City voters decide Nov. 3 on a 1% sales tax for 521 projects and a homeowner property tax credit. Here are the biggest projects, plus the county's own tax question.
Updated Nov. 4: City voters approved the 1% city sales tax 19,070 to 9,549 in unofficial results, and both county questions are failing. See the full Greenville County election results.
City of Greenville voters will decide on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, whether to add a 1% sales tax inside the city limits for up to eight years. The money would pay for 521 listed projects estimated at $410.1 million and fund a property tax credit for people who own and live in their homes.
The city has now published the full list, street by street. The largest single item is a $20 million project on Wade Hampton Boulevard.
City voters will also see a separate countywide question on a second 1% sales tax, for roads, transit and green space. The two are different taxes on the same ballot.
What the city question asks
The ballot question asks whether a 1% sales and use tax should be levied in the city “for no more than eight years.” It has two purposes: a credit against city property tax, and these amounts for projects:
| Purpose | Amount |
|---|---|
| Roads, including repaving, congestion relief, bridges, intersections and sidewalks | $294,279,000 |
| Stormwater and drainage | $32,374,000 |
| Critical sewer infrastructure | $41,912,000 |
| Public assembly facilities, administration buildings and public safety | $17,580,000 |
| Fire stations | $24,000,000 |
| Total | $410,145,000 |
City Council voted unanimously in August to put the question on the ballot, the city said at the time. Only city residents vote on it.
How the property tax credit would work
Until this year only South Carolina counties could ask voters for a local sales tax. A law signed by Gov. Henry McMaster in May 2026 lets cities in counties without a local sales tax hold their own vote, the city said. Greenville County is one of three counties in the state without one.
Under the new law, at least 20% of the money must go to property tax credits on owner-occupied homes. The city said net taxable sales inside the city are about $5 billion a year. On that base, it estimated a 1% tax could provide:
- about $11 million a year in property tax relief for city homeowners
- roughly $45 million a year for the listed projects
- both for eight years
State law exempts most groceries, gasoline and prescription drugs from local sales taxes, the city said. The statewide sales tax rate is 6%, according to the South Carolina Department of Revenue. The tax would apply to anyone buying in the city, visitors included, and it would end automatically after its term, according to the city’s fast facts page.
Where the $410 million would go
The city’s project list breaks the road money into three parts:
| Category | Projects | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| Congestion relief, bridges and intersections | 68 | $156,553,000 |
| Repaving and reconstruction | 293 | $94,208,000 |
| New sidewalks and sidewalk repair | 103 | $43,518,000 |
| Sewer | 25 | $41,912,000 |
| Stormwater and road drainage | 12 | $32,374,000 |
| Fire stations | 2 | $24,000,000 |
| Parks, public buildings and public safety | 18 | $17,580,000 |
The list also sorts every project into one of three tiers:
- Tier 1: 350 projects, $252,950,000
- Tier 2: 163 projects, $121,695,000
- Tier 3: eight projects, $35,500,000
The city’s referendum pages do not say how the tiers would decide the order of work.
The biggest projects on the list
| Project | Tier | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|
| Wade Hampton Boulevard roadway project (congestion relief) | 1 | $20,000,000 |
| N. Academy Street and N. Church Street intersection reconfiguration | 2 | $13,000,000 |
| Mayberry Street roadway project | 3 | $13,000,000 |
| Salters Road realignment (congestion relief) | 1 | $12,200,000 |
| New fire station on Mauldin Road | 1 | $12,000,000 |
| Fire Station No. 2 replacement, West End | 2 | $12,000,000 |
| Queen Street bridge replacement | 1 | $11,000,000 |
| East downtown roadway infrastructure (congestion relief) | 1 | $10,000,000 |
| West Greenville Community Center replacement | 1 | $10,000,000 |
| East Park Avenue and East and West Stone Avenue sewer rehabilitation | 1 | $7,898,000 |
| Ridge Road improvements | 3 | $7,500,000 |
| Transit Center renovations | 1 | $6,000,000 |
Smaller items fill most of the list. They include:
- 293 repaving and reconstruction jobs, from $27,000 on Goblet Court to $3,414,000 on East Washington Street between South Main Street and Laurens Road
- signal projects at 15 downtown intersections, most of them on Main, Church, Academy and Washington streets, at $500,000 to $750,000 each
- 41 new sidewalk projects, the largest $3,129,000 on Woods Lake Road
- 15 park shelter projects at Cleveland, Gower, Timmons and other parks, $40,000 to $75,000 each, plus $750,000 for the Park Avenue gym
- a $6 million stormwater land purchase and $5 million of drainage work on Augusta Street
You can look up your own street in the full list or on the city’s projects map.
The county’s separate tax question
Every Greenville County voter, including city residents, will see two countywide questions.
Question 1 asks for a 1% special sales and use tax across the county. It would last no more than eight years or until it raises $1.1 billion, whichever comes first. The money would go to:
- $990 million for highways, roads, streets, bridges and related drainage
- $33 million for mass transit, including Greenlink’s improvement plan
- $77 million for greenbelts, such as parks, trails, sports fields and land conservation
Question 2 asks voters to approve up to $150 million in county bonds, repaid from that tax over no more than eight years, to finish projects from the same categories.
The county tax carries no property tax credit. The city’s referendum pages do not say how its tax would interact with the county’s if both pass.
What it means for you
- If you live in the city, you will see the city question and both county questions. Check your sample ballot on MyscVOTES.
- If you own and live in your home in the city, the city tax would fund a credit on your city property tax bill. See how your bill is built on our property taxes page.
- Early voting runs through Saturday at any of the county’s seven sites, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. Sites, ID rules and phone numbers are on our voting guide.
- Road work already underway is on our road construction and closures page.
Greenville Local Today does not take positions on ballot questions. We will report the unofficial results from Greenville County Voter Registration and Elections on election night.
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