Greenville expects a $6.7 million surplus of tax money this year. Where will the money go?

The city of Greenville expects to operate this coming year with a surplus of tax money — though unlike in past years, some future spending on potential new signature projects will have to be put on hold.

What the city will do with its expected $6.7 million surplus isn't certain, though. As in past surplus years, there is a list of initiatives that could later receive funding, including potentially more money for affordable housing efforts.

The fastest-growing pot of money — the lucrative tourism-related tax revenues fueled by visitors' newfound attraction to Greenville — is largely committed to past commitments and some of the most-ambitious projects the city has undertaken.

Still, the city has found room in the fund for a new initiative to deal with the growth of downtown — a new, $1.2 million downtown police unit.

With that backdrop, the City Council is scheduled to vote May 14 to approve its $200 million budget for the coming fiscal year. The budget doesn't include a property tax increase.

This year, the city is focusing on projects to manage growth, Mayor Knox White said. Leaving aside money as a surplus, he said, allows flexibility throughout the year to tackle needs when they arise and to be able to move on opportunities, a sentiment the council has consistently expressed support for.

"The budget is thematic," White said. "The theme was managing growth."

More downtown police presence

A prime example is the expansion of police presence downtown, which will be paid for through the hospitality tax that is charged to diners in city restaurants.

The city has eight officers downtown, which when accounting for shifts and other scheduling matters means there are two on dedicated patrol during most parts of the day.

When demand is higher, the police department pulls officers from other patrol zones and uses overtime pay, Police Chief Ken Miller said.

"Currently, we have insufficient staffing to provide the right coverage and visibility at the right times of the day or night without taking from other zones or other responsibilities within the department,” he said.

This week, two armed robberies were reported downtown, one behind the Peace Center, another in Falls Park. Earlier this month, a man was arrested for attempting to carjack a woman in broad daylight at the intersection of North Main and East North streets.

However, Miller said that overall crime in the Central Business District is down nearly 25 percent during the first four months of this year compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, calls for service have increased about 7.5 percent during the same period, which he said happens as more visitors are attracted downtown and more residents inhabit the new apartments being built.

The calls, he said, relate to mostly nuisance problems associated with more human activity — loud music as patrons dine outside, panhandling outside a business, a report of a suspicious person outside a residence.

The new downtown force would add 10 more officers who would work shifts organized to have the most officers present at the busiest times, he said.

Miller had originally requested 18 more officers but the council cited reduced funds and the need to assess implementation of the new policing plan.

Don Whygan, who owns Greenville Jerky and Vine at North Main and West McBee, said more police are needed. Whygan said that he can tell looking out from inside his store when police are present, because panhandlers aren't around.

"When I see the dudes out there, I know the police are around," he said. "The city needs to address what they've created and monitor that. Anything's better than what we have now."

The carjacking incident happened steps away from the Bluemercury spa that Allison Johnston manages. Johnston said that while there is some crime downtown, an overly heavy police presence isn't necessary. She also lives in a new downtown apartment complex and sees the need for more police to serve needs of residents.

"I think a few more would be nice," she said. "I think they need to be proactive and put more people in place."

Miller said he sees the city's competing interests for funding.

"There are many priorities in the city, but police is only one of them," Miller said. "Just having police doesn't create quality of life. It's part of the equation."

City Councilwoman Amy Ryberg Doyle said the expansion will be assessed again.

"I'm glad we could address half the police requests, but I think we're going to have to address more," Doyle said. "This was a first step."

'The plate is full'

The spending plan continues funding for ongoing infrastructure projects, such as $1 million each for sidewalks and neighborhood street resurfacing, $500,000 for improvements to neighborhood parks and another $500,000 for commercial corridor improvements.

The budget sets aside $600,000 to pay for both a downtown master plan and an overall comprehensive plan, which is required by state law every 10 years.

Big bites continue with $2.5 million for trail expansion, including a $1.5 million flyover bridge recently announced over Laurens Road as part of the four-mile Swamp Rabbit Trail extension, and $2 million toward development of a new city park on former public works land on the west side of downtown, which is part of a five-year funding commitment.

The spending plan deals with some smaller scale projects, such as $200,000 to make the temporary median barriers along Woodruff Road between Interstate 85 and the Trader Joe's shopping center permanent, along with another $100,000 for intersection safety improvements.

The city will contribute about $100,000 more to the Greenlink transit system, though the money is meant to offset a decrease in ridership fares and expected higher fuel prices.

In recent years, the city has used money from its tourism-related taxes on dining and lodging to fund large-scale projects that arise, but the ability to use that money will be diminished over the next five years, said Kai Nelson, the city's director of management and budget.

"The plate is full," he said.

For instance, Nelson said, when the South Carolina Children's Theatre approached the city two years ago about contributing $1.5 million to help it build a new facility, the city had flexibility to accommodate.

Likewise, the $1.5 million Swamp Rabbit flyover bridge that will connect Cleveland Park with the Laurens Road extension to CU-ICAR is a one-time contribution that will cause the city to draw more hospitality money that it brings in next year, he said.

The $1.5 million deficit is related to funding for the flyover bridge, Nelson said.

However, by 2023, debt owed to fund improvements to Falls Park that began 20 years ago will be paid and will clear room, though the city will again issue more debt over the following 20 years to build a new city park on the west side, he said.

The $6.7 million surplus in the general fund that is used for basic services and investments can be allocated to initiatives along the way. The $6.7 million is on top of more than $17 million the city sets aside as an emergency reserve.

The city will have to use the surplus this coming year for repairs to City Hall, which is leaking, Nelson said.

The list of projects that were discussed but left unfunded include a new police headquarters, replacement of the fire station on Stone Avenue, expansion of the Spring Street parking garage and affordable housing initiatives.

The reasons they were left unfunded vary but share the common characteristic that the city is still assessing how best to move forward.

However, the mayor and council members have expressed support for more affordable housing funding this year.

In late 2016, the council voted to put $2 million of a $5.5 million surplus to help create a new housing trust that would handle affordable housing projects and land acquisition.

The city didn't contribute more money to affordable housing last year to let the Greenville Housing Fund form and begin work. Money this year likely would go toward land acquisition, White said.

The trust is currently reviewing applications for the first affordable housing projects, said Ginny Stroud, the city's community development director.

"When we see the five to ten or maybe a dozen projects turning dirt this summer, we should then re-invest in the Greenville Housing Fund and look at that success rate," Doyle said. "$2 million is only going to get you so far."

Don Oglesby, president and CEO of the not-for-profit Homes of Hope, said that affordable housing advocates are prepared to put increased investment to use and hope surplus money will be used.

Oglesby also said that the effort, which a recent affordable housing study determined is a $250 million problem, eventually needs dedicated funding.

"Ultimately, participation beyond surplus funding is needed, both from the city and the county, to ensure sufficient investment over the time it will take to meet this growing and overwhelming need," he said. "Dedicated investment from both budgets on a continual basis will be the only way to keep us from becoming like so many other growing cities who have already lost this battle."

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