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...

 

Your tax dollars at work

County Council: Discretionary Funds

MAY 10, 2010 7:32 p.m. (0)

There is a vast difference in how much Greenville County Council members have spent so far this year from their taxpayer-supported discretionary accounts, a Journal analysis of the data has found.

Examining spending records for the past six months for all 12 council members shows Councilman Jim Burns spent $74.86. Councilwoman Xanthene Norris spent $14,045.56.

The data is available on the county’s fiscal accountability Web site.  Continue reading...

 

Your tax dollars at work

The sheriff’s office travel budget

MAY 10, 2010 11:53 a.m. (0)

As of March the Greenville County Sheriff’s Department spent more than $60,000 on travel for advanced training and for transporting prisoners from other states to face charges here, a Journal study of the county’s new fiscal accountability Web site shows.

Master Deputy John Eldridge said the expenditures for this year are sharply down from years past.

“Historically, we’ve spent about $155,000 on advanced training and prisoner transport,” he said. “This year we’ve got about $75,000 to spend. We expect the same figures for next year since we’re on a two-year budget cycle in the county.”  Continue reading...

 

County Council approves expense spending

MAY 19, 2010 11:22 a.m. (0)

Council vice chairman Bob Taylor handed out $15,500 to various projects around the county from his council expense account during the consent agenda portion of Tuesday night’s Greenville county Council session.

Included in the total were $500 for county Public Works to purchase native plants for the Fairfield flood plain project; $5,000 for Camp Spearhead infrastructure projects not covered by the TRAC plan; $2,000 infrastructure improvements at the North Main Street Rotary Park; and $8,000 for expenses related to the Greenville Symphony Orchestra concert at Freedom Weekend Aloft.  Continue reading...

 

Council sends buffer issue back to committee

JUNE 2, 2010 7:26 a.m. (0)

Greenville County Council just couldn’t quite pull the trigger Tuesday night on changes to the environmental control ordinance that would require mowed buffers between undeveloped lots and developed ones in zoned subdivisions and sent the measure back to committee.

The extended debate at third reading absorbed about a third of the hour-long meeting with council members confused by just what kinds of lots would be covered and whether or not the ordinance is needed since the county already has rules governing maintenance of private property in zoned areas.  Continue reading...

 

Please, no new taxes, say Devenger residents

JULY 26, 2010 7:12 a.m. (0)

It took nearly half of a two hour meeting for Greenville County Council to vote to put a hold on a request by the Devenger Tax District for two-tenths of a mil tax hike and a $10 fee increase.

Most of that time was taken up by Devenger residents who pleaded their case before council both for and against the request. There were allegations of misuse of funds pitted against the need to repair crumbling infrastructure and amenities in the subdivision.  Continue reading...

 

County has a budget surplus

Kernell: extra $380,000 due to controlled expenses

AUGUST 26, 2010 10:31 a.m. (0)

Greenville County’s $380,000 budget surplus for the last fiscal year has its roots in conservative business practices and maximizing available resources, county officials have said.

The fact that Greenville has the largest population of any county in the state but ranks 43rd out of 46 counties in the number of employees per 1,000 residents is illustrative, said Joe Kernell, Greenville County administrator.  Continue reading...

 

County Council notes

From the Sept. 7 meeting

SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 10:35 a.m. (0)

Greenville County Council approved a $10,993.20 request from Councilwoman Lottie Gibson to pay for furniture at the Phoenix Academy lobby on the consent agenda during a short meeting Tuesday night.

The expenditure qualifies under Council District Expense – Part II Community Requests account definition, according to documents accompanying the request.

Council also learned the sheriff’s department has been awarded a $225,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security to install the first part of an upgrade to sheriff’s helicopter infrared imaging system. The FLIR system allows the helicopter to produce an infrared image of objects on the ground, transmit them to ground commanders instantly so that the commanders see what the helicopter sees in real time.  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...

 

Cash flow

The  divide between Spartanburg county council and parks and recreation

MAY 9, 2011 11:25 a.m. (0)

A dispute between Spartanburg County Council and the recreation department comes down to either a failure to come through on expected projects or a failure to communicate accurately the department’s intentions, officials said recently.

County council ordered a recreation department audit in April and voted to amend the ordinance creating the recreation commission in a move that would bring the department under the supervision of County Administrator Glenn Breed. The recreation commission would remain to handle run-of-the-mill issues.

Council Chairman Jeff Horton said the county’s issues with how the recreation department is run stem mainly from a lack of progress on big-ticket projects like Va-  Continue reading...

 

Conservatives want to get the tea party started

Spartanburg tea party focuses on county

JUNE 23, 2011 9:58 a.m. (1)

The Spartanburg Tea Party has turned its attention to the local scene, bringing its grand experiment in smaller government and lower taxes to the county level in a way that even conservative Spartanburg has never seen before, observers say.

In Spartanburg County employees have not had a raise in five years and yet council, with hearty tea party applause, has passed a tax cut for the next fiscal year.

“The last real tax increase we had in my 17 years on council was the road use fee,” said council Chairman Jeff Horton. “But I don’t think the tea party has that much influence with the council itself. We’re a pretty conservative bunch, overall.”  Continue reading...

 

County Council spending

Audit reveals more questions

SEPTEMBER 9, 2011 7:54 a.m. (0)

More than $3.5 million was transferred from an account at the Spartanburg County Jail designated for building a new detention facility and used to balance the county’s budget without county council’s knowledge, officials confirmed to the Journal this week.

“When I took over the jail and started looking over the books I found about $200,000 in one account that should have had about $4 million in it,” Sheriff Chuck Wright said.

The money came largely from payments for housing federal prisoners, inmate canteen receipts and a few other sources, Wright said.  Continue reading...