Tag: horry county government

Pay to Play Bad Idea in Horry County

The more I think about Horry County Fire Chief Fred Crosby’s proposal regarding private medical transport services, the more astounded I become.

In a proposal to the Horry County Public Safety Committee last week, Crosby advocated forcing private medical transport services operating in the county to enter into franchise agreements with Horry County, pay over $1,000 each for the privilege and be on call to supplement county EMS services as needed.

The franchise payment would be in addition to county business license fees and, according to Crosby’s proposal, the medical transport ambulance services wouldn’t get business licenses if they didn’t sign the franchise agreement.

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New Incentives for AvCraft?

A recent local media report said Horry County officials are working with officials of AvCraft Technical Services to attempt to structure a new incentives deal for the company.

AvCraft admits it can’t meet the goal of 150 new jobs it agreed to approximately three years ago when it received its current economic development incentive package from Horry County.

And this is not the first time. AvCraft has failed to meet promises. It never produced the 400 jobs it promised when it received its first incentive package from the county in 2004. After new ownership bought the company out of bankruptcy in 2009, it did not produce 50 jobs promised.

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HCSWA Bylaws Topic of Workshop

The HCSWA (Horry County Solid Waste Authority) Board of Directors spent several hours Thursday in a workshop to finalize changes to the agency’s bylaws.

One topic of discussion was how the dissolution of the authority will be handled, if it occurs. Actually, it’s not the board’s call.

Don’t you remember that county council recently passed an ordinance covering just that very situation?

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Crunch Time on Horry County Budget – Updated

Third reading of the Fiscal Year 2014-15 Horry County budget could provide some interesting viewing at tonight’s meeting of Horry County Council.

Central to the discussions will be a new funding agreement with Coast RTA, which will tighten council control over the money it provides Coast RTA, but not nearly to the extent that was called “overreaching” by several council members earlier this month.

Also of concern to some council members is the “hidden tax increase” included in the millage rollup associated with last year’s reassessment of property values throughout the county.
Property values showed a net decline due to the housing bubble bust several years ago and a slight increase in millage was needed to balance next year’s county budget.

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Horry County Government vs. Strip Clubs

Once again yielding to its ‘grow big government instincts,’ Horry County government is preparing to launch an attack on strip clubs with an apparent goal of shutting the clubs down throughout the county.

The initiative is not coming from county council even though several members are now attempting to wrap themselves in a morals protection flag. This is a county government staff driven initiative as a panic reaction to a current suit in federal court.

The current county ordinance governing adult entertainment businesses is expected to be struck down as unconstitutional in federal court in the near future.

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Expanding Horry County Inc.

Horry County will insert itself more firmly in the private business sector when it passes three resolutions at tonight’s council meeting.

One resolution guarantees revenue to Canadian airline WestJet that will begin service to Myrtle Beach International. The second approves the Horry County Department of Airports purchasing the assets of Ramp 66 at the North Myrtle Beach airport and becoming the new fixed base operator there.

The third resolution directs the administrator to explore any and all legal recourse, which may be available to the county, if and when the S.C. General Assembly passes legislation making the Horry County Solid Waste Authority’s solid waste flow control monopoly illegal.

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A Call for Political Activism

The need for political activism at the local level is a constant one in my opinion. Our governments, at all levels, are only as good as we demand them to be.

Too often, citizens get hyped up about certain issues, often by outside organizations, as we approach the two-year general election mark. These organizations, backed by big budgets, promote their viewpoint on issues they care about, usually for various selfish benefits.

These issues may be important, but they pale in comparison to the many issues on the local level that pass by, almost unnoticed, on a monthly basis.

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MBIA

A Lesson in Government Folly

It was interesting to note, earlier this week, a media story that passenger arrivals at Myrtle Beach International Airport were down approximately 13 percent for the current year. The downturn in passenger numbers occurs while the airport is in the midst of an approximately $120 million expansion of its terminal facilities.

Horry County Council member Carl Schwartzkopf called me up to ask if I had read the story and asked my reaction.

I told him my reaction was limited to four words, “I told you so.”

The reason for the conversation is Schwartzkopf was elected to council in a special election in district 8 in late 2003 to fill the unexpired term of member Liz Gilland after Gilland was elected council chairman in a special election earlier in the year.

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Our Shadow Quasi-Governments

Government waste, sacred cows, special interests are all topics of almost constant conversation among the taxpaying public especially in difficult economic times as we have now.

Everybody has an opinion on where public money is wasted. Citizens can quickly point out how they, their neighborhood or their community needs are being ignored while someone else’s are being favored.

And everybody has a concept of what we call special interests working behind the scenes to get favorable treatment at the expense of the general public.

But what do we really know about what we suspect is happening?

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Rankin Stops Flow Control Ban

Horry County Sen. Luke Rankin (R-Dist 33) performed well for his friends and contributors in the last month of the recent legislative session by holding off Senate passage of a bill that would have eliminated a government monopoly on garbage disposal in Horry County.

Called the “Business Freedom to Choose Act”, Rankin worked hard on the Senate floor to keep the bill from receiving passage in the final month of the legislative session. As a result of his work, the Horry County Solid Waste Authority will continue to monopolize garbage disposal at the expense of businesses and municipalities.

The irony in Rankin’s actions was open for all to see when he spoke against efforts by poor, rural communities to amend a telecommunications bill. The amendment would have provided some type of incentive to extend broadband communications coverage into currently unserved areas, probably through small cooperatives.

Rankin said, “We want to instill competition in the state and do not want to provide advantage for a tax subsidized provider. If you’re going to compete, you cannot do it at a subsidized rate.”

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