The Opinion Blog

Harbor Funds Should Go to Harbors

Should federal money collected for harbor maintenance be used to pay for harbor maintenance? We sure think so:

As much as pundits and politicians might like to say otherwise, there is almost nothing clear-cut or straightforward about our nation’s spending problems. Managing a nation of more than 300 million people with a federal budget now approaching $4 trillion a year is a monumental task of nuance, judgment calls and hard decisions.

But sometimes the intent of government budgeting seems so heart-breakingly simple that it’s just all the more frustrating when that intent is ignored.

Rec Fund Oversight Lacking

Sunday’s editorial is the second part of our two-day series on county recreation fund spending:

With $20,000 a year each in taxpayer money to spend at their leisure, we’d expect Horry County Council members to adhere to the strictest guidelines for doling out that cash, ensuring that tax funds aren’t being wasted or used improperly. Instead, council members have done little to keep tabs on how large portions of the money is spent, never question each other’s spending and regularly ignore even their own rules on how such funding should be distributed.

The issue is the county’s district recreation funds, a relatively obscure part of the county’s spending process that gives each council member a pot of money to spend at the beginning of each fiscal year. The councilmen are then charged with spending that money on whatever projects they think will best fulfill the mission of community recreation in their district.

Ditch the Pledges

Friday’s first editorial urges our politicians to stop signing those silly pledges:

Call us old fashioned, but we like political leaders who can make their own decisions.

Accordingly, we’ve never been a fan of political pledges such as the anti-tax promise promulgated by Grover Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform. It’s not that we’re a fan of taxes. If our leaders can figure out how to pay for our government work without raising taxes, bully for them. But that simply won’t be the case from here until eternity, all day every day. Populations change. The economy changes. Needs change.

Bad Business at the Post Office



Should the Postal Service favor one giant new customer over hundreds of well-established ones that have been paying the agency for years? We don’t think so:

The woes of the U.S. Postal Service have been well documented. As consumers continue to use the service less and competitors move in on the most profitable sections of its business, the agency faces losses expected to reach $14 billion this year. In response, the agency is casting about for any bucket it can find to help bail out its sinking ship.

Part of that response includes closing the mail processing center in Florence, where our local mail has been handled. One of 232 processing centers across the nation that will be closed over the next three years, the Postal Service expects closing the Florence facility will save it $3.8 million a year. While more than 150 people work at the center, most will be offered jobs elsewhere. Nationwide, 13,000 jobs will be lost in similar facility closures.

Let the Votes Stand in Atlantic Beach



Saturday’s editorial urges the losers in Tuesday’s Atlantic Beach election to accept defeat and move on. Not that we really expect it to happen, but hope springs eternal:

Atlantic Beach’s 2003 election was not settled until mid-2005. Its 2007 election was not settled until mid-2009. Its 2009 election wasn’t settled until mid-2011. Now, despite the best efforts of the Supreme Court, Horry County and the State Election Commission, the town’s 2011 election looks to be right on course to follow the same pattern.

It’s unfortunate. It’s frustrating. It’s depressing. It’s unsurprising.

Horry's Hiring Lets in Light



Friday’s first editorial celebrates the difference this time around in the process of hiring a new county administrator, compared with the back door, closed off decision-making process on display the last time around. (At least so far.)

What a difference a few years make. In 2009, as Horry County searched for a new county administrator, the hunt was plagued by secrecy, with candidates being furtively ushered in unannounced to meetings the public was never told about. Executive sessions were held to discuss the attributes of candidates, beyond the public’s eyes and ears.

After The Sun News complained about such practices, then-County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland responded by saying the idea of informing the public during the process had just never come up. In hindsight, she said, she’s glad it didn’t, and finding the right person to oversee the county and it’s $300 million budget wasn’t something the public should be worrying about.

A Slow, Silly Exit for Viers



Thursday’s editorial:

Wanted: Empty suit willing to fill nonexistent political seat for five months.

Now that state Rep. Thad Viers has resigned from office, his final legacy is to bequeath Horry County the cost of two special elections that will determine almost nothing. It’s a ludicrous end to what had already devolved into farcical political theater.

From S.C. Taxes to AB Payouts



In the second of our three-day series on Atlantic Beach, Friday’s editorial takes a hard look at the practice of some Atlantic Beach leaders of frequently suing the town they also seek to represent – and how the cost of those suits fall back on other taxpayers. Those interested can also find links to some of the suits in question below the editorial:

“It wouldn’t float if John Rhodes sued Myrtle Beach. It wouldn’t float if Marylin Hatley sued North Myrtle Beach. It wouldn’t float if John Weaver or Steve Gosnell sued Horry County. But it floats in Atlantic Beach and nobody does anything about it.”

– Former Atlantic Beach Town Manager William Booker

The Prices likely had a pretty good Christmas this past year. In late November, Atlantic Beach Councilwoman Windy Price, the church she pastors and her husband, Darnell Price, all received settlements from lawsuits each had filed against the town. In all, the Prices were cut checks for $54,300.

Who's In Charge in Atlantic Beach?



Thursday’s editorial is the first in a series taking a hard, more in-depth look at the frustrating confusion that is Atlantic Beach:

Newcomers to the world of Atlantic Beach politics might be forgiven for thinking that they’d mistakenly wandered into Alice’s Wonderland. Rumors and innuendo fly like darts between warring political factions. Basic facts – like how much money is in the town’s coffers or whether someone lives in town – twist and transform depending on who you talk to. The good guys and the not-so-good guys are almost impossible to sort out because nearly everyone in charge has a grain of truth on their side. At the same time, no hands are entirely clean. Meanwhile, the truth shimmers tantalizingly just out of focus, but only if you don’t look too closely. Try to pin it down and like a cloud it floats away.

A Better Ballot



Sunday’s editorial is the second of our two-part series on the problems and possible fixes concerning the state’s voting machines:

Horry County voters are familiar with the frustrations of electronic voting machines. During the 2008 elections, many local voters found machines at their precincts that simply didn’t work or which acted up throughout the day. Thankfully, we didn’t see a large-scale repeat in 2010, but the problem is not a new one nor one that will likely fade away completely. Even before the voting process in 2008 annoyed many, the state persisted in using its iVotronic machines despite a 2007 report from Ohio that said the system was so unreliable that it should simply not be used for conducting elections.