Greer considers seceding

Straddling the line between Greenville and Spartanburg counties has always been uncomfortable, Greer City Council members say.

Now, a recent decision by Spartanburg County Council might push Greer to the Greenville County side of the fence.

City Council members have agreed to examine how Greer could, in essence, secede from Spartanburg County. The idea is to transfer the property within Greer's city limits that now lies in Spartanburg County to Greenville County.

About 27 percent of Greer's residents live in Spartanburg County, and about 34 percent of the city's tax base lies on the Spartanburg side of town.

"Straddling two counties like Greer does is problematic in and of itself," City Councilwoman Belle Mercado said Wednesday, "but when you have one county that is totally disrespectful of Greer and its residents, it's not a good thing."

Greer Mayor Rick Danner echoed those sentiments, saying that the idea for secession was born out of frustration with Spartanburg County government.

"There is a legitimacy to exploring this

option," Danner said. "Greenville tends to value what we bring to the table."

Danner said that a "clear signal" of Spartanburg County Council's disregard came last week when the council rescinded a 2004 decision giving the Greer Commission of Public Works the right to provide sewer service to an unincorporated area south of I-85. County Council transferred the land into the Spartanburg Sanitary Sewer District, shutting out Greer in response to residents' concerns about Greer's annexation practices.

The county's change of heart could jeopardize future economic development in the area south of I-85, Danner said.

In a July letter to County Council, Danner wrote that a $250 million economic development prospect was "directly related to our commitment to providing essential services for this development."

"(County Councilman David Britt), who chairs the County Council's economic development committee, didn't bother to check how the annexation into SSSD would affect our economic development," Danner said.

Greer CPW is a separate entity from the city, but the city's rapid growth has been fueled by a policy that requires property owners who want to tap onto CPW's sewer lines to annex into Greer.

CPW had plans to extend sewer service into the area south of I-85 to serve an elementary school being built by Spartanburg County District 5. The surrounding property owners have fought the project, fearing they would be forced into the city if Greer built a sewer line through the area.

Britt said Wednesday he considered it extremely unlikely that Greer would be successful in removing any territory from Spartanburg County. He also took issue with Danner's statement that the county had acted with disregard.

"I would never do anything that would jeopardize a real economic development in the county."

Another councilman had a slightly different take on the issue.

"I have a lot of respect for Greer," said County Councilman Ken Huckaby, who represents the Greer area.

"I think if seceding is what Greer wants to do, then more power to them."

Huckaby was the only council member who voted against transferring the area around Highway 101 to the SSSD, saying the council needed to take more time to examine the implications of the decision.

Greer CPW officials have said they are considering a lawsuit against the county because the CPW already has invested $100,000 in the scuttled sewer project for the school.

Assistant County Administrator Chris Story said that Spartanburg County's section of Greer is a small-but-growing portion of the county's tax base and is positioned well for strong growth in the future.

According to the 2005 census estimate, 7,857 of Greer's 21,421 residents now reside in Spartanburg County. About $15.5 million worth of taxable property lies in Spartanburg County, while $40 million worth lies in Greenville.

Greer residents contribute about 1.5 percent of Spartanburg County's total tax revenue, Story said. Losing that "would have an initially modest negative impact on other county taxpayers, which may grow over time," because of the area's growth potential.

While often associated with Greer, BMW, one of the Upstate's largest employers, lies in unincorporated Spartanburg County and would not be affected by a secession move.

Tim Winslow, senior staff attorney for the South Carolina Association of Counties, said it is rare, but not unprecedented, for a municipality to secede from a county. Most notably, Edisto Beach seceded from Charleston County in favor of Colleton County in 1975 because it was unhappy with Charleston County's services.

According to the South Carolina Association of Municipalities, 15 cities in the state straddle multiple counties.

According to South Carolina law, Greer's process for transferring an area into another county would require at least 10 percent of Greer residents living in Spartanburg County to draw up a petition to be annexed into Greenville. They then would be required to cover the cost of surveying the land and paying the salaries of an annexation commission appointed by the governor.

A final decision would require two-thirds of a vote involving all Greenville County residents and those residents of Greer living in Spartanburg County.