Monday, May 6, 2024
One of the most important items Horry County Council will study at its budget retreat next week is future funding for the Horry County Police Department.
Council chairman Mark Lazarus recently directed county staff to study the possibility of establishing a special purpose tax district for police funding, similar to the method in which the Horry County Fire Department is funded.
The results of that study are expected to be ready for the Horry County Council budget retreat.
Horry County Council gave county staff the go ahead to develop a multi-county business park plan associated with the Gander Mountain development in Carolina Forest.
The general concept in the planning will be to add roads, water, sewer, stormwater drainage, underdrains, curbs, gutters and sidewalks in Carolina Forest.
The project would be initially funded by $2.2 million in special purpose bonds, issued by the county, to be paid off by a fee in lieu of taxes equivalent to 35% of the property taxes generated within the MCBP area.
Horry County Council is considering asking the county’s voters advice on long term funding for Waccamaw Center for Mental Health.
A state created organization, the state has failed in its obligation to provide all the needed funding for the center.
Sen. Ray Cleary (R-Dist.34) spoke to the Horry County Council Administration Committee last Friday outlining a possible referendum question for county voters to consider in the November 2014 general election.
Before the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation gets too involved in a search for a new CEO, Horry County Council should take a hard look at its funding of the agency.
Despite new names, reorganizations of the agency and increased funding from county council, there have been relatively few actual new jobs created over the last 20 years.
The Horry County Administration Committee is expected to receive its quarterly jobs update from the county’s grant administration department at its August 1, 2014 meeting. This will be a tally, by company, of the number of new jobs created, not announced or promised, but actual people drawing paychecks since departing EDC CEO Brad Lofton was first hired in April 2011.
The Republican Primary for Horry County Council District 7 gives voters a distinct choice between candidates Mike Roberts and Liz Gilland.
Roberts is a relative unknown on the political scene while Gilland served on county council for District 8 from 1995-2003 and as council chairman from 2003-10.
Most politicians claim to want to serve the people or give back to the people. Mike Roberts is one of the people!
He is not tied to special interests and will vote according to what he believes is good for the majority of citizens not the few who are trying to take much more from the county than they will ever give.
A 23 year old first time candidate with deep pockets mixed with a veteran, but questionable, political consultant is creating quite a buzz in Horry County Council District 5.
At least that is the talk on the street about the candidacy of young Tyler Servant, a political novice who has outraised every other candidate in the county running for local or state office including some multi-term incumbents.
Much of the fundraising success can probably be credited to the long term business relationships of Servant’s father and grandfather in the southern Horry County real estate market.
Some also has to do with the Dunes Club card room crowd, especially the group that contributes generously to Tom Rice, backing the Servant candidacy for some reason.
I have heard much recently about how Horry County Council was exercising its fiduciary responsibility, overseeing the use of public money, by appointing an ad hoc committee to report on Coast RTA.
I always get a funny feeling when I hear ‘fiduciary responsibility’ from public officials because it’s usually a dodge for some other agenda.
The recent cancelling of a contract for signs and bus shelters by SCDOT and the possibility that Coast RTA may be required to pay back money already spent on the project is the alleged reason the ad hoc committee will be looking into how effectively Coast RTA spends its public dollar grants.
Continued funding of Coast RTA by Horry County Council, and at what level, will be the focus of the ad hoc committee established by Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus earlier this week.
This discussion should have been settled when Horry County voters approved an advisory referendum supporting .6 mill (six-tenths of a mill) funding for Coast RTA by a 62% to 38% margin in the November 2010 general election.
For two years, council honored the voters’ decision. However, during last year’s budget considerations, council attempted to make funding contingent on Coast RTA getting a change in state law designating membership on the Coast RTA board.
Horry County Council chairman Mark Lazarus officially announced the formation of an ad hoc committee to study a controversy between Coast RTA and S.C. Department of Transportation over a $1 million shelter and signage project that dates back to 2006, and an Intermodal Transportation Center project from 2010.
The ad hoc committee will be chaired by council member Marion Foxworth with council member Carl Schwartzkopf being a member. In addition, Coast RTA board chairman Bernie Silverman will be a committee member along with another Coast RTA board member to be determined by the Coast RTA board.
Rounding out the ad hoc committee will be a representative, from its members, chosen by the Myrtle Beach City Council and a representative, from its members, chosen by the Georgetown County Council as well as a community member chosen by Lazarus.
Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus announced last week he would appoint an ad hoc committee to study the controversy that exists between Coast RTA and the S.C. Department of Transportation.
The ad hoc committee will study facts relevant to two stalled Coast RTA projects, a $1 million shelter and sign project for bus routes and a feasibility study for an intermodal transportation center for the agency.
SCDOT representative Doug Frate told council members in an executive session held after a council workshop last week that Coast RTA may have to pay back approximately $500,000 to SCDOT for the stalled projects.
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