Greenville County Council has approved a roads penny tax for the November ballot. The tax, which will be imposed for eight years, is expected to generate $1.1 billion in revenue. Of that revenue, $990 million will go toward road paving, resurfacing, intersection improvements, and other transportation-related infrastructure.

Roads Penny Tax Details

The measure will also allocate $33 million to mass transit and $77 million to greenbelts. The county’s transportation penny tax is the third attempt to pass a local option sales tax for roads and infrastructure to address what some estimates put at about a $3 billion backlog in road and bridge maintenance needs.

A capital projects local option tax was narrowly rejected by voters in 2024. The county’s renewed push for a roads penny tax was sparked by a change in state law earlier this year that would allow cities to ask their voters to approve a penny tax in counties that do not already have a local option sales tax in place.

The county council also accepted for first reading an ordinance that would establish guidelines for where wireless communication facilities, such as cell towers, could be located within the unincorporated portions of the county. The measure will require two further readings before taking effect and will also require a public hearing.

Original reporting: Greenville Journal — read the source article.