City denies the accusations in lawsuit filed by a former S.C. senator and a former mayor

From Staff Reports 

GREER, S.C. — A lawsuit filed against the City of Greer in mid-October alleges that municipal officials illegally raised property taxes after a reassessment and improperly skirted state debt limits.

Specifically, former state Senator Lewis Vaughn and former Greer Mayor Don Wall filed the lawsuit against the City of Greer, Mayor Rick Danner and the nonprofit organization ForGree.

The lawsuit was originally filed in July — and was amended and refiled in mid-October. The plaintiffs in the updated lawsuit also include Michael Douglas Greer, James Edward Wall and the South Carolina Public Interest Foundation.

Key claims in the lawsuit are as follows:

• Insufficient tax rollback: Under South Carolina law, cities and counties must “roll back” tax rates after a property reassessment year (such as Greenville County’s 2025 reassessment) to prevent a windfall from rising property values. The suit alleges Greer only rolled back its millage rate by 2 mills instead of the required 6 mills, resulting in an unlawful tax hike. (A millage rate — or mill rate — is the tax rate used by local governments and taxing authorities to calculate property taxes. A “mill” is equal to $1 of tax for every $1,000 of a property’s assessed taxable value.)

• Circumvention of debt limits: The South Carolina constitution caps local government general obligation debt at 8 percent of total assessed property value (roughly $23.6 million for Greer). The lawsuit alleges the city created the nonprofit ForGreer as an “alter ego” to borrow over $100 million for capital projects — most notably a $60 million sports and events center slated to open in 2027 — without voter approval.

• Other projects: The dispute also centers on other “ForGreer” initiatives, including a public safety training facility (which opened in September) and a proposed parking garage.

The city’s response was as follows:

• Denial of wrongdoing: City officials and lawyers have firmly denied the allegations, stating that the financing structure with ForGreer is 100 percent legal, complies with all state codes, and mirrors approaches used by other local governments in South Carolina. What’s  more, City Administrator Andy Merriman and Mayor Rick Danner have defended the ForGreer capital projects as lawful and necessary tools to manage rapid growth and enhance local quality of life.

• Transparency efforts: The city pointed residents to an informational website tracking the development of the ForGreer projects and has asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.

Meanwhile, key criticisms and claims in the lawsuit are as follows:

• Insufficient millage rollback: Under South Carolina law, local governments must roll back property tax millage rates after a reassessment, so they do not automatically collect a windfall of extra revenue. Critics claim Greer only rolled back its millage rate by 2 mills instead of the required 6 mills following the 2025 property assessments, leading to higher tax bills for residents.

• Misleading Tax Claims: Critics and radio commentators (such as on local broadcasts via WORD 98.9 FM Radio) have accused Greer City Council members of dishonesty, pointing out that claims of tax cuts were wiped out by reassessment hikes and subsequent increases.

• Circumventing debt limits: The lawsuit targets the “ForGreer” initiative — a $100 million infrastructure and sports complex project (including the Prisma Health Performance Center). Critics argue that the city effectively controls the nonprofit organization “ForGreer” and is using it to bypass statutory municipal debt limits.

• Wasteful spending and overreach: Opposition groups argue that the $60 million sports and events center and related downtown projects are a waste of taxpayer money, unsuited for the community, and an attempt to force the city to act like a much larger metropolis than it is.