On November 3, 2026 Greenville County voters decide on a one percent sales tax for roads, transit and greenbelts.
It would run for not more than eight years, or until $1.1 billion has been collected, whichever comes first. This page explains what is on the ballot.
The ballot caps each purpose: $990 million for highways, roads, bridges and related drainage, $33 million for mass transit, and $77 million for greenbelts.
Estimate your household’s share
OneGreenville Fund is a group of Greenville County residents who want future generations to have a similar quality of life to that we currently enjoy. While our primary focus from our launch in 2025 was on helping to protect and promote the importance of greenspaces, parks, rivers, farms, forests, trails, historic sites and more (what the ballot language calls “greenbelts”), we know and care about other infrastructure needs that are vitally important to quality of life as well. For the past year we have supported a weekly email series, Did You Know, about the work of the Greenville County Historic & Natural Resources Trust (the Trust).
Ballot Language in the Adopted Ordinance
GREENVILLE COUNTY SPECIAL SALES AND USE TAX
QUESTION 1
I approve a special sales and use tax in the amount of one percent to be imposed in Greenville County for not more than eight (8) years, or until a total of $1,100,000,000 in resulting revenue has been collected, whichever occurs first. The sales tax proceeds will be used to fund the following projects:
Project (1) For financing the costs of highways, roads, streets, bridges, and other transportation-related projects facilities, and drainage facilities related thereto. $990,000,000.
Project (2) For financing the costs of mass transit systems operated by Greenville County or jointly operated by the County and other governmental entities. Mass transit is to include but not be limited to the operation and expansion of the mass transit system as defined by Greenville Transit Authority’s Transit Development Plan including improved frequency and enhanced routes. $33,000,000.
Project (3) For financing the costs of greenbelts. To the extent permitted by the Act, greenbelts are to include but not be limited to acquiring land and conservation easements for the following: expanding public parks and green spaces, lands for active sports fields, securing water access points, expanding trails and greenways, protecting lands critical to wildlife, floodwater management, working farms and forests, natural resource management, historic preservation and protecting drinking water sources and water quality in rivers, lakes, wetlands, and other water bodies. $77,000,000.
YES NO
Instructions to Voters: All qualified electors desiring to vote in favor of levying the special sales and use tax shall vote “YES;” and All qualified electors opposed to levying the special sales and use tax shall vote “NO.”
QUESTION 2
I approve the issuance of not exceeding $150,000,000 of general obligation bonds of Greenville County, payable from the special sales and use tax described in Question 1 above, maturing over a period not to exceed eight (8) years, to fund completion of projects from among the categories described in Question 1 above.
YES NO
Instructions to Voters: All qualified electors desiring to vote in favor of the issuance of bonds for the stated purposes shall vote “YES;” and All qualified electors opposed to the issuance of bonds for the stated purposes shall vote “NO.”
Source: Ordinance 1324, adopted July 21, 2026, Section 5.2. The election office publishes the final ballot; the text above is from the adopted ordinance.
Roads & Bridges
THE COSTS OF ROADS
Greenville County maintains 1,840 miles of road, the largest county-maintained inventory in South Carolina. Our six municipalities host another 600 miles, making Greenville County the state's clear leader in total local road miles. The county's own assessment rates 60% of that pavement fair or poor. Roads in poor condition can create safety risks and add to vehicle costs. The 2025 Infrastructure Report Card | ASCE reports that driving on deteriorated and congested roads costs the average U.S. driver over $1,400 per year in vehicle operating costs and lost time.
Too, each year the cost of repairing those roads increases. That same report finds that the federal gas tax has lost 80% of its purchasing power since it was last raised in 1993. A February 2024 county assessment identified about $2 billion in resurfacing needs and $1 billion in other priority road projects. That means a dollar spent on roads does not go as far. Greenville County's paving engineer reported that the cost of paving rose from about $502,200 per mile in 2023 to $741,900 per mile in 2024.
WHAT PROJECT (1) WOULD FUND
The ballot sets aside up to $990 million for roads, the largest of the three purposes. The ordinance states that figure as a ceiling: no more than $990 million of the total collected. Spread evenly across eight years, that is roughly $124 million a year.
The ordinance lists what the money may buy: local paving, resurfacing, congestion management, intersection improvements, transportation-related drainage projects, bike and pedestrian facilities, and rural road safety projects.
For perspective, Greenville County reported investing about $94 million a year in its roads in 2024, combining federal, state and local sources. A county assessment that February put the total work needing to be done at about $3 billion: $2 billion to fix every road rated fair or poor, and $1 billion in state, county, GPATS and municipal priority projects with no funding in place. At roughly $124 million a year, the roads share of this tax would be more than the county now spends on roads from all sources combined.
Public Transit
WHAT PROJECT (2) WOULD FUND
Greenlink is the public bus system serving Greenville County. It is operated by the City of Greenville under contract to the Greenville Transit Authority. Greenlink runs 12 fixed routes across the county, and every bus accommodates mobility devices. In February 2026, four of those routes moved to 30-minute service, the first step of a frequency rollout.
The ballot sets aside up to $33 million for mass transit over the life of the tax. The ordinance states that figure as a ceiling: no more than 3% of the tax collected, with a maximum of $33 million. Spread evenly across eight years, that is roughly $4 million a year.
Question 1 defines what counts as mass transit by pointing to an existing document. Eligible spending is "the operation and expansion of the mass transit system as defined by the Greenville Transit Authority's Transit Development Plan, including improved frequency and enhanced routes." The Transit Development Plan, not the ballot, describes the specific service changes.
Protecting land and water quality, and creating parks and trails
STATUS OF PROTECTED LANDS IN GREENVILLE COUNTY
The Trust estimates that less than 15% of Greenville County is protected green space of some type – county, city, or state parks; farms or forests protected by perpetual conservation easements; and the largest single share of that area is Greenville Water’s protected North Saluda Watershed.
WHAT PROJECT (3) WOULD FUND
The ballot sets aside up to $77 million for greenbelts. The ordinance states that figure as a ceiling: no more than 7% of the tax collected, with a maximum of $77 million. Question 1 lists what the money may buy: land and conservation easements for expanding public parks and green spaces; land for active sports fields; water-access points; trails and greenways; lands critical to wildlife, floodwater management, working farms and forests, natural-resource management and historic preservation; and protection of drinking-water sources and water quality in rivers, lakes and wetlands.
Greenville County already has a program doing this work. In its first five years the Trust reports 3,007 acres protected across 34 projects. The Trust's five-year summary reports $43.35 million in protected land value against $7 million of county funds invested, about $6 for every $1. That figure counts land value donated by owners as well as outside cash, so it measures what was protected, not what was raised.
The Trust works through voluntary transactions only: outright purchases from willing sellers, or conservation easements, in which the owner keeps the land and gives up the right to develop it. Applications are ranked against published criteria, and grant funds are released at a real-estate closing.
For scale, the county appropriated $1 million a year to the Trust for its first two years, raised it to $2 million a year, and returned to $1 million for 2026 and 2027. If the full $77 million were appropriated evenly across eight years it would be roughly $9.6 million a year. That amount is a maximum.
The county's 2020 Comprehensive Plan models a “continue trends” scenario through 2040 in which development “consumes valuable agriculturally-productive farmland and drastically shrinks the rural footprint of the county in exchange for suburban expansion.” The plan names critical open space, scenic byways and important rural vistas as protection priorities.
Population Growth & Infrastructure
The Trust reports protecting 3,007 acres from 2021 to 2026, about 0.6% of the county’s land. From 2020 to 2025, the county’s population grew by 11%.
| Time Period | Beginning Population | Current Population | Numeric Growth | Percent Growth | Average Annual Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Past 5 years (2020–2025) | 525,534 | 583,125 | +57,591 | 11.0% | 2.1%/year |
| Past 10 years (2015–2025) | 491,218 | 583,125 | +91,907 | 18.7% | 1.7%/year |
| Past 20 years (2005–2025) | 407,259 | 583,125 | +175,866 | 43.2% | 1.8%/year |
| Past 30 years (1995–2025) | 347,370 | 583,125 | +235,755 | 67.9% | 1.7%/year |
GROWTH AND PUBLIC SERVICES
Greenville County has experienced enormous growth in recent years. In just the past ten years Greenville County (not including the six cities) has approved 375 separate subdivision projects. Greenville County Long Range Planning records 24,194 lots on 11,447 acres across those projects, a little over 2% of the county, counting 2026 through June only. Cost of Community Services studies compiled by the American Farmland Trust found a median $1.16 in public-service costs for every $1 of residential revenue in the communities studied. These studies describe existing land uses, not the costs of future growth. Comparable local data for Greenville County is not available.
Costs & Funding
The measure would fund roads, transit and greenbelts through an additional one percent sales tax.
HOW PROPERTY AND SALES TAXES WORK
Property Taxes
- Are based on taxable property value and local tax rates
- Apply differently to owner-occupied homes and rental property
- Include exemptions and limits on increases in taxable value, with exceptions
Proposed Sales Taxes
- Exempt rent/mortgage, groceries, home power and water, gas, auto purchases, prescriptions, and professional services
- Apply to taxable purchases by residents, visitors, commuters and businesses
- Depend on how much a household spends on taxable goods and services
The Trust for Public Land's February 2026 feasibility study for Greenville County estimates that, with groceries exempt, roughly 35% of revenue would come from spending by Greenville County residents, with the remaining roughly 65% from visitors and commercial spending.
The county measure provides no property-tax credit. The four municipal measures include credits for qualifying owner-occupied homes.
CALCULATOR
Use our personal calculator to estimate your household’s additional sales tax and, if you qualify, the property-tax credit from one of the four proposed city measures.
Greenville County & Municipal Penny Plan Calculator
Two Plans. Two Different Needs
| Use of funds | Greenville County | Greenville | Travelers Rest | Mauldin | Simpsonville |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roads / transportation | 90% | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Public transit | 3% | Facilities | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Land preservation / conservation easements | 7% | Not included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Sidewalks / connectivity | Included when transportation-related | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Stormwater / drainage | Included when transportation-related | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Sewer infrastructure | Not included | Included | Not included | Not included | Not included |
| Public parking | Not included | Not included | Included | Not included | Not included |
| Fire stations / public safety facilities | Not included | Included | Not included | Included | Not included |
| Other public / civic facilities | Not included | Included | Included | Not included | Not included |
County percentages reflect the $1.1 billion cap, not guaranteed spending. * When part of a transportation-related project. City plans also include park and trail projects in Greenville and Travelers Rest.
Each city publishes its own measure: Greenville, Travelers Rest, Mauldin and Simpsonville.
HOW MANY COUNTIES HAVE PENNIES
| County | Total sales tax | Local share |
|---|---|---|
| Greenville | 6% | none |
| Anderson | 7% | 1 cent |
| Pickens | 7% | 1 cent |
| Spartanburg | 7% | 1 cent |
| Laurens | 8% | 2 cents |
Source: S.C. Department of Revenue, Form ST-500, Local Tax Designation by County, effective 1 May 2026.
How do neighboring South Carolina Counties pay for their infrastructure needs? Greenville and Oconee are the only two counties in the state that have never adopted a local sales tax. Several counties have adopted two. After roughly 30 years without a property tax increase, Greenville County raised its millage in 2023 for the fiscal 2024 budget. Over those same 30 years, an item that cost $1 in 1993 would have cost $2.11 by 2023.
Greenville and Oconee are the only two counties SCDOR lists as imposing no local sales and use tax. Beaufort’s rate is also 6% today, but its Green Space tax expired 1 March 2025. Sources: S.C. Department of Revenue, Sales and Use Tax Manual, Chapter 12 (September 2025); SCDOR notice, 4 February 2025.
Accountability & Transparency
WHAT THE ORDINANCE REQUIRES
State law restricts how a transportation sales tax may be spent. Under S.C. Code §4-37-30(A)(15), the revenue is remitted to the State Treasurer, distributed to the county quarterly, and the revenue and its interest "must be used only for the purpose stated in the imposition ordinance." The county ordinance repeats the restriction in its own words. Section 3.2(b) provides that no revenue from the tax "may be transferred to, or expended for, any purpose other than the projects and purposes approved by the qualified electors in the referendum and stated in this Ordinance."
State law already requires an annual independent audit of county finances. The ordinance expressly requires an annual independent audit of spending under this tax, available to the public. It also establishes a Transportation Transparency Committee. The County Auditor sits on it ex officio; the other six or more members are county residents who are neither elected nor appointed officials, serving four-year terms. The committee meets quarterly and provides regular updates to County Council. The ordinance also requires a public project list every year. Section 3.2(a) directs the County Administrator to compile a project list for the county budget and submit it to Council no later than the first regularly scheduled meeting in May; Section 3.2(b) requires Council to adopt a budget for the tax revenues before each fiscal year begins.
The 2024 Greenville County measure was a capital-projects tax with a fixed project list prepared by an appointed commission. The 2026 measure is a transportation tax under §4-37-30, with projects chosen through the annual county budget and the oversight provisions described here.
Two limits are printed on the ballot itself. Collection stops after eight years or when $1.1 billion has been collected, whichever comes first. State law would permit a term of up to 25 years; this ordinance elects eight.
Roads cannot exceed $990 million; mass transit cannot exceed 3% of collections or $33 million, whichever is less; greenbelts cannot exceed 7% or $77 million, whichever is less.
FAQ
COMMON QUESTIONS
How long would the tax last?
Not more than eight years, or until $1.1 billion has been collected, whichever comes first. Both limits are printed in Question 1. State law would allow a transportation tax to run up to 25 years; this ordinance sets eight. If the measure is approved on November 3, 2026, the Board of Elections and Voter Registration must certify the result by November 30, 2026, and collection would begin May 1, 2027.
Would groceries, gasoline, or prescriptions be taxed?
No. County Council elected to exempt unprepared food, the groceries eligible for purchase with USDA food benefits, at the July 21, 2026 final reading. The exemption applies to the item, not the shopper, so it covers everyone who buys those groceries. Prepared food and restaurant meals are not on that list and would be taxed. Motor fuel and prescription drugs are exempt from all South Carolina sales tax under general state law, so they were never subject to a local sales tax. Rent and mortgage payments are not taxable retail sales. Residential electricity, home heating fuel and water are exempt.
Why does the county measure appear as two questions?
Because the two questions rest on two different laws. Question 1 authorizes the tax under S.C. Code §4-37-30. Question 2 authorizes up to $150,000,000 in general obligation bonds under the South Carolina Constitution, Article X, Section 14(6), which permits a local government to incur such debt by majority vote in a referendum. The bonds would be repaid from the tax, so Question 2 lets the county borrow against future collections and begin larger projects earlier. The two questions are decided separately; Question 1 can pass without Question 2. Bond costs are paid from the same money: the $1,100,000,000 cap "includes administrative costs and debt service on bonds," and each project amount includes "any sums as may be required for the issuance of and debt service for bonds."
Is there a list of the roads and projects?
Not a fixed one. The ordinance produces a project list every year through the county budget. The County Administrator compiles the list and submits it to County Council by its first regular meeting in May, and Council adopts a budget for the tax revenues before each fiscal year begins. For roads, the starting point is the county's February 2024 Countywide Infrastructure Inventory and Assessment, which rated 60% of county-maintained pavement fair or poor. The county maintains 1,840 miles of road, and the six municipalities maintain 600 more. Cities are allocated a share of road funds, subject to the ordinance’s reductions and approval of eligible projects. This differs from the 2024 measure, which carried a fixed list of 1,564 projects written by an appointed commission, as that statute required.
Could the money be spent on something other than roads, transit and greenbelts?
No. State law provides that the revenue "must be used only for the purpose stated in the imposition ordinance," and the ordinance bars any transfer to a purpose outside the three approved in the referendum. All spending is subject to an annual independent audit made available to the public.
If I live in a city with its own measure, would I pay both?
If both pass, yes. Greenville, Simpsonville, Mauldin and Travelers Rest each placed a separate 1% municipal measure on the November 3 ballot under the Municipal Tax Relief Act of 2026. Greer and Fountain Inn did not. Inside a city where both measures pass, taxable purchases would carry 8%: the state's 6%, plus 1% for the county, plus 1% for the city. Outside those cities, 7%. A city measure must direct at least 20% of its proceeds to a credit against that city's owner-occupied property tax; the county measure contains no property-tax credit.
See the Full Plan
WHAT IS FIXED, AND WHAT IS DECIDED EACH YEAR
The plan on the ballot is the ordinance County Council adopted at third reading on July 21, 2026, together with the two questions printed above. Unlike the 2024 measure, it does not carry a list of named projects. It sets the terms, and the project choices are made year by year in public.
Fixed by the ballot and the ordinance: a rate of one percent; a term of not more than eight years or $1.1 billion, whichever comes first; a ceiling on each purpose, $990 million for roads, bridges and related drainage, $33 million for mass transit and $77 million for greenbelts; an initial bond authorization of up to $150 million; an exemption for groceries; and, if approved, a start date of May 1, 2027.
Decided each year: the project list. The County Administrator compiles it for the county budget and submits it to Council by its first regular meeting in May, and Council adopts a budget for the tax revenues before each fiscal year begins. For roads, each year's list starts from the county's pavement-condition assessment, which scores every county-maintained road. For transit, eligible work is defined by the Greenville Transit Authority's Transit Development Plan. For greenbelts, the ballot lists the eligible uses. The Trust is an existing county conservation program that ranks applications against published criteria.
Where to read the underlying documents: the county’s 2024 Countywide Infrastructure Inventory and Assessment describes the road needs. The Greenville County Board of Elections and Voter Registration publishes the final ballot wording.
County Open House Meetings
WHERE TO LEARN MORE IN PERSON
Greenville County is holding a series of open house meetings across the county so that residents can learn more about the proposed one percent sales tax and ask questions of county staff. The schedule below is the county’s. More meetings may be added.
- Tuesday, September 15 at noon, Slater Hall Community Center
- Monday, September 21 at noon, Travelers Rest Library
- Tuesday, September 22 at 10 a.m., Brutontown Community Center
- Wednesday, September 23 at 6:30 p.m., Sterling Community Center
- Thursday, September 24 at 6 p.m., Taylors Library
- Monday, September 28 at 6 p.m., Blue Ridge Library
- Tuesday, September 29 at noon, Travelers Rest Library
- Tuesday, September 29 at 6:30 p.m., Freetown Community Center
- Wednesday, September 30 at 6 p.m., Berea Library
- Tuesday, October 6 at noon, Fountain Inn Library
- Tuesday, October 6 at 6 p.m., Pelham Road Library
- Wednesday, October 7 at 6 p.m., Hughes Main Library
- Thursday, October 8 at 6 p.m., Travelers Rest Library
- Monday, October 12 at 10 a.m., Fountain Inn Library
- Monday, October 12 at 6 p.m., Augusta Road Library
- Tuesday, October 13 at 6 p.m., Five Forks Library
- Wednesday, October 14 at noon, Anderson Road Library
- Wednesday, October 14 at 6 p.m., Simpsonville Library
- Wednesday, October 21 at 6 p.m., Mauldin Library
Schedule as announced by Greenville County, current as of September 15, 2026.