by the Index-Journal’s CPST reporting.

Lane was elected to the County Council on the same ballot the CPST question appeared on.

He said he took “personal offense to the way this has been portrayed.”

“I know how transparent this council has worked to be, I know that we are working in the best interests of Greenwood County as we always have. I’m proud of that work. We aren’t perfect, we sometimes make mistakes, there are a couple of things we wish we had done differently, but I honestly think it’s easy to armchair quarterback in the aftermath,” Lane said. “We’re honest, we function with integrity and we work for the best interest of the people of Greenwood County.”

Brown said up-to-date accounting numbers for 2016 capital project sales tax collection rates will be posted on the county’s website. He also acknowledged that officials should have presented information on the revenue generation more quickly.

“It’s been pointed out very plainly to us that we should have periodic updates. We ask for your forgiveness on that faux pas and will correct it in the future,” Brown said.

Brown said on Tuesday that Chappell alerted the County Council via email on June 19 that anticipated CPST collections might be lagging behind expectations — information he felt obligated to share at the August luncheon, where many leading business and civic leaders who support the tax’s adoption were in attendance.

“If I had sat on that information for a two- or three-year period, and the collections had not responded in a positive manner, then I think I would have been wrong,” Brown said. “I think we are moving in a positive manner, I think we are going to see improvements in the collection rate and I think a majority of the projects will be funded. There are no funds missing, every project that is supposed to be funded to this day is funded at a 100% level and we’re just hoping the money will continue to rise. I wish we were perfect but we’re not, and we’re trying to do the best we can.”

Originally Published by Index-Journal on: Sep 17, 2019

By ADAM BENSON abenson@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/chappell-cpst-unlikely-to-come-up-20m-short/article_3ced67c3-0add-509a-af7a-43cb7dade5e8.html