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Post by freebird on Aug 28, 2009 10:52:13 GMT -6
Have no idea if it is true but if it is this will be the end of the good ole boy system here. The domino's are starting to fall. This was posted by Ellmer Fudd today.
Which local news agency is going to break the news and capture the headline "Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce raided by the Horry County Sheriff's office and computers seized"? More than 24 hours but NO local press coverage. Hmmmmm....
Sheriff and Police also seized computers from The Brittains and The Jordan Properties.
Just think, the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce is waiting on their $18 million in Ad TAX monies. Will that be misused to benefit the Brittain and Jordan Properties?
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Post by freebird on Aug 28, 2009 12:08:30 GMT -6
I have called the News Stations and they say they have been all over this but have not been able to verify this. Was also advised the Horry County Sheriff's Department would only say it is not us. While some practices of the MBACC have been questioned even by TERC it would seem to me this would be at least a State or Federal issue and not a County Issue.
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Post by freebird on Aug 28, 2009 16:26:30 GMT -6
Have been advised a similar story ran in the Sun News earlier in the week and was pulled. Anyone with credible information please write the webmaster
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Post by howardstern on Aug 28, 2009 16:34:00 GMT -6
W. T. F. !!!! MAYBE THE PARTY'S OVER!
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Post by howardstern on Aug 28, 2009 16:34:23 GMT -6
GOT MY "SNOOPERS " ON...
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Post by howardstern on Aug 28, 2009 16:44:52 GMT -6
This from the MB Herald....
State committee questions a-tax earmarks By Michael Smith The Herald
With tourism taxes flowing to quilt galas, watercolor clubs and even an executive director’s salary, a state oversight committee has been questioning whether these earmarks and others are truly “tourism related expenses.” Meantime, public records obtained by the Carolina Forest Chronicle are shedding more light on how non-profit groups are spending the taxpayer money they receive from Horry County. The latest point of contention swirls around Horry County using its share of state accommodations taxes to fund the fine arts and cultural groups. Most recently, the state’s Tourism Expenditure Review Committee (TERC) objected to the county using a-taxes to fund the full salary of Sandi Kendrick, executive director of the Horry County Cultural Arts and Cultural Council. Horry County approved the funds in the 2007-2008 budget year, according to the TERC. At its Aug. 25, 2008 meeting, the TERC voted to ask the S.C. Treasurer’s Office to withhold $27,500, or half of Kendrick’s $55,000 salary, meeting minutes show. On Jan. 23, 2009, the treasurer’s office approved the recommendation, and as of press time the money was still being withheld, according to documents obtained by the Chronicle. “We are still holding the funds awaiting further instructions from the TERC,” said Paul Jarvis, senior assistant state treasurer. Half of Kendrick’s salary was withheld because the TERC determined “the amount [of a-taxes] spent should be in direct proportion to the amount of tourists that attend the events,” the minutes show. According to Horry County budget records, the request to use a-tax funds for the director’s salary was necessary to further promote the arts, which the county says are as important to tourists as they are to locals. “Tourists are attracted to the arts in Horry County,” the county’s a-tax application says. “Currently, however, there is a gap and a lack of coordination among arts groups.” According to the records, the a-tax request for the director’s salary was for two years. Over time, the arts council said hoped to wean itself off a-taxes in successive years, with a goal of becoming self-sufficient in five years. Records also show, however, the director’s salary of $55,000 consisted of more than half the art council’s overall budget of $106,700. Another $22,000 was budgeted for rent, and $5,000 went to benefits. Only $5,000 was budgeted for marketing and PR, records show. TERC chairman Frans Mustert of Horry County said using a-taxes to pay administrative salaries and benefits is an inappropriate use. He said a-tax funds are supposed to be spent in direct proportion to the amount of tourists that attend the events. “We don’t feel like [salaries] should be an appropriate use of a-tax money,” Mustert said. “It has to be used for the direct promotion of tourism or cultural arts.”
A-tax oversight Kendrick’s salary is one of hundreds of similar cases statewide the TERC reviews each year. In recent times, the TERC has questioned numerous local earmarks, including those to the Loris Bog-Off, the Aynor Harvest Hoe Down and Little River Chamber of Commerce. Critics who think the state’s a-tax law is too weak point to these expenditures as proof positive that the current statute invites abuse. “Over the years, the law has been watered down from what we intended it for,” Mustert said. “There’s a lot of ambiguity in the statute and that ambiguity should be clarified.” Gov. Mark Sanford agrees. Speaking through a spokesman, Sanford recently told the Chronicle that Horry County’s a-tax spending trends illustrate why a review of current a-tax laws may be necessary. “The examples you give do highlight why a review of accommodations taxes would be useful,” said Sanford spokesman Joel Sawyer. Other tourism leaders, however, say many of the groups and events funded through a-tax bring in tourists who otherwise wouldn’t visit Horry County. “You’ve got to spend money to make money,” said Mark Lazarus, chairman of the Horry County A-Tax Committee. “It’s either that or raise taxes, and I don’t think anybody is in favor of raising taxes.” State law requires the first $25,000 plus 5 percent of a-tax revenues be devoted to the county’s general fund. There are no spending restrictions on this money. Only 30 percent is actually spent on direct advertising and tourism promotion. In Horry County, that worked to about $1.06 million in the 2009 budget. The remaining 65 percent ($2.46 million) went to “tourism related expenditures,” a virtual gray area that invites wasteful spending, some tourist officials say. “They [tourism related expenditures] should be more clearly defined in the statute,” Mustert said. “A-taxes should be there to totally promote tourism.”
Arts under assault Horry County divides “tourism related expenditures” into three areas. They are: public safety ($1.6 million), beach renourishment ($510,000) and non-profits ($335,273). It’s in the non-profits budget where some tourism leaders say the wasteful spending occurs. For example, in 2008 the county approved $6,985 from a-taxes for the 15th Annual Horry County Museum Quilt Gala, even though one-third of attendees were local. Horry County also approved $5,750 to the South Carolina Watercolor Society for an arts festival spanning several sites in Horry and Georgetown counties. And another $5,000 was allocated to the Burroughs and Chapin Art Museum to promote a Gullah/Geechee art show. According to the quilt gala’s a-tax application, all of its a-tax funding was directed to advertising. Only 65 percent of gala attendees were actually identified as tourists. The rest came from Horry and Georgetown counties, county records show. Mustert said the quilt gala is a glaring example of the kind of non-compliant spending the present a-tax law invites. He said the money spent on the quilt gala isn’t in direct proportion to the amount of tourists attending. “I’m afraid that legislators are always looking for funds and when they try to find funds, they pull it away from the original purpose,” Mustert said. “That’s what’s happening with the a-tax.” Lazarus said he thinks the quilt gala does qualify as a tourist related expenditure because it attracts tourists who otherwise wouldn’t visit in September, when the gala was held. That’s why the a-tax committee recommended funding the full amount of the quilt gala’s request, he said. “People come to the quilt gala from out of town,” Lazarus said. “It puts heads on beds at a time of year when there’s not a lot of tourists.” As for the watercolor society’s art show, a greater percentage of tourists did attend that event. About half of the 8,000 attendees were tourists, county records show. According to the group’s a-tax application, it planned to spend its share of a-taxes on Web site maintenance ($500), photography ($450), postage ($500), printing ($4,800) and newspaper ads ($1,000). In return, the watercolor society calculated its event would have a positive economic impact of $441,303. “This represents a return of $77 for every one dollar invested,” the watercolor society’s a-tax application says. There was no local versus tourist breakdown listed in the Burroughs and Chapin Art Museum’s request for a-tax funds for its Gullah/Geechee event. According to its a-tax application, only $1,762 of the museum’s proposed budget of $5,194 was actually dedicated to out of market advertising. The remaining $3,432 – or about two-thirds – was reserved for local advertising on The Sun News’ Web site, public records show.
Festival fever Another point of contention swirls around whether tourist taxes should be spent on community festivals, such as the Loris Bog-Off, Aynor Harvest Hoe Down and Bluegrass on the Waccamaw. According to state records, all three of these events have been questioned by the TERC. It’s an issue that’s also been questioned by the local a-tax committee. “That’s always been a big controversy,” Lazarus said. “We specifically mandated they use the money for specific publications out of town.” TERC board member and Garden City resident Rod Swaim agreed. Though he acknowledged these events do attract some out of town visitors, Swaim noted few of them actually stay in Loris, Aynor and Conway, where these festivals occur. Swaim said he thinks a-taxes should be re-invested into the communities that actually generate them. “The law is looser than it ought to be. There’s a lot of waste in spending that goes on,” Swaim said. “Some pretty off the wall stuff comes out of a-tax.” In 2007 and 2008, County Council approved $10,000 for both the Loris Bog-Off and Aynor Harvest Hoe Down festivals. The 2007 expenditures have since been questioned by the TERC, which has asked the county for more documentation. Lauren Sponseller, staff liaison for the TERC, said Horry County has responded in writing, but a copy of the county’s response letter was unavailable as of press time. “Horry County has responded and the response will be discussed at TERC’s May meeting,” she said. As for the 2008 expenditures, the TERC won’t begin evaluating those until October, Sponseller said. In 2008, the Loris Chamber of Commerce had requested $15,000 for its event, but that amount was scaled back to $10,000, according to the chamber’s a-tax application and county financial records. According to the a-tax application, Bog-Off organizers proposed spending $22,650 on advertising locally and $13,750 advertising out of market. Historically, the festival draws between 25,000 and 30,000 people to Loris for the one-day festival. The Aynor Harvest Hoe Down, which asked for and received $10,000, proposed spending only $3,250 on advertising. The rest of the money was reserved for festival expenses, including a parade, entertainment, security, trash containers, tents and Port-a-Johns, records show. About $6,200 of the difference – listed in public records as “other expenses” associated with the festival – have also been questioned by the TERC. Initially, the county a-tax committee recommended only $4,500 in funding. But a last minute motion filed by Councilman Al Allen, who represents Aynor, resulted in restoring funding to $10,000, council minutes from June 17, 2008 show. About 20,000 people attend the Hoe Down each year. Several other 2007-08 Horry County a-tax allocations have also been questioned by the TERC. One line item is listed as “beach and street cleanup.” The county approved $112,980, but ended up spending $124,568.38, according to state financial records. The TERC is also questioning $7,000 spent on the Bluegrass on the Waccamaw Festival in Conway. Also questioned are $10,000 to the Long Bay Symphony, $20,000 to the Little River Chamber of Commerce to promote four festivals and $69,000 to the Little River chamber for median mowing, street lights and holiday decorations. In 2008, the county increased funding to the Little River chamber from $89,000 to $120,000. “It always concerns me when we spent money on things that don’t put heads on beds,” Swaim said. “Everybody wants a piece of [a-taxes].”
Help for tourism? The debate over a-taxes has gained steam following passage of a bill enabling Horry County municipalities to adopt a one-cent local option sales tax to fund tourism promotion. Following public outcry over the tourism tax and the Chronicle’s initial report last week about questionable a-tax spending, state lawmakers re-inserted last-minute funding back into tourism promotion. State Sen. thingy Elliott, D-District 28, said in a prepared statement Monday that the senate finance committee – on which he serves – restored $2 million in two-for-one advertising back into a draft budget bill. The proposed budget also includes $200,000 for general tourism advertising, Elliott said. Before Monday, the state had planned to leave tourism promotion unfunded, which prompted lawmakers to rush the one-cent tourism tax bill to passage. “Keeping this tourism line item in place will benefit in future years getting advertising dollars for tourism promotion,” Elliott said.
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Post by freebird on Aug 28, 2009 18:21:40 GMT -6
Well, well. We were told they needed the 1% tax for funding because the State wouldnt fund tourism. So they pass the tax then the State funded it with our previous tax money as well. So they really got all the money and a new tax and the taxpayers get the bill. Boy did we call this one right. Is anybody else feeling used.
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Post by howardstern on Aug 29, 2009 4:47:40 GMT -6
I feel so dirty....
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Post by howardstern on Aug 29, 2009 4:48:48 GMT -6
I contacted my "snoop". she's running into the same wall!
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Post by beachbikers1 on Aug 29, 2009 12:45:56 GMT -6
I was wondering why everytime I tried to sit on a chair my butt cheeks would slide to the floor!
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Post by seaside on Sept 3, 2009 20:01:00 GMT -6
Well, well. We were told they needed the 1% tax for funding because the State wouldnt fund tourism. So they pass the tax then the State funded it with our previous tax money as well. So they really got all the money and a new tax and the taxpayers get the bill. Boy did we call this one right. Is anybody else feeling used. Wow! that's interesting......I seem to remember a story from several months back on an issue with the A-tax in the Herald. I wonder why they pulled it from the Sun News
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Post by howardstern on Sept 8, 2009 15:36:52 GMT -6
Ha, Ha, Ha... I'm in line to sue Prefab... I think he said I was "icky"!
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Post by Chuck52 on Sept 8, 2009 17:55:30 GMT -6
Ha, Ha, Ha... I'm in line to sue Prefab... I think he said I was "icky"! How about we just start a class action suit against Prefab!!!!! 8-)Who ever he is Attachments:
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