Atlantic Beach moves forward on budget, discusses police staffing

Atlantic Beach council members decided Monday night to approve an agenda to start work on the 2008 through 2009 budget, but a final budget approval won’t come until August.

The town risked a shut down of the town’s government if members couldn’t agree on the extension of the budget process before the state’s July 1st deadline for municipalities to approve budgets for the 2008 through 2009 fiscal year.

Interim town manager Charles Williams told citizens gathered at the meeting there are, “Very pressing matters facing the town and I hope they will want to address them.”

“If they can pass a budget, then they can function,” Williams told the gathering.

Part of the shut down would have includes shutting down the town’s police department, but the county would provide emergency service if that happened, Williams said.

The town owes Horry County money, but Williams said the county has continued to provide emergency services to Atlantic Beach even with the outstanding debts.

Williams’ comments came after council members Retha Pierce and Donnell Thompson asked for votes to fire Williams at the last two council meetings this month.

Thompson and Pierce asked for Williams to begin advertising for the town manager’s position starting Tuesday.

All members agreed to the search for a permanent town manager, the first sign of unity from town council in the past three meetings.

State law requires municipalities to approve budgets by the July 1st deadline, or risk lawsuits from taxpayers for spending money without approval, according to state officials.

Members were to set a first reading of the proposed budget on June 3, but that meeting ended with members refusing to agree on the agenda, then cancelling the meeting that night.

The town set a special meeting to again work on budget issues last week, but that meeting quickly deteriorated after members went into executive session to discuss a town employee’s job promotion.

Pierce and Thompson called for an investigation into the matter.

Pierce accused Williams of promoting the employee with a pay raise in 2005 without authorization of the council.

Williams told News13 following the meeting that the promotion was made after he left the town and that a former town official signed the documents related to the promotion and that Pierce, “Has her facts wrong,” Williams said.

Williams works for the Municipal Association of South Carolina and is serving as interim town manager after the former manager and mayor were suspended after being indicted in March.

The town signed a contract with the MASC in March, following the suspensions, that runs through January 2009.

Williams and the MASC took charge of the town’s finances in March after the town fell more than $600,000 in debt.

Williams said the town has paid back nearly half of the $600,000 debts; much of the money was owed to small businesses in Horry County.

Williams said the town still has around $100,000 in legal matters and debts owed to the state.

A major issue confronting council members is a decision to continue funding the town’s 5-member police force or to contract the town’s police services out to North Myrtle Beach or Horry County police.

Williams said he spoke with NMB officials about the idea and how it would work in Atlantic Beach, but said the town could not afford to have Horry County police patrol the area because of the costs.

Williams said NMB police would provide police service in the town for around $250,000 a year and would allow the town access to NMB police’s narcotics unit, detective unit, property crimes division, among other law enforcement services the city uses.

The price tag to fully fund a 9 member police force in Atlantic Beach would run more than $500,000, according to a report released by Atlantic Beach police chief, Randy Rizzo.

Right now, the town currently employs a 5 member force, which the town estimates costs taxpayers there around $260,000, according to town records.

The town hasn’t held a jury trial in six years and now has to refund bonds posted in the town since 2002 because none of the officers who brought the charges are with the police department, Williams said.

The town has to refund all money posted for bond within those years, and Williams said he doesn’t have any idea how much money that is because all of the money was used to fund other expenses in the town with previous administrations, Williams told News13.

The council approved a motion, with councilman Thompson voting ‘no,’ that would allow Williams to refund all money posted on bonds where defendants charged with crimes in the town, who asked for jury trials, be refunded.

Atlantic Beach currently owes the state between $100,000 and $150,000 in fines and assessments to the state’s treasurer’s office related to the town’s court accounts.

The state refuses to forgive the debt, but would consider a payment plan, according to Williams.

The issue concerning the town’s contested mayoral election also came up with Williams’ informing council that he asked the town’s election commission lawyer to speed up the appeal of the mayoral election.

Council plans to meet on July 7 for a first reading of the budget at its regular session.