Politics

Obesity Problem

Congressional Budget Conference Committee Opens

A 29 member budget conference committee opens today that will potentially address all the big spending and tax issues in Washington.

The conference committee was part of the deal that reopened government and raised the federal debt ceiling in the latest congressional standoff.

The committee is supposed to issue a report by December 13th. If that report has the support of at least half of the members of the committee from each house of Congress, the report will go to the full House and Senate for approval.

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Horry County Council Budget Uncertainty

Horry County Council will conduct its annual fall budget retreat next week among uncertainty about how much revenue the county will collect from property taxes in the coming fiscal year.

This is a budget reassessment year with all indications that property in the county will have a lower assessed value than it did five years ago, the result of the bursting of the housing bubble five years ago.

Some oceanfront property is known to have sold as much as 70 percent lower in the past few years as the result of distressed sales.

The state’s Act 388 of 2007 made the point of sale price the determining factor in new assessed values on property. Lower sales prices mean lower assessed values on which taxes are calculated.

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Horry County's Accommodations Tax

The Problems With Public Nonprofit Authorities

Why is it that public nonprofit authorities think they are an entity unto themselves?

Created by government act, they soon seem to forget that the whole purpose of their existence is to serve the citizens of the political sub-division that created them.

But, among other benefits, they sure love taking part in the public funded health insurance and retirement plans. No Obamacare worries for them!

The Nerve recently did a great article on the S.C. Research Authority and its ‘public nonprofit’ attitude “which views itself as public when it’s convenient and private when it comes to accountability.”

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Election Confusion in Atlantic Beach

It looks like the Town of Atlantic Beach is trying to outdo itself in the upcoming municipal elections for town council.

The best show in town, with a 2010 listed population of 334 and maybe 100 or so registered voters, is election follies.

The S.C. Supreme Court anyone who has been resident in Horry County for a few years knows Atlantic Beach elections occur in the theater of the absurd. Election challenges on ridiculous premises routinely make it all the way to the Supreme Court before they are settled.

This year the show will be better than ever. This year Atlantic Beach has two elections with two different municipal election commissions, one presiding over each.

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The I-73 Contradiction

Gov. Nikki Haley was in Horry County Monday pumping the benefits of the I-73 project and her re-election campaign.

Speaking to the Coastal Carolina Association of Realtors, Haley said I-73 is hugely important for this area.

It’s so important she said someone else would have to pay for it because the state wasn’t about to.

And that is the crux of the I-73 contradiction.

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The HCSWA and Its Tangled Web

The Horry County Solid Waste Authority (HCSWA) will have another day in court as the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in an appeal by William Clyburn, former owner of Sandlands C&D LLC and Express Disposal.

The arguments are scheduled for October 31, 2013 in Richmond. Clyburn will be attempting to overturn the district court decision that upheld the county’s waste stream flow control ordinance that established a monopoly in garbage disposal for the HCSWA, seriously hurting Clyburn’s businesses.

For the hearing, the HCSWA will be claiming it is a non-profit corporation. As HCSWA Executive Director Danny Knight said in an I&R meeting two months ago, “in court we’re not the county.”

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Strip Clubs and Helicopters – Update

Strip clubs and helicopters, two of the issues that have been high on the county’s agenda for the last couple of months are far from being settled.

The Gold Club working to open its second location, Gold Club II, at the former location of the Doll House on restaurant row, received a letter of zoning compliance for the new location October 1. The compliance is for a restaurant/nightclub.

The letter from the county specifically states that “an adult entertainment establishment is prohibited at this location.”

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State Agrees to Addition at State Farmers Market

Another perfect example of your taxpayer dollars at work occurred Wednesday when the state Joint Bond Review Committee approved purchase of 9.83 additional acres at the state farmers market in Lexington County.

The purchase needs final approval from the state Budget and Control Board.

The farmers market purchase has been an issue for two years. Initially the expansion of the farmers market was projected to be as high as $16.3 million. In 2012, Rep. Ralph Norman, a developer from York County, challenged the assessment and conclusions that went with that price.

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John Weaver Running for County Council?

Several reliable sources have recently mentioned that former county administrator and county attorney John Weaver is considering a run against incumbent Paul Price for the Horry County District 5 seat.

Weaver left his final position as county administrator after a majority of council refused to extend his contract and encouraged him to leave five months before the expiration date of the contract.

It would be extremely interesting to see Weaver enter the political spotlight considering some of his past positions on important county issues.

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Tea Party Posturing and Government Default

I think I finally understand the mindset of the Tea Party Republicans in the House who don’t seem to be worried about a default by the U.S. on its obligations if the government’s debt ceiling isn’t raised today.

The Tea Party group loves to talk about low taxes, limited government and going back to the historical roots of the Constitution.

After we formed our new government in 1789 and became the United States of America, at least in name, we immediately defaulted on the debts left over from the Revolutionary War. Of course, those same debts had been defaulted on many times before, but that was under the Articles of Confederation.

Yeah, we just delayed the payment of interest on the debt until 1803 because we were the United States now.

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