Sales Tax Referendum Forum 10/19/17

LWV of Spartanburg’s Sales Tax Referendum Forum
Thursday, October 19, 7:00 pm
Barrett Room, Spartanburg County Public Libraries Headquarters
151 S. Church Street, Spartanburg, SC

What does the proposed 1-cent sales tax increase mean?
What is it designed to do?
How will it all affect you?
Be an informed voter on November 7!

This forum will be moderated by former Mayor James E. Talley and panelists will include city and county officials plus Dennis Shreefer, former WSPA anchor, and Allen Smith, President & CEO, Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce.

Free and Open to the Public

Presented by League of Women Voters of Spartanburg County in partnership with Spartanburg Branch of the NAACP, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Gamma Phi Delta Sorority, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
 
FULL REFERENDUM TEXT

SPARTANBURG COUNTY SALES TAX REFERENDUM
 
Must a special one percent sales and use tax be imposed in Spartanburg County (the “County”) for 6 years to raise the amounts specified for the following purposes:
 
Priority No. 1              Cost $ 151,519,154
Replacement of current City of Spartanburg and Spartanburg County judicial facilities (to include a new County Courthouse, City of Spartanburg municipal court/police facilities, Spartanburg County Emergency operations center (currently located in the basement of the County Courthouse), and associated parking and infrastructure, in one or more structures)
 
Priority No. 2              Cost $ 65,326,428
Replacement of current City of Spartanburg City Hall and Spartanburg County Administrative Building (to include new joint use government center facilities to serve both the City of Spartanburg and Spartanburg County, and associated parking and infrastructure, in one or more structures)
 
Priority No. 3              Cost $ 7,554,418
Road and Bridge Projects (to include the then highest priority projects identified in the County’s Capital Improvement Plan after taking into account the availability of State and other funds)
 
Total Cost $ 224,400,000
 
And pending the receipt of such sales and use tax, must the County also be authorized to issue and sell, either as a single issue or as several separate issues, general obligation bond (the “Bonds”) of the County in an aggregate principal amount not exceeding $217,000,000, to defray the costs of the projects listed above plus issuance costs, to be paid from the sales and use tax to be imposed as stated herein and pledged to the payment of the principal of and interest on the Bonds, and, in the event such sales and use tax is inadequate, such bonds shall be payable from a sufficient ad valorem tax imposed on all taxable property in the County?
 
CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF SALES AND USE TAX REVENUE COLLECTED UNDER THE CAPITAL PROJECTS SALES TAX ACT:  The capital projects sales and use tax and any related Bond proceeds shall be used and expended for procurement, design, engineering, project management, construction and/or improvement of the projects listed above, including payment of such sums as may be required in connection with the issuance of Bonds. Net proceeds of the capital project sales and use tax or the proceeds of any related bonds, if approved, must be expended for the purposes stated, in the priority listed above.  The expenditures of revenues from the capital projects sales and use tax or the proceeds of any related bonds, if approved, shall be subject to acquisition of property, rights-of-way, design and engineering considerations, the receipt of all necessary permits and regulatory approvals, funding of projects from other sources (including unanticipated grants that fund a project), bids in excess of project estimates, qualifications of bidders, cost overruns, financing costs, exhaustion or insufficiency of net sales and use tax revenues or Bond proceeds to complete the projects in the order and priority stated above, and other unforeseen circumstances and conditions.  In the event any of the foregoing affect any project, the County Council shall, by ordinance, make findings regarding the same before funding a lesser priority project.  Nothing herein shall prevent the simultaneous funding of multiple projects consistent with each project’s designated priority.