Greenville County Council sets its work for the year

Burns wants the county to aggressively fight a change in the tax law on the sale of homes.

JANUARY 20, 2010 12:49 p.m. (0)

Issues that will test Greenville County Council in the coming year bubbled to the surface during the traditional closing ceremony where members are free to bring up any subject they wish Tuesday night.

Councilman Jim Burns urged council members to be cognizant of the state association of counties issues list for the coming year.  Continue reading...

 

Greer faces budget shortfall

Council will start the search for $1.3 million

JANUARY 27, 2010 9:52 a.m. (1)

Greer City Council directed staff to start drafting proposed ordinances to raise money from a variety of sources to deal with a $1.3 million shortfall this year and money headaches stretching for years to come.

Every municipality in Greenville County has taken a hit due to the current recession, but Greer’s problems have been greater proportionally since the city has depended on growth to fuel city funding.  Continue reading...

 

Questions remain with school district's budget shortfall

New concerns include rising energy costs

JANUARY 27, 2010 11:48 a.m. (0)

Business is carrying on as usual at area schools with supplies cut back by a fifth and teaching positions frozen, but the Greenville County School District has scurried to figure out how to fill an $8.4 million budget hole announced by the state Department of Education this fall and an even bigger one announced last month.

Meanwhile, power rates are set to rise in February, and the district has not yet seen the heating bills from an unusually cold December.  Continue reading...

 

School Board news, notes

Trustees talk furloughs, after-school programs and more during this week's meeting

JANUARY 27, 2010 1:35 p.m. (0)

Mid-year state cuts – 4 percent in September and another 5 percent in December –pushed trustees to approve spending $8.4 million out of the district’s $48 million reserve fund. That money covers the 4 percent, and Finance Director Jeff Knotts said he’d come back with a plan for dealing with the other 5 percent.

Scaling back on extras such as training and supplies and increasing student-teacher ratios by 0.5 has helped the school district weather a financial beating since summer of 2008 – which last year cost the district $29 million in state funds – without raising taxes.  Continue reading...

 

City budget includes job cuts

But officials hope retirements, transfers prevent layoffs

MAY 4, 2010 7:45 a.m. (0)

Thirty-four jobs will be eliminated, city employees would not receive merit pay increases and solid waste fees would increase under a budget proposal, which got its first look from Greenville City Council Monday night.

But core services will not be reduced under the $136.6 million budget, City Manager Jim Bourey told council members.  Continue reading...

 

School budget includes cuts, mill increase

JUNE 3, 2010 8:17 a.m. (0)

The Greenville County Schools Board of Trustees on Tuesday voted 6 to 5 to give final approval to a $400 million general fund budget which cuts nearly $23 million in positions and programs, and enacts a 2.2-mill tax increase on businesses, rental homes and personal property.

For the owner of a small business with property valued at $200,000, the additional 2.2 mills will tack on an additional $26.40 a year to their tax bill. Likewise for the owner of a business with property valued at $1 million, the annual tax bill will go up by $132.  Continue reading...

 

County Council notes

From the September 16 meeting

SEPTEMBER 23, 2010 1:48 p.m. (0)

Spartanburg County Council voted to table an ordinance that would have authorized the county recreation district to issue a general obligation bond for up to $1.6 million to pay for a building that would be used for office space, public meetings and events.  Continue reading...

 

Greenville County Council notes

From the Jan. 4 meeting

JANUARY 6, 2011 2:08 p.m. (0)

Greenville County Council Chairman H.G. “Butch” Kirven and Vice Chairman Bob Taylor were re-elected to the top spots on council by acclamation during Tuesday night’s organizational meeting.

Dan Rawls  Continue reading...

 

The $660 million deficit

Providing healthcare services to poor will contribute to shortfall

FEBRUARY 10, 2011 2:13 p.m. (0)

Allowing the state Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to run a $100 million deficit through the end of the fiscal year has bought the state a little time, but not much else, said Megan A. Weis, associate director of outreach and program development at the South Carolina Public Health Institute.

The state Budget and Control Board voted this week to allow HHS to run a deficit of slightly less than half their projected $225 million funding shortfall in this fiscal year.

The fiscal year ends June 30.  Continue reading...

 

Haley: "Join the Movement"

Governor promises to ensure budget cuts don't cause excessive harm

MARCH 10, 2011 1:55 p.m. (0)

Gov. Nikki Haley was blunt during Monday night’s Town Hall Meeting at Greenville Tech; South Carolinians in all walks of life are going to hurt over the budgetary decisions brought on by the recession and past legislative actions.

But she promised to make smart choices and to do all within her power to make sure the cuts do not hurt the least of the state’s citizens excessively.

In a particularly sharp exchange with Henry Harrison, CEO of American Services, over planned increases on unemployment taxes for companies that laid off the most workers during the depths of the recession; Haley said she doesn’t listen to politicians.  Continue reading...

 

The higher cost of education

Pay raises at Clemson, USC, have some asking why layoffs, budget shortfalls continue

APRIL 29, 2011 10:25 a.m. (0)

Clemson University and the University of South Carolina handed out more than $4 million in salary supplements last year to their highest-level employees while at the same time raising tuition and cutting staffs, spending documents obtained by the Journal show.

School officials say the salary supplement situation is a reflection of years of state funding cutbacks.

“Two thirds of our senior faculty and staff are being paid at below-market rates,” said Chris Byrd, USC’s vice-president for human resources.  Continue reading...

 

State tax cuts will skewer local governments

Legislature, governor tell cities and counties to ‘take a $1 billion whack’

APRIL 12, 2012 12:54 p.m. (0)

Local governments’ dependence on federal tax dollars has been increasing steadily over the past few years as state monies have dried up due to tight budget times and tax code tinkering, local officials say.

South Carolina ranked 49th in overall local and state tax burden by the non-partisan Tax Foundation in 2009, with the average payout by residents totaling $2,742. Only Mississippi ranked lower and Tennessee had a slightly higher overall tax burden.

The Palmetto State is also one of the Deep South states that actually turn a slight profit on the tax dollars it sends to Washington, the foundation reports. In 2005, the last year for which figures are available, South Carolina got back $1.35 for every $1 paid in federal taxes. That trend has gone on uninterrupted since 1981, the foundation said.  Continue reading...