Politics

Congratulations Myrtle Beach Or is it Murder Beach?

Regardless, congratulations are in order to my former hometown’s elected and tourism officials. You managed to get yourselves some national headlines over the weekend, but for all the wrong reasons.

You honestly cannot be surprised can you?

I mean, after all, there were how many shootings again in our “quiet, little sleepy tourist town?”

There’s been how many women who have gone missing in recent months?

There’s been how many guns pulled on people at various establishments?

And, before we go any further, let’s clear up a few potential misconceptions.

This has nothing to do with black bike week, Harley bike week, black people, white people or gun issues.

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General Assembly Failing Citizens Again

S.C. Ethics Reform This Year – Maybe, Sort Of

It is possible, some say probable, that an ethics reform bill will pass the S.C. General Assembly and be signed into law before sine die June 5th.

But, it really won’t be much of a law.

The key ingredient, an independent ethics commission to investigate allegations of ethics violations against members of the House and Senate, will be missing.

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Supreme Court Rules Bobby Harrell Investigation May Continue

The S.C. Supreme Court ruled earlier today that the state grand jury, Attorney General Alan Wilson and SLED may continue with an investigation into possible ethics and criminal violations by S. C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell.

This reverses a ruling made after a May 12th hearing in District Court, by Judge Casey Manning, which ordered the investigation halted and the grand jury disbanded.

In his ruling, Manning stated that the S.C. House Ethics Committee has exclusive jurisdiction over investigation of ethics violations by Harrell or other members of the House and only the Ethics Committee can refer an investigation to the AG or grand jury.

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The Ungraceful Horry County Budget

What appeared to be a shock to Horry County Council Tuesday night that county revenues will decline as a result of reassessment of property values should not have been.

A year ago we wrote that the county would experience a decrease in overall land value as a result of reassessment and council would have to raise taxes in order to keep tax revenue at the same levels as before reassessment.

Horry County Administrator Chris Eldridge tried to lessen the shock by saying it’s not a huge amount of money that is being talked about.

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New Restrictions by Horry County on Coast RTA Funding

While the full $1.055 million funding grant to Coast RTA remains in the Horry County budget after second reading, the ability of the bus agency to draw that money will be significantly more restricted in the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2014.

A move against Coast RTA funding has been growing among county council members since February. It showed its full face Tuesday night when council approved second reading of the Fiscal Year 2014-15 budget.

Included in second reading was a budget amendment offered by council member Al Allen that stated funding for Coast RTA will be withheld pending satisfaction of terms set forth by council in a funding agreement with Coast RTA. When the terms of that funding agreement have been met, council will vote on a resolution to approve transfer of funds to the bus agency.

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More Myrtle Beach Annexation Questions Arise

The more one looks at the City of Myrtle Beach annexation petition, the more questions arise on the issues surrounding this proposed annexation.

A July 15, 2014 special election is scheduled in what the city is calling the “South Area” to vote on whether the area will be annexed into the city limits.

A 50% plus one positive vote of qualified electors within the petition area will annex the whole 640 acres or so into the city with only qualified resident electors of the area voting on the question.

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Second Myrtle Beach Annexation in Pipeline

We learned this week that a second City of Myrtle Beach annexation is already in the process.

Earlier in the week, we reported about a Myrtle Beach annexation in which the city has submitted a petition for a referendum vote scheduled to be held July 15, 2014. In this one, the city has bundled together a relatively small amount, approximately 44 acres, of residential property with approximately 600 acres of commercial and undeveloped property into one annexation package.

Using an option in state law that allows 25% of voters in the proposed annexation area to petition for a referendum, the city has cut the owners of the commercial and undeveloped property included in the annexation out of the process completely. They literally have no say whether their property will be annexed into the city even though their business license fees and property taxes will rise.

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S.C. House District 58 Campaign Hijinks

Virtually every political campaign has its share of misinformation, exaggeration, boasts and BS. That’s the nature of the beast today and the reason so many people are turned off by the political process.

Once in a while, a candidate and his campaign staff will decide even that type of conduct is not enough in an effort to win an election.

This is what appears to have happened in the race for the S.C. House District 58 Republican nomination.

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Inspector Gadget and Horry County Public Safety

As seems to happen every year, the Horry County Public Safety Division has asked for new radios for police and fire personnel and new video equipment for police.

The cost is projected at approximately $4.4 million over eight years, which is also the projected lifespan of the equipment.

The radios alone cost $4,500 each, ostensibly because our infrastructure supporting the radios dates back to 1991.

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Coast RTA Funding from Horry County Intact

After Tuesday’s Horry County Council budget workshop, Coast RTA was still on track to receive $1.055 million in grant funding for next fiscal year from Horry County.

Council member Marion Foxworth presented a synopsis of the findings of the Select Committee on Coast RTA, which council chairman Mark Lazarus appointed and Foxworth chaired.

Foxworth said the Select Committee voted unanimously and was adamant in recommending to continue the county’s commitment to public transportation and the taxpayers who pay for the grant.

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