The Greer City Council gave its final approval on the city’s budget for fiscal year 2026-2027.
Next year, the city plans for $61,069,053 in general fund expenditures, while maintaining the current property tax millage of 111 mills. The budget does include some fee increases, including sanitation, code enforcement and Greer Golf rates.
At Tuesday night’s meeting, Council member Jay Arrowood requested an amendment to the budget, asking for an increase of $100,000 in the public services budget. This money is intended to be used by the department to conduct an efficiency study and potentially help fund some equipment needs.
Arrowood’s amendment did pass with a vote of 4-3. Arrowood, Karuiam Booker, Charles Lander and Wryley Bettis voted in favor; Mark Hopper, Paul Lamb and Rick Danner voted in opposition.
With Arrowood’s amendment passed, Council then approved the amended budget with a vote of 5-2. Lander and Bettis voted in opposition, continuing to cite concerns over the lack of a millage reduction. For more information on next year’s budget, see GreerNews’ previous reporting or view the agenda packet from Tuesday’s Council meeting.
Also in old business, Council heard two items related to property owned by Tsanali Property LLC on East Gap Creek Road. The owner requested the annexation and rezoning of their property to office professional, with the intention to build a museum focused on antique weapons and conflict history.
Both the annexation and the rezone were approved by Council with a vote of 5-2. Booker and Bettis voted in opposition, with Booker citing concerns that the full intention of the museum was not made clear. He also noted concern at the lack of input from the local school system as to how the museum could be used in an educational capacity.
“The project morphed as discussions were made in which it was originally pitched as a weapons museum,” Booker said. “At second reading, it changed to be a WWI/WWII Museum, and still the owners had not had discussions with the school district.”
He added, “I hope the owners will uphold their word to create a project that fits the surrounding area.”
The last item of old business for Council was Ordinance Number 16-2026, which changes the zoning classification of property on Albert Street from Commercial General to Traditional Neighborhood. The applicant plans to build a home on the property, and Council approved the ordinance unanimously.
In new business, Council heard the first reading of Ordinance Number 19-2026, which would approve the annexation of 33.87 acres on Freeman Farm Road into the city with a zoning classification of Traditional Neighborhood. This property is owned by 199 LLC, which plans to construct a housing development.
The developer says they plan to have around two homes per acre. Council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance, which will come before the City of Greer Planning Commission for a public hearing on Monday.
The final item heard by Council was a resolution to adopt the Greenville County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation and Resiliency Plan. This is a routine approval that allows the city to continue to receive FEMA funding. Council approved the resolution unanimously.
For more information on the Greer City Council, visit https://www.cityofgreer.org/page/city-council.
