Tag: Horry County Solid Waste Authority

HCSWA Laying Low

For the past several months, officials at the Horry County Solid Waste Authority (HCSWA) have been pushing changes with the agency’s by-laws so that HCSWA would not have to file a Form 990 with the IRS.

All of a sudden those changes are not a priority anymore because the Horry County Infrastructure and Regulation Committee is taking a closer look at the form of its oversight of the HCSWA.

Actually, oversight is a misnomer as Horry County Council has done little oversight of this agency for the past decade.

We won’t get into the specifics of the reasons for the changes. Suffice it to say the HCSWA does not want to explain to the IRS why it has $37 million in the bank – $22 million in questionable future expense reserves and $15 million excess reserves.

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Horry County Council vs. Staff

There seems to be a growing trend in Horry County that is prevalent throughout the nation. Government staff is working against Horry County Council members, and in its own interests, instead of working for council to institute policy decisions.

Helicopter amusement ride leases, adult entertainment regulations, solid waste actions have all recently had instances where county staff pushed its own agenda against the wishes of council and the better interests of the county in general.

A recently renegotiated lease with Huffman Helicopters, in which staff was directly instructed to include designated flight patterns to limit flight patterns over residential areas is missing the key inclusions.

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Culture of Arrogance at SWA

The culture of arrogance that pervades the Horry County Solid Waste Authority (SWA) was on view for all to see at Thursday’s Infrastructure and Regulation Committee meeting.

The SWA was created by Horry County Ordinance 60-90 and its board is appointed by vote of Horry County Council.

The SWA is currently telling the IRS that it is a “discreet component unit of Horry County Government.” However, at Thursday’s meeting SWA Executive Director Danny Knight told I&R Committee members the SWA is ‘sometimes not the county, sometimes somewhat the county and sometimes somewhere in between.’

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Changing the HCWSA Form of Governance

Horry County council member Jody Prince directed county staff to prepare a briefing document for the September 12, 2013 Infrastructure and Regulation Committee meeting that discusses other options for governance of the HCWSA (Horry County Solid Waste Authority).

“I’m making an official request, as chairman of the (I&R) committee, asking staff for options for status, other than authority status, for the HCSWA, including committee, advisory board and (county government) department, and the procedures required to make such a change,” said Prince.

Prince’s request came after discussions about a resolution in which the HCSWA requests the county to approve a recycling incentive program contract between the HCSWA and the county. The committee deferred consideration of the resolution at least until the September meeting.

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More Transparency with Government Tax Dollars

The Horry County Council Infrastructure and Regulation Committee will consider a resolution tomorrow that could lead to greater public access and transparency to spending government tax dollars.

The resolution calls for the Horry County Solid Waste Authority, Coast RTA and the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation to conduct board meetings at the county’s Government and Justice Complex on 3rd Avenue in Conway.

Specifically the meetings would be held in council chambers or the council conference room, both of which are wired for internet live streaming of meetings as well as recording equipment that will allow recorded meetings to be available for viewing on the county website.

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Changing Dynamics on Horry County Council

Changing dynamics among members of Horry County Council could have important impacts in the next several months on several important issues.

Nothing in politics happens in a vacuum and the recent vote on a resolution regarding Huffman Helicopters is expected to have some effects on issues such as adult entertainment, the Horry County Solid Waste Authority and possibly Coast RTA.

The proposed adult entertainment ordinance will be first up with a meeting of a special Ad Hoc Committee to discuss the issue. The meeting will take place August 1 with more than the six council members appointed to the committee expected to attend.

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Mark Lazarus Hits a Grand Slam

With just a few appearances as Horry County Council chairman under his belt, Mark Lazarus hit a grand slam home run at Tuesday night’s regular meeting of council.

After many years of despairing over poor to non-existent leadership on Horry County Council, Lazarus has quickly stepped into the void, in my opinion.

He runs a good meeting and the other 11 council members seem comfortable with him at the helm. That’s certainly not a statement that could have been made very often, if at all, over the last several decades.

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A Funny Thing Happened to Flow Control Insurance

A funny thing happened on the way to the forum to the Horry County Solid Waste Authority Tuesday night. It ran into a problem while trying to foist its solid waste stream flow control insurance plan on Horry County Council.

Expectations are the S.C. General Assembly will finally pass legislation outlawing flow control statewide next year. Since it was Horry County Council, at the direction of the SWA four years ago, that established the only flow control monopoly in the state, the SWA was blindsided when council did not roll over for it at Tuesday’s regular meeting.

The SWA is now running around the county attempting to sign most haulers and all trash generating communities to five year contracts. If the customers agree to bring all their trash to the SWA landfill during that period, the SWA will give a $2 per ton reduction on its tipping fee if certain minimum recycling percentages are met.

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SWA Looking for New Flow Control Guarantees

While the South Carolina “Business Freedom to Choose Act” (H3290) remains stalled in a Senate committee, the Horry County Solid Waste Authority is making other plans to continue its flow control monopoly on solid waste disposal generated within the county borders in case the act should eventually pass.

The SWA is going to certain private haulers offering tipping fee discounts if the haulers will sign long term contracts to bring their waste to the SWA’s Hwy 90 landfill. This new “disposal agreement” would essentially keep flow control of solid waste in place for the SWA if it is outlawed by the General Assembly.

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The Case Against Flow Control

A bill that would make flow control illegal in South Carolina currently rests in the S.C. Senate Rules Committee awaiting a majority vote to put it on the calendar for full Senate vote.

Flow control is the term that means establishing monopoly control over the flow of the solid waste stream in an area, in this case a county.

It is illegal for private companies to establish flow control over a waste stream, but, currently, not for county government to do so. Horry County currently has a flow control ordinance in place that makes its Horry County Solid Waste Authority the monopoly arbiter over county waste.

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