How Greenwood is run
Who runs Greenwood, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Greenwood's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 11, 2026.
Who runs Greenwood
A city manager hired by the council runs the city day to day. The council sets policy, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
Greenwood city staff
The budget shows salaries by department. The city does not publish individual salaries or a position count. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Greenwood in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $6M (2025-12-31). The city's own target: The council's fund balance policy requires unassigned fund balance of at least 20% of budgeted expenditures. City of Greenwood · Jul 15, 2026
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for 2026.
Comes from
- Property taxes$7.3M · 32%
- Insurance business licenses$3M · 13%
- General business licenses$2.2M · 10%
- State "C" fund road grants$1.3M · 5%
- CPW utility contribution$1.2M · 5%
- From capital improvement fund$1.2M · 5%
- Transfer from hospitality tax fund$1M · 4%
- Other$5.9M · 26%
Goes to (2026)
- Police$6.1M · 26%
- Fire$5.7M · 25%
- Public works$3.3M · 14%
- Non-departmental$2.1M · 9%
- Sanitation$2.1M · 9%
- Administration$1M · 4%
- Other (building inspection, IT, finance, court, council, legal, buildings, elections)$2.7M · 12%
Who provides your services
Not everything in Greenwood is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityGreenwood Police DepartmentCity of Greenwood
- FireThe cityGreenwood Fire DepartmentCity of Greenwood
- Trash collectionThe cityCity of Greenwood Public Works, Sanitation DivisionCity of Greenwood
- StreetsThe cityCity of Greenwood Public Works, Streets DivisionCity of Greenwood
- WaterAnother agencyGreenwood Commissioners of Public Works (CPW)City of Greenwood
- Electricity and natural gasAnother agencyGreenwood Commissioners of Public Works (CPW)City of Greenwood
- SewerSeparate districtGreenwood Metropolitan DistrictCity of Greenwood
- ElectionsThe countyGreenwood County Voter Registration & Election OfficeCity of Greenwood
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | HardeevilleSC | ClemsonSC | HanahanSC | GreenwoodSC |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 16,459 | 18,941 | 22,415 | 22,745 |
| Top administrator's base pay | $185,000 | Not current (2021) | Not confirmed | Not current (2022) |
| Council member pay | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $2,937 | $2,076 | $920 | $1,017 |
| Debt per resident | $974 | $2,730 | $545 | $40 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $962 | $944 | $469 | $541 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 12.0 | — | — |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how). Clemson pays another agency for police or fire, so its own staff count is lower.
What Greenwood publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineWe found no posted contract or salary for City Manager Julie Wilkie on the city website. A 2022 news report gave her contract pay. City of Greenwood
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online Greenwood City Council
Questions to ask your council
- The 2026 general fund budget of $23,140,275 uses $1,187,861 from the capital fund, mainly for a fire engine. How will the city pay for large equipment in future years?
- In 2025 public works spent $906,068 more than its appropriation. How will the council keep departments within budget?
- The city's share of state pension liabilities was $12,306,237 at December 31, 2025. How do rising contributions fit into future budgets?
Help decide what comes next
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Every number here was checked by hand against the linked document. Cities publish on different schedules, so years differ between sections; each figure says which year it describes. Spotted something wrong or out of date?
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