County council discusses redirecting infrastructure bank funds to boost roads, prompting school funding concerns

Greenville County Council members on a budget-workshop day debated proposals to retain a larger share of infrastructure (FILO) revenue for an expanded road program, prompting concerns from council members that the change could reduce funding for municipalities and the school district.

Council members said the administration’s proposed budget would increase road maintenance funding toward a roughly $40 million program. County Administrator Cornell told council members the FILO/infrastructure-bank transfers are currently split so that taxing jurisdictions receive the majority of that revenue; the proposal would increase the county’s retained share to direct more money to roads. "We retain 31% of the FILO revenue; we're proposing increasing that to a larger share so we can do something meaningful for roads," Administrator Cornell said.

The discussion grew contentious when…