Tag: Horry County Council

Stop the Horry County Council Tax Increase

The tax increase FY 2016 budget of Horry County Council remains a major topic of conversation throughout the county.

Council will vote on third reading of what could be the largest Horry County tax increase in a generation at its regular meeting Tuesday June 16, 2015.

Why it all became necessary within the last month is the real story.

During both the fall and spring budget retreats of Horry County Council, as well as first reading of the budget, the discussion was of a balanced budget with no tax increase.

Then, council voted a new contract for county administrator Chris Eldridge with annual pay increases of $10,000 and a six month severance package. The only thing Eldridge is guaranteed is the severance package as council can vote to terminate him at any time, but, if he remains for several years, he will receive annual increases of $10,000.

Upset at the possible pay increases for Eldridge, the county employees, especially those in public safety departments, began an organized campaign of calling council members to complain.

A majority of Horry County Council members were intimidated enough to completely restructure the budget to include somewhere in excess of $4 million for a pay increase for all county employees. (The county has still not answered our request for the total amount being dedicated to the pay increase.)

To mask their intimidation, those council members supporting the tax increase have verbalized things like a shrinking excess reserve fund and the need to better pay public safety employees as their justification for the tax increase.

But, nothing has really changed from first reading of the budget. No tax increase is needed this year. And nothing in the budget increase will pay for new HCPD patrol officers meaning no reduction in response times or increased community policing will result from this massive increase.

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Horry County Council District 6 Forum

The South Strand Republican Club hosted a candidate forum Tuesday night for those seeking the Horry County Council District 6 Republican special primary nomination.

As has been the norm over six forums held throughout the district during this special election campaign, five candidates, Blaine Garren, Ric Coates, Chris Stephens, Cary Rowell and Kirk Hanna, showed up.

The sixth (alleged) candidate in the race, Cam Crawford, remained conspicuous by his absence from any forum where he would have to answer questions and engage in debate with the other candidates in the race.

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Group Opposes Horry County Council on Taxes

The Republican Liberty Caucus is circulating a petition opposing the proposed Horry County Council 7.2 mil tax increase.

According to the information we have received, the petition will be presented to Horry County Council members prior to third reading of the FY 2016 budget scheduled for council’s June 16, 2015 regular meeting.

This is the type of taxpayer involvement in the budget process that is needed to let Horry County Council members know their spendthrift ways are being watched.

The petition makes a solid case in noting that this is not the time for a tax increase for county businesses and residents since Horry County still has 7.7% unemployed. Raising taxes will not stimulate the economy to, hopefully, create new jobs.

Regardless of what has been publicized about diminishing county excess reserves and public safety needs, this tax increase is all about giving an across the board pay increase to all county employees.

According to the county’s briefing documents, a total of nearly $3 million additional dollars will be added to the county general fund to pay the 1,631 county employees paid from the general fund.

This group already earns $57,177 in pay and benefits per year on the average with a total of at least 34 paid days off each year.

The county has not responded to a request to provide the numbers on the total additional dollars that will be spent on the pay increase. Approximately 600 county employees are paid from funds other than the general fund.

Therefore, the amount of tax dollars expended on pay increases will be significantly more than the nearly $3 million already documented.

The $57,177 average salary and benefits package for county employees is far greater than private sector employees in Horry County receive in average pay and benefits – $44,779 according to the petition.

Why should those who earn less on average (private sector) get taxed more to fund a pay increase for those who already earn more on average (public sector)?

Something about that just doesn’t pass the smell test.

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Bureaucracy to prevail at expense of the taxpayer

SC General Assembly Fails Local Government

It can be argued that the SC General Assembly is at least partially responsible for a large tax increase being considered in Horry County.

There is something called the Local Government Fund that is mandated by state law. It evolved from a group of taxes due to cities and counties collected by the state government.

To simplify the return of this money, the SC General Assembly, in 1991, passed a law that states 4.5 percent of the previous fiscal year’s general fund revenue must be divided between counties (83.3%) and cities (16.7%) based on population.

This Local Government Fund may not be cut below the 4.5% level without separate and specific legislation being passed.

In many years at least since 2000, the SC General Assembly passed an annual legislative exception (separate and specific legislation) to the 4.5% required Local Government Fund.

Why?

Because a significant number of members in both houses of the SC General Assembly hate local government and would like to see Home Rule done away with.

Since the passage of Act 388 of 2006, the SC General Assembly has directly interfered with local governments’ ability to fund local services and has used the annual exceptions to LGF amounts to continue to further restrict local government revenues.

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Horry County Council Tax Explosion

Horry County Council is spending your tax dollars like a bunch of drunken sailors making a port call.

The council voted 6-5 to amend the FY 2016 budget to include a countywide tax increase of 7.2 mils for the general fund, to increase the business license fees and to raise the road fee to $50 for every vehicle registered in the county.

Council chairman Mark Lazarus was joined by council members Al Allen, Bill Howard, Johnny Vaught, Gary Loftus, and James Frazier in voting yes for the tax increase.

This is an increase of 20% on general fund operating millage and 67% on the vehicle road fee. The increase of 7.2 mils for the general fund is the maximum limit allowed by state law or council probably would have gone higher.

This comes on top of a 6 mil tax increase (50%) for the fire fund in all the unincorporated areas of the county approved two years ago.

And not that many years before, council added 3 mils (100%) to the waste recycling fee in the unincorporated areas of the county.

It used to be if you lived in the city you could expect fairly routine tax increases, albeit for a higher level of services. Now, that holds true for tax increases in the unincorporated areas of Horry County just not for the level of services.

To paraphrase former Republican senator Everett Dirksen, a few mils here, a few mils there, pretty soon it adds up to real money.

Of course, Dirksen was speaking against federal tax and spend programs.

In Horry County, it’s the Republicans who have proudly become the tax and spend party.

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Horry County Tax Increase Not for Public Safety

The proposed Horry County tax increase being considered by Horry County Council will not provide much benefit to public safety services.

This is contrary to what has been publicized about it – a tax increase for public safety.

The proposal does include adding seven new detectives, only four of which will serve the county directly. No new patrol officers will be added, according to information provided to Horry County Council members at last Wednesday’s budget workshop.

According to county officials, 63% of the county’s general fund budget is spent on the Department of Public Safety. Since 2006, the Department of Public Safety has absorbed the bulk of the increase in the budget.

In that sense and that sense only, the proposed 7.2 mil tax increase can be considered a public safety increase.

However, as council member Harold Worley said at last week’s Horry County Council budget workshop, not one penny of the tax increase will go toward putting one extra officer on the street. Response times will not go down nor will community policing increase because of the tax increase.

The tax increase is really a response by Horry County Council to widespread discontent among county employees with respect to the new four year contract, including $10,000 per year pay increases, approved recently for Horry County Administrator Chris Eldridge.

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Obesity Problem

Horry County Tax Increase Unjustified

The tax increase being discussed by Horry County Council appears much less necessary than those council members supporting it would have us believe.

The proposed 7.2 mil increase for the general fund budget is being billed as a public safety increase.

It is not.

Included in the 7.2 mil tax increase is an across the board pay raise of at least 3% for all county employees.

While it is nice for any employee to get a pay raise, the question must be asked is it fair and equitable to charge county taxpayers extra taxes to satisfy county employees’ desire for a pay raise?

Council member Harold Worley spoke on the central issue of this question during Wednesday’s county council budget workshop.

“The people of Horry County are not making this type of money,” Worley said.

What Worley was referring to was the average pay scale for Horry County private sector employees.

According to Horry County budget documents, with the tax increase included, the county would pay $93.256 million for personal services to its employees in next year’s budget. Personal services are pay and benefits for employees.

According to the same statistics, the county has 1,631 employees paid out of general fund revenue.

These statistics equate to an average of $57,177 per employee in pay and benefits in next year’s budget.

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Horry County Council Tax Increase Moves Forward

Horry County Council will be discussing a 7.2 mil tax increase for the county’s general fund budget at its regular meeting next week.

The 7.2 mil increase equates to a 20% rise in taxes for the county’s general fund budget and $13.5 million in additional revenue.

After hearing a presentation from county staff about why the increase is needed and how it will be applied to operating expenses, council chairman Mark Lazarus directed staff to go forward with a planned 7.2 mil tax increase for second reading of the budget.

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Horry County Council Considers Major Tax Increase

A major tax increase will be proposed at the Horry County Council budget workshop Wednesday May 27, 2015.

According to county sources familiar with the plan, taxes for the Horry County general fund budget will be proposed to increase up to 23% (8.25 mils added to the current 35.6 general fund millage).

In addition, an increase of 67% will be requested on the county road fee to bring it up to $50 per private vehicle.

The tax increase is being parsed as providing needed money for the Horry County Police Department, Sheriff’s office and Solicitor’s office with the preponderance of it going to HCPD.

But, it also includes an across the board pay increase for all county employees plus providing money for a proposed merit, incentive pay raise plan.

And it must be remembered, while the general fund tax increase will apply to all property holders in Horry County, those who live in the incorporated municipalities gain essentially no benefit from HCPD.

Taxing someone for services they don’t receive isn’t supposed to be included in conservative Republican lingo.

Just a few years ago, a tax increase of this size for the general fund budget would have never made it into Horry County Council budget discussions.

But, with one-third of the council having been replaced since 2012, the times they are a changing.

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Myrtle Beach International Airport

Horry County Airport Advisory Board Dissolution

The proposed dissolution of the Horry County Airport Advisory Board currently being considered by Horry County Council is a mistake.

This has not always been my attitude.

From the late 1990’s through approximately 2008, the board was a rubber stamp for some of the worst decisions made by Horry County Department of Airports staff.

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