Horry County Council shoots down proposed pay increase

By RUBEN LOWMAN

Horry County Council held their first of two meetings this month on Tuesday night, Jan. 10, where a majority of its members voted against increasing their own salaries.

The proposed pay raise was an approximate 25 percent overall salary increase, which if passed would have seen the fast-growing county’s councilmembers get their first increase in over 20 years.

Council voted down the raise in salary on second reading, however, by a 9-3 margin, with councilmembers Bill Howard, Gary Loftus and newly-elected Michael Masciarelli the only ones supporting the measure.

Currently, councilmembers earn $15,967 annually, with an additional $4,000 allotted for them to spend on travel, training related to their positions, equipment and meals. The chairman of the council earns $25,751 annually and also receives a $5,500 allotment for expenses.

The measure shot down by councilmembers would have seen their expense-related allotment tied into their overall pay, which would have increased to $25,000 total and just under $40,000 for the chairman.

The pay raises would have kicked in during the year, according to the ordinance.

The last time councilmembers received an increase in pay was in 1999.

The majority of the council was opposed to increasing their pay, with councilmember Dennis DiSabato saying that it wasn’t a good look for the council to be giving themselves raises at this time. Chairman Johnny Gardner said that dealing with the budget for the year and increasing the pay of first responders was the priority.

“I ran to get police officers and first responders raises, not to get me a raise,” Gardner said.
“We’ll deal with the budget, and we’ll move forward.”

Horry officials are in the midst of having to deal with a projected budget shortfall by next year, which county officials said last month may have to be covered by increasing taxes.

The quickly-burgeoning population of the county has placed an unprecedented strain on its resources and services, and economists have also predicted that there will be a mild recession this year.

The ordinance had been given approval on first reading when it initially came before council last December.

The measure stated that the proposed pay raise would “appear equitable in recognition of the valuable role” that each councilmember plays in the government of Horry County.

DiSabato also mentioned that it would not be a good idea for council to approve the increase now when they are having issues with paying to fund improvements to infrastructure and services provided by the county.

“We’re looking at having difficulties funding infrastructure and delivery of services. If we’ve got problems with that, the last thing we need to be thinking about right now is increasing our salaries,” DiSabato said.

By way of comparison, North Myrtle Beach leaders do not receive job-related expense allotment but councilmembers receive a little over $26,000, with the mayor making over $52,000.

Loris councilmembers receive just over $3,100 annually, with the mayor making just over $7,000.

Atlantic Beach councilmembers receive $4,800, with the mayor making $6,000.