North Myrtle Beach Times Serving our Community and the Grand Strand for over 50 years
By Ruben Lowman
Horry County councilmembers have officially enacted a record-breaking $1.019 billion budget for the fiscal year 2027.
Passing in an 11-1 vote at their most recent meeting on May 19, the budget represents a staggering increase from the previous year’s $869.9 million blueprint, while holding the baseline property tax rate flat at 52.1 mills.
To offset rising operational costs, the county is instead implementing targeted fee increases for emergency medical services, code enforcement and planning and zoning actions.
The sprawling fiscal package simultaneously funds a four percent across-the-board cost-of-living raise for its 3,441 county employees, adds 49 new public staffing positions heavily tilted toward public safety, approves a localized $7 million capital injection for Little River infrastructure improvements on the waterfront, and raises unreimbursable expense stipends for councilmembers starting in January 2027.
The defining policy maneuver of the budget ordinance is an amendment that completely halts the long-debated expansion of the county’s primary landfill facility along Highway 90.
To preserve local topography, councilmembers stripped $300,000 from the Horry County Solid Waste Authority’s (HCSWA) engineering budget, effectively shelving a federal U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit application that sought permission to clear and fill over 100 acres of critical wetlands adjacent to Steritt Swamp.
Environmental consultants warned that any local physical expansion would inevitably degrade the county’s natural hydrological defenses. Backed publicly by environmental advocacy groups like the South Carolina Environmental Law Project, the county’s leadership opted to permanently redirect those funds to finance an immediate feasibility study exploring regional waste alternatives.
Under the newly mandated guidelines, the HCSWA is forced to pivot toward structural waste-diversion strategies.
The reallocated $300,000 will be used to design a specialized Construction and Demolition transfer station and evaluate the utilization of commercial rail transportation networks to haul bulk waste entirely out of the county.
The legislation imposes a strict statutory deadline commanding the authority to finalize a plan to relocate all commercial debris disposal outside of Horry County boundaries no later than June 30, 2028.
To ensure heightened transparency during this multi-year transition, the agency must submit mandatory quarterly progress updates regarding water quality testing and local garbage infrastructure, alongside a comprehensive framework for county-wide mandatory recycling.
