Tag: Myrtle Beach City Council

Myrtle Beach City Council Forced Annexation Problems Continue

Myrtle Beach City Council was informed at its council workshop today that the forced annexation referendum results from last week’s special election would have to be voided because of a “technicality.”

According to Myrtle Beach City Attorney Tom Ellenberg, the polling took place outside of the annexation area violating state law.

What is interesting about this is that the election notice for last week’s special election referendum specifically identified the polling places and their locations that would be used several weeks before the election was held. Why wasn’t this problem caught either before or immediately after the election notice appeared?

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Myrtle Beach City Council Wins Forced Annexation

Congratulations to Myrtle Beach City Council on its 56-24 victory in Tuesday’s forced annexation referendum.

When it comes to creative ways to get around the intent of the law, or to create a new one, Myrtle Beach City Council stands preeminent.

Attaching commercial property to a residential annexation referendum, a decision in which the commercial property owners had absolutely no say, was a brilliant coup.

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Myrtle Beach Forced Annexation Referendum Today

The vote on whether the City of Myrtle Beach will be successful in forcing at least 12 businesses into the city limits, with accompanying city taxes, will be held today.

The forced annexation of these businesses is part of an overall annexation referendum of approximately 640 acres. The initiative started with the Bridgeport community desiring annexation into the city to, hopefully, initiate road improvements.

State law prohibits forced annexation of property into city limits. One of the reasons is the additional level of taxation the properties will experience.

However, Myrtle Beach believes it has found a loophole in state law that allows the addition of commercial and undeveloped property to annexation petitions for residential property.

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Myrtle Beach City Council Misses Target With Annexation Vote

A special election referendum will hold the fate of a number of businesses along the U.S. 17 Bypass corridor as Myrtle Beach City Council tries to annex them into the city limits next week.

There is nothing about this proposed annexation that makes it seem like anything other than a land and money grab by Myrtle Beach City Council.

A nearly two year old petition was resurrected in late spring as the basis of the annexation attempt.

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Gingrich, Myrtle Beach, Oil and Interstates

Accommodations Tax Money Doesn’t Solve Myrtle Beach Policing Problems

Recent changes in state law have made as much as an additional $5 million in accommodations tax money available for law enforcement in the Myrtle Beach area for the month of May.

This money is specifically targeted at providing additional police officers from around the state, and possibly from out of state, to handle crowds during the Atlantic Beach Bikefest over Memorial Day weekend.

Obviously there was insufficient law enforcement in Myrtle Beach during this past Memorial Day weekend when crowds got out of control in the south end of the city.

But, more and better policing is needed in Myrtle Beach throughout the year.

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Where Is Myrtle Beach City Council?

It’s been four weeks since the violence that made national news erupted during the Memorial Day Atlantic Beach Bikefest and Myrtle Beach City Council remains AWOL.

With the city council missing, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce has stepped into the breach ‘considering’ a curfew and offering to pay for more police next year.

Last time I checked, those considerations come under core responsibilities of local government. They should not be suggestions made on the other side of Oak Street.

But, nature abhors a vacuum and the apparent missing status of Myrtle Beach City Council has created a political vacuum.

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Gingrich, Myrtle Beach, Oil and Interstates

Myrtle Beach Mayhem – It’s the Economy’s Fault

Myrtle Beach city officials finally got on message yesterday about the murder and mayhem that occurred in the city over Memorial Day weekend – Officially – It’s the Economy’s Fault.

The story goes, ‘because S.C. cities and counties that usually send officers to help on the Grand Strand during biker weekends are stretched tight budget wise, because of the poor economy, they couldn’t send any help this year.’

The fact that Myrtle Beach cut the $150 per diem it pays to these outside officers out of its budget for this year probably was a factor also.

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New Look for Myrtle Beach Pavilion Site?

Nearly seven years after the Myrtle Beach Pavilion Amusement Park was torn down, a proposal has surfaced to bring rides back to the nearly vacant site.

According to recent media reports, Strates Shows of Orlando, FL is working with site owner Burroughs & Chapin, Inc. to open a three month, summer season carnival on a portion of the former Pavilion property.

On the surface, bringing rides back to that traditional downtown area of the oceanfront seems like a good idea. It always seemed a bad idea that former B&C president Doug Wendel wanted to do away with the Pavilion in the first place.

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The Independent Socialist Republic of Horry

For years, Horry County prided itself on being known as the “Independent Republic,” but now that name appears to be changing to the “Independent Socialist Republic of Horry.”

The conversion began in early 2009 when Horry County government established a monopoly on solid waste disposal in the county benefitting the government established Horry County Solid Waste Authority and seriously impacting small, private waste hauling companies and their employees.

That issue is now at the state level as legislators attempt to pass the “Business Freedom to Choose Act”, which would make illegal government monopolies in the marketplace.

The act has successfully passed the S.C. House, but appears to be bogged down in the S.C. Senate.

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Tourism Development Fee Tales

The Tourism Development Fee, otherwise known as the reverse Robin Hood tourism ad sales tax, is again in the news as Myrtle Beach city and Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce officials continue to attempt to justify it.

They speak of capital improvement projects and reduced property tax for owner occupied homes in the city as well as possibilities of extending the tourism base for local business.

What we don’t hear about is how the motel and restaurant owners were able to decrease their advertising budgets in excess of 90 percent, allowing them to put more money in their pockets, while the maids, waitresses and bus boys they pay minimum wage to pay more tax.

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