Four Greenville County Fire Departments Request Tax Hikes, and Other Council Updates

Many Greenville fire departments are working on the next budget—which means some areas might see a jump in taxes. Four fire districts are requesting millage rate increases from Greenville County Council.

“We’re seeing an increase in businesses. We’re seeing an increase in residential. It’s really exploding,” said John Centrone, the Fire Marshall for Mauldin. For Mauldin’s fire department, the growing population—just means more people to protect. That’s why the new headquarters on Butler Road was a priority.

“We didn’t have a station that close to the Western end of things, so having it down here really improves our response times,” said Centrone. A millage rate increase in 2020 helped foot the bill. Now they’re asking for another.

“One of the things we’re looking at for this year and this budget is making sure that we have the people and the personnel available and on-site, but also looking to the future,” said Seth Duncan, the City Administrator.

Mauldin is not the only one, Tigerville, Fountain Inn, and Lake Cunningham have also requested increases as they battle inflation and growth. If approved, for the home value of $250,000 in Mauldin, your bill would jump by $30 a year. For Lake Cunningham, a $250,000 home, the increase would be about $66. In Tigerville, a $285,000 home value would jump by $68 and in Fountain Inn, a $200,000 home value would jump about $75 a year.

Even though some of those fire departments are in cities, the county council must approve the rate increases because they only apply to areas outside the city limits where those city fire departments provide coverage. However, Mauldin City Council is also seeking a millage rate increase.

“Now we’ve had to increase that starting pay to about $46,000 to $47,000 just to have enough people to provide those life-saving jobs,” said Count Councilman Butch Kirven. Staffing and salary are factors—other fire departments told the council they also need new trucks, equipment, and stations. Mauldin’s hiring of three firefighters to operate quick response vehicles for getting to medical emergencies.

“Of course, in the future to expand our area by having more fire stations. always looking to hire more staff to meet those needs and really just kind of adapting and overcoming, trying to be ahead of it and be progressive instead of reactive,” said Centrone.

Nothing is final, Tuesday was the first reading for the Mauldin and Lake Cunningham millage rate increases. The next meeting council will hold a public hearing and vote. Then, Fountain Inn and Tigerville’s requests will be considered.

52 Acres Land Preservation

Greenville County Council approved plans to preserve a 52-acre site—and turn it into an education resource. It’s the Oakland Plantation site in Simpsonville off Adams Mill Road. The YMCA wanted to sell the land for development—but the county’s Historic and Natural Resources Trust stepped in offering to buy it instead.

The HNST received a grant from the state to help pay for the purchase. Going forward—the plan is to keep the site as a historical site, while also making it an educational resource for wildlife, nature tours as well as Native American history.

Councilman Kriven says had the land been sold to developers—it could have been another residential development like townhomes or apartments.

“Development is not a bad thing, we have to have it, but it needs to be measured. we can’t use up all of our greenspaces and open spaces, that goes back to quality of life. people want that change, they don’t want that back-to-back with neighbors all the time,” he said.

The council unanimously approved the project. We’ll keep you updated on the progress.

Community Center Honors Longtime Employee

Lastly, the council approved re-naming the Mt. Pleasant Community Center gymnasium after The Rev. Furman P. Gatewood, Sr. Gatewood was an employee of Greenville County Parks and Rec, and Tourism for 31 years working as the manager of the Mt. Pleasant Community Center. He passed away on July 22, 2023.

To honor his legacy, the center will add his name to the gym entrance and place a plaque in the lobby of the center.