Tag: Tea Party

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 Tax Increase

As Horry County Council continues talks on next fiscal year’s budget, a large increase in county taxes will be part of the deliberations.

According to county sources familiar with budget planning, a tax increase of approximately 6.3 mills for the county’s general operating fund is being considered by Horry County Council.

The plan amounts to a 17.7% increase in county tax millage for the general operating fund, which is expected to bring in an additional $13-$15 million in new tax revenue.

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Texas Primary Good Omen for Lindsey Graham

If the Texas primaries are any indicator, Sen. Lindsey Graham will have little trouble holding onto his Senate seat despite Tea Party opposition.

In the home state of the Koch brothers and despite help from Sarah Palin and the father of Sen. Ted Cruz, Tea Party challenges to targeted incumbents fell flat yesterday.

John Cornyn, the number 2 ranking Republican in the Senate, was chastised by the Tea Party for not standing with fellow Texas senator Ted Cruz in the federal government shutdown and budget showdown.

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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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Obesity Problem

The Beaufort County Obesity Problem

URGENT – ACTION NEEDED MONDAY, JUNE 10TH

** We need to pack the meeting tomorrow!

The County Council meeting tomorrow, Monday, June 10 at 5pm in the County Council Chambers, Ribaut Street.

On the Agenda are THREE, Yes, THREE tax increases.
1% Sales Tax – Ballot Referendum
Property Tax Roll Forward – Part of the New Budget being voted on
4.86% Property Tax Millage Rate Increase – Part of the New Budget being voted on

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Residents to Horry County – “Raise Our Taxes”

Faced with the possibility of a 3.5 mill tax increase, for those living in the unincorporated areas of Horry County, residents descended on county council chambers last night to beg for an almost double tax increase than was initially proposed.

Speaker after speaker came to the microphone, during public input on the county’s budget deliberations, to beg for higher taxes, higher even than the politicians were considering.

When the issue was settled, council voted 7-5 to raise taxes by 6 mills in the unincorporated areas of the county to fund improvements in fire services, mostly in the rural western part of the county.

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IRS Story Unravels; Liberty Lost

IRS Story Unravels; Liberty Lost

The initial story from the IRS regarding alleged targeting of conservative groups has fallen apart. These actions go well beyond one or several low level employees acting on their own.

According to a report from the IRS Inspector General’s office, senior officials at the IRS knew about the targeting of conservative groups for over a year without doing anything about it.

Every new revelation makes this whole caper seem more and more politically motivated regardless of what the Obama administration says.

Yesterday we heard that at least one organization in South Carolina, the Laurens County Tea Party, was one of the many organizations having problems with the IRS. The group applied for tax-exempt status in 2010 and still has received no answer.

Yesterday we also heard that the Justice Department had begun an investigation into the actions of the IRS. This would be the same Justice Department that performed warrantless searches on the phone records of several reporters at the Associated Press.

If government officials don’t respect the laws of the United States and the provisions of the Constitution, who will?

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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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Consider the Source

I write to you today regarding a situation that I believe must be brought to your attention and for you to consider the source. Last week I received an interesting survey that was delivered to my State House office. This “survey” entitled “GREENVILLE TEA PARTY VETO SCORECARD 2012” was sent to every House and Senate member. While it looks real fancy with its red and green marks to indicate how our Representatives “voted,” there is at least one huge flaw…They included me in the survey – displaying 74 votes that I supposedly made. As many of you remember, I was elected to the SC House of Representatives on July 24th of last year, which was after the SC House took their votes on the Governor’s vetoes. I did not make one single vote during last year’s legislative session since I was elected after the session had adjourned.

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Tim Scott Deal Cut Early?

Several inside sources have told us that a deal was cut between Sen. Jim DeMint and Gov. Nikki Haley to name Rep. Tim Scott as DeMint’s Senate replacement weeks before DeMint announced his resignation.

This tracks with events since DeMint’s announcement. Scott’s was the first name heard as a possible replacement. Scott is, reportedly, the choice of Republican leaders at the state and national level because of his conservative credentials and the fact that he could give an immediate, high-profile minority visage to a party that desperately needs one.

Several candidates, eager to replace Scott in the 1st Congressional District, are already sounding out supporters in preparation for a special election.

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