Spartanburg County Council finalizes penny sales tax for roads. What you need to know.

Bob Montgomery, Spartanburg Herald-Journal
·1 min read

Spartanburg County Council on Monday made the new 1-cent sales tax for roads official.

"It was something that had to be done, in spite of the opposition we knew we would face and the fire we would get," said County Councilman David Britt after the council passed a resolution. "We had trust people of Spartanburg County would study the issue, and they did in spite of a lot of this information that went out, accusing us of doing all kind of nefarious things."

Spartanburg County Council on Monday made the new 1-cent capital project sales tax for roads official. "It was something that had to be done, in spite of the opposition we knew we would face and the fire we would get," County Councilman David Britt said.
Spartanburg County Council on Monday made the new 1-cent capital project sales tax for roads official. "It was something that had to be done, in spite of the opposition we knew we would face and the fire we would get," County Councilman David Britt said.

County voters on Nov. 7 approved the referendum by a margin of 55% to 45%. The tax takes effect May 1, 2024, immediately following the end of the current six-year tax voters approved in 2017 to pay for a new county courthouse and joint city-county government complex.

The final vote tally was 19,081 in favor of the penny tax and 15,392 opposed.

The tax will last six years and raise an estimated $478 million to pay for 577 road, bridge and intersection improvement projects.

Spartanburg County Council on Monday made the new 1-cent capital project sales tax for roads official.
Spartanburg County Council on Monday made the new 1-cent capital project sales tax for roads official.

OneSpartanburg, Inc. led the campaign to pass the penny tax, saying there is a $500 million backlog of road projects that need repairs.

"This county studied the issue, waded through all the garbage, and made a decision, what's in the best interest of Spartanburg County's residents now and in the future," Britt said.

Bob Montgomery covers Spartanburg County politics and growth & development. Reach him via email at bob.montgomery@shj.com.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Penny tax to repair roads, bridges made official in Spartanburg County