Author: Paul Gable

New Year Brings New Hope and New Challenges

A New Year traditionally brings with it new hope and positive feelings about the year ahead.

Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus commented in a Facebook post on New Year’s Day about making 2018 a year of positivism. I hope Lazarus is able to achieve that positivism in county government.

This year will be interesting with three new members recently elected to Myrtle Beach City Council, including a new mayor, and seven council members up for re-election for Horry County Council including Chairman Lazarus.

But it takes more than hopes and feelings to achieve positive results in government. It takes hard work, transparency and proper goal setting to get the most “bang” for each “buck” collected from the taxpaying public.

Both Myrtle Beach City Council and Horry County Council have been lax in this area in years past.

Maybe the most important thing both councils have to remember is the citizens elect them to make decisions that benefit the community as a whole. Council then directs staff to carry out these decisions.

Too often, this process has become muddled with certain council and staff members working behind closed doors to benefit special interests at the expense of the general public. This is at least part of the reason Myrtle Beach has three new members of council.

Below are just a few of the actions by city council that the public voted against in November:

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Questioning the Arrogant County Response to the Angie Jones Lawsuit

Horry County’s response to the lawsuit filed by Treasurer Angie Jones raises many questions about what exactly is going on in county government.

Shortly after assuming office on July 1, 2017, Jones requested funding be added to the Treasurer’s Office budget of approximately $30,000 in order to hire one additional clerk to help with service to customers in Conway, Myrtle Beach, Little River and Surfside Beach offices as needed.

This request was rejected by the county council’s Administration Committee.

As a result, Jones filed her lawsuit against the county requesting sufficient funding and staffing to effectively run her office.

In response to the summons and complaint, the county charged, “… such issues are solely as a result of her (Jones) mismanagement of her offices and her own decisions, including her decisions to drive out and remove and replace competent long-term employees with friends and political supporters lacking in relevant experience.”

In addition, the county alleges Jones has exceeded the budget for the Treasurer’s Office and should be held personally responsible for paying back to the county any budget deficit as well as attorney’s fees for defending the lawsuit.

Speaking of mismanagement and paying back budget deficits by this county government is laughable in light of past and present issues with its initiatives, its budget and its decisions.

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Horry County Response to Treasurer Angie Jones Lawsuit Goes Beyond Legal Issues

The response filed by Horry County Government December 14, 2017, to a lawsuit filed by Horry County Treasurer Angie Jones last month, appears to take the issues in the case out of the purely legal realm.

At some level within the government, this case certainly seems to be more personal than merely a disagreement over funding for the Treasurer’s Office.

The following extracts from the county’s response provide some insight:

Para. 5 First Defense – “… legal issues manufactured by Jones are not genuine legal issues, but issues solely caused by Jones’s failure to properly manage the Office of the Treasurer and properly understand South Carolina State law regarding the obligations and responsibilities of county treasurers in South Carolina as well as the functioning of county government.”

Para. 8 First Defense – “… Jones has consistently attempted to manipulate, usurp and contravene the budgeting powers and process of Horry County, to include the bringing of this legal action and casting constant blame on others including the prior Treasurer, for the sole purpose of misleading the public, justifying the employment of friends and political supporters and diverting attention away from her mismanagement of the Treasurer’s Office.”

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Impact Fees Wrong Solution for Horry County Council

An old issue has again surfaced as Horry County Council is reportedly looking at ways to change the state impact fee law to help pay for the costs of development.

Twelve to twenty or so years ago this was a recurring issue council routinely discussed until it became apparent nothing would change in Columbia.

That discussion was interrupted by the collapse of the mortgage market and resulting depression which began in 2008 and which, now, the housing market appears to be finally recovering from.

The current impact fee law was effectively written to ensure impact fees would not be levied in Horry County. A primary sponsor on that piece of legislation was Horry County’s own Sen. Luke Rankin.

The builders, real estate agents and their attorneys do not want impact fees in Horry County and their lobby in Columbia has been strong enough, to date, to stop them.

New construction creates increased costs to provide local government infrastructure and services. Impact fees theoretically have those costs initially paid for by the new residents. Without impact fees, those costs are spread among all residents throughout the county.

Further limiting the ability of local government to meet the costs of providing new, as well as maintaining existing, infrastructure and services is the infamous Act 388 of 2006, which was vigorously supported by our county legislative delegation.

Much of the blame for any shortage of police officers, fire and emergency services, roads and other infrastructure lies directly at the feet of those we have been sending to Columbia over the years.

However, by looking to effect changes in the impact fee law, Horry County Council is also being shortsighted.

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Horry County Treasurer Angie Jones Lawsuit Raises Questions About County Budget

A lawsuit filed by Horry County Treasurer Angie Jones against Horry County Government earlier this week raises questions about the county budget and the process used to establish it.

In her complaint, Jones claims the county government is not meeting its constitutional responsibility to adequately fund and staff her department.

As a result, Jones says her department is short of personnel necessitating closing of satellite offices for periods of time during the workday, thereby inhibiting the amount and timeliness of service provided by the department to the public.

Jones was elected to office in November 2016, but was not sworn in until the beginning of the current fiscal year on July 1, 2017, in accordance with state law.

During the interim period between election and swearing in, Jones says she was not allowed by county council to take part in the budget process for the current fiscal year, even though she knew additional personnel were needed in the department.

During an interview on “Talking Politics”, a television show co-hosted by John Bonsignor and this writer, Jones said she approached the county administration committee to request funds to hire another administrative assistant to help alleviate the shortages in satellite offices.

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Happy Thanksgiving Everyone

We wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving as we all pause to reflect on the blessings we have had over the past year.

A few quotes to reflect upon on this day:

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy

“Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.” William Shakespeare

“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue but the parent of all the other virtues.” Cicero

“If we cannot help the many who are poor, we cannot save the few who are rich,” John Fitzgerald Kennedy

As a teenager and young man, I lived through the changes of the ’60’s and ’70’s – Civil Rights movement, Vietnam and Watergate especially.

For the entire decade of the 1970’s, I served on active duty in the U.S. Navy, seven of those years overseas. Viewing America from afar and listening to the views and opinions of citizens of foreign countries about what was going on at home provided a perspective I have always appreciated.

America renews itself periodically with change. I hope, in the New Year, we can see such a renewal again.

Last year we elected Donald Trump as President. To say he has been a huge disappointment to me is an understatement. Maybe he will get the idea he is supposed to lead the country instead of attempting to cause a stir on Twitter.

To those of you who still support him, good luck to you. Through our first 44 presidents, we have elected some liars, lemons and losers, but we never elected a tyrant. I hope I can still say that when 45 is done.

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Judge Orders Discovery in Skydive Myrtle Beach Owner Lawsuit

A federal magistrate judge has ordered discovery to go forward in a lawsuit brought by Aaron Holly against Horry County, Horry County Department of Airports (HCDA), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Robinson Aviation, the operator of the control tower at Grand Strand Airport.

Holly claims conspiracy among the defendants to deprive him of his Constitutional rights with respect to 14th Amendment protections and for interference with his business, Skydive Myrtle Beach (SDMB), and contractual ties between SDMB and HCDA in order to illegally shutdown SDMB.

A short historical perspective on the relationship between Horry County Department of Airports and Skydive Myrtle Beach follows:

Skydive Myrtle Beach is a tandem skydiving business owned and operated by armed services veterans.

It began operating its business in Horry County in 2012 after signing an eight year lease with Ramp 66, the county’s general aviation operator of Grand Strand Airport at that time.

After Horry County government bought out Ramp 66 in 2013, it appears that concentrated efforts were made by HCDA to close down the operations of Skydive Myrtle Beach.

Tandem skydiving is a recognized and approved use of publicly supported airport facilities by the Federal Aviation Administration.

It is illegal for an airport that accepts publicly funded grants to discriminate against one type of approved aviation activity, say helicopter operations, over another – tandem skydiving.

The only excuse allowed by the FAA for shutting down approved aviation operations is that those operations contribute to an unsafe environment at the airport.

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Ed Carey Endorses Brenda Bethune in Runoff

Though the final outcome of my campaign for Mayor last Tuesday didn’t result inmy election, I am forever grateful for the experience and want to extend a sincere “thank you” to all of you who supported me. I am very proud of the effort we expended. The lessons I learned, the people I met, the issues I advanced and the incredibly close 3rd place finish I achieved made the entire experience well worth the effort.

To those of you who supported one of the other candidates, thank you too for caring enough about the future of our community to make the effort to vote last week. I hope our campaign made a positive contribution in encouraging you to get involved and make the effort to vote.

While I truly believe that the success of our city depends on our residents coming together as one, I also believe that our strength is derived from our neighborhoods and communities and the unique characteristics of each.

During the campaign, I had the opportunity to interact and meet each of the other candidates running. I listened to each of their answers during our debates and forums. I watched each of them interact with voters who had questions and input. I saw how each of them dealt with contentious issues in high-pressure situations. The reason for my post to you today is to personally inform you that after factoring in all of those things, I have decided to endorse Brenda Bethune in the runoff election next Tuesday, November 21st.

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Happy Veterans Day

The following poem is my favorite salute to veterans on Veterans Day. It says everything necessary of the role veterans have played in our society.

To all my fellow veterans, I want to wish a Happy Veterans Day. Since the guns silenced on November 11, 1918, ostensibly ending the ‘war to end all wars’, many of us have served during wartime.

We solemnly remember and honor those who did not make it home and salute the many who did.

It is the Veteran

Author: Anonymous

It is the Veteran, not the preacher, who has given us freedom of religion.
It is the Veteran, not the reporter, who has given us freedom of the press.
It is the Veteran, not the poet, who has given us freedom of speech.
It is the Veteran, not the campus organizer, who has given us freedom to assemble.
It is the Veteran, not the lawyer, who has given us the right to a fair trial.
It is the Veteran, not the politician, who has given us the right to vote.
It is the Veteran, who salutes the Flag,
It is the Veteran, who serves under the Flag,
To be buried by the flag,
So the protester can burn the flag.

The following locations will host Veterans Day services along the Grand Strand:

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Fake News Dominates Close of Myrtle Beach Election Campaign

For a man who has screamed “fake news” at media he doesn’t like, John Rhodes, his campaign and the fake organizations supporting him and the other incumbents are certainly filled with fake news as the end nears.

That’s no real surprise. Hypocrisy is always a mainstay in South Carolina politics.

We have a fake organization, “South Carolina  Industry Project”, sending out mailers supporting the tourism development fee (TDF.)

I suppose Citizens for Conservative Values, active in the 2013 and 2015 campaigns, outlived its usefulness after its recent mailings in support of Tim McGinnis considering all the verbal acrobatics (fake news) McGinnis went through to distance himself from knowledge of them.

One of those mailers asks “What do Geico, Go Daddy and Myrtle Beach have in common?”

I would say nothing.

Geico and Go Daddy are private corporations, Myrtle Beach is a public incorporated city. Geico and Go Daddy use earned revenue to advertise their products and services to potential buyers.

Myrtle Beach uses public tax dollars from a specially created sales tax to fund advertising for some member businesses of the Myrtle Beach Area of Commerce so those businesses do not have to spend revenue on advertising.

Geico and Go Daddy are businesses spending advertising dollars in the exercise of free market capitalism. Myrtle Beach gives the Chamber public dollars to use for advertising in a form of corporate welfare.

That’s what happens when you have a plutocracy rather than a democracy as your form of government!

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