COLUMBIA — Four local mayors are among 80 who have signed a letter to Gov. Mark Sanford and members of the South Carolina General Assembly urging them to accept the state’s share of the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package.

Seneca's Dan Alexander, Clemson's Larry Abernathy, Westminster's and Carol Burdette of Pendleton signed the two-page letter.

South Carolina could receive as much as $8 billion in stimulus funding over the next two years, and the mayors say local projects in need of completion could be the beneficiaries.

Abernathy, Burdette, Clemson City Administrator Rick Cotton and Pendleton Town Administrator Teri Sloan plan to meet Thursday with State Representatives Brian White and Dan Cooper, both from Anderson County, as well as State Rep. B.R. Skelton from Clemson area, State Sen. Thomas Alexander, who represents Oconee County and a portion of Pickens County, and engineers. Their discussion will center on efforts to secure stimulus funding to upgrade the Clemson-Pendleton Wastewater Treatment Plant.

“We’re shovel ready and our goal is to go in, show them our need and come out with a few million for the project,” Burdette said. “Whether you agree or disagree with the package, citizens in our cities in South Carolina are going to have to pay that money back. It’s a necessity that mayors, council members and staff advocate to get as much of that money as we can get because it will offer some relief for our citizens as we do our work.”

In their letter, the mayors cite the state’s 10.4 percent unemployment rate, the second highest in the nation. They also say nearly 43,000 South Carolinians lost their jobs in January and nearly 228,000 people are without work in the state.

Sanford has twice requested that President Barrack Obama allow him to use $700 million of the state's stimulus money to pay down state debt. Obama has rejected both pleas. The governor has said he would reject the entire fund if his requests were not granted.

In their letter, the mayors say rejecting the stimulus funding “will mean drastic cuts to our citizens and be tragic to South Carolinians who badly need help in this time of crisis.”

Abernathy was even more pointed in his criticism of the governor and feels the letter is one that the governor and state legislature should heed.

“I don’t see how a letter with 80 mayors’ signatures coming out of (Charleston) Mayor (Joe) Riley’s office, who is the dean of South Carolina mayors, could be ignored,” Abernathy said. “If the governor chooses to ignore it, I think that’s being insane.”

The mayors intend to urge the legislature to override the governor’s decision not to accept the money.

Last week, however, a report by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service stated that state legislators might be unable to trump governors who are reluctant to spend federal stimulus money. The report adds that a provision in the stimulus bill allowing state lawmakers to spend the money over the objections of their governors violates the 10th amendment.