"We believe that an issue as significant as this – one that has safety and economic development implications for decades to come – calls for the direct feedback of the people."
Allen Smith
President/CEO Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce
Greer City Council approved, 6-1, Tuesday night to also support Greenville County for a referendum to allow voters to decide for or against the sales tax to fund the projects.
The Greer chamber voted 14-0 to support the referendum.
“We believe that an issue as significant as this – one that has safety and economic development implications for decades to come – calls for the direct feedback of the people,” stated Allen Smith, President/CEO of the Greer chamber.
“Greenville County Councilors (Joe) Baldwin, (Sid) Cates and (Joe) Dill can empower their constituents by allowing them to vote on this critical issue come November. A vote for the referendum is not a vote for a tax increase nor is it a vote against a tax increase; it is simply a vote of confidence in the people of Greenville County and their ability to make the best decision.”
Smith attended Tuesday’s presentation at City Council by Reno Deaton (Greer Development Corporation) and Donna O. Smith, Greer representatives on the 18-member Greenville County Citizens Roads Advisory Commission, of the panel’s findings.
Reiterated was the commission’s executive summary reporting an inadequacy for road, bridges and congested and unsafe conditions. Included in the report: “Current road maintenance funding, from all sources, amounts to approximately $20,427,000 per year for Greenville County. At this level it will take anywhere from 21 to 45 years for some of the smaller municipalities to resurface all of their roads to 83 years for SCDOT to do the same.
“The Commission found that routine maintenance is being forfeited to perform emergency repairs, unsafe bridges are being closed instead of being replaced, and the overall quality is on a definitive decline. Left unresolved this direct cause and effect relationship between lack of funding and rate of maintenance will decimate our infrastructure. “
Ken Harper, Chairman of the Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce Executive Board, stated, “The people of Greenville County deserve the opportunity to weigh in on an issue that has safety and economic development implications for years to come. I call on the members of the Greenville County Council to let the people decide. Their opinions deserve to be heard and implemented accordingly.”