Atlantic Beach fires almost entire staff

The Town of Atlantic Beach is undergoing a transformation after nearly all of its staff, including the town’s police force, judges and other employees, were fired Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, according to officials associated with the town.

“We are doing an assessment of everything and seeing where we are financially, seeing where we are as operations,” said interim Town Manager Benny Webb on Wednesday.

Webb said lawyer Garryl Deas has been named the new municipal judge, while Carolyn Hills has been appointed the town attorney.

Other staff members are set to finish their employment with the city at the end of the week, including the town clerk, clerk of courts and financial officer, Webb said.

He said the town’s three police officers, including police Chief Eric Lewis, were let go after vacating their posts and leaving town hall Tuesday night before Webb had a chance to meet with them. Webb said the actions left the town unprotected and Horry County Police handled all calls.

Webb did not have a timeline for when the open positions will be filled, and city leaders are assessing what the community’s needs are.

The firings drew mixed reaction from some associated with the town.

“Atlantic Beach is no longer going to be the armpit of the Grand Strand,” Webb said, who assured town residents they would be protected.

The firings come on the heels of a state Supreme Court ruling in which Carolyn Cole and Windy Price were declared winners in a contested 2009 council election. Tuesday’s meeting was the first for Cole and Price since the court’s ruling.

Tuesday’s move mirrors actions that took place in 2005, when the state Supreme Court seated two new Atlantic Beach council members who had been denied their positions after alleged election irregularities.

The Town Council also voted Tuesday to authorize newly sworn Mayor Pro Tem Carolyn Cole and interim Town manager Benny Webb to sign checks, instead of requiring the signatures of two town council members and the town’s chief financial officer to write a check.

Town Manager William Booker said he was asked during Tuesday’s meeting to take a three-week, paid vacation, but the three council members at the meeting asked him to be available to work with the new administration if needed. Town Council will decide after the vacation whether he returns to his position or is terminated, he said Wednesday.

During the meeting, Booker said council agreed to hire a new town attorney and appointed Webb as the interim manager. Council members also agreed to fire the town’s two judges, hire a new judge and changed the town’s check signing procedures.

The staff changes occurred Wednesday morning when the three town police officers, including the chief, and other town employees were fired.

“It’s not unusual when leadership changes that they wanted to make some changes, but the magnitude of changes are more surprising than there are changes,” Booker said.

Former police officer Randy Fisher said town employees were told last night to meet with Booker starting at 9 a.m. today. Fisher said employees were told individually that they no longer worked for Atlantic Beach.

“They said they are going in a new direction and we are no longer needed,” Fisher said.

Sgt. Robert Kegler, with the Horry County Police Department, said the nearest county officer will respond to calls in Atlantic Beach as needed. However, an officer won’t be designated specifically to patrol the town.

“We’ve got sufficient manpower to cover the unincorporated areas of the county,” said Horry County Administrator John Weaver.

Town Council members said they are investigating allegations that Booker might have misappropriated town funds, according to Fisher. Booker denied those allegations on Wednesday.

“The town has been making good progress in improving its financial situation, getting audits completed and creating a financial system,” Booker said.

State Rep. Tracy Edge, R-North Myrtle Beach, said Atlantic Beach appeared to be making progress under Booker’s guidance and he is worried that will be erased under the new leadership.

“I had been a strong critic of Atlantic Beach, but with a dedicated council in place they had hired professional management to manage the town and lead the police department, which led me to getting involved in revitalizing the town,” said Edge, whose district includes Atlantic Beach. “But with the firing of the staff, I will block and stop any state dollars from coming into Atlantic Beach. I’ve got the power to stop these funds and I will use it.”

Edge, a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee and of all commerce and economic development appropriations, said he and other state officials – including the attorney general’s office and the State Law Enforcement Division – “will watch this crowd like never before and not hesitate to seek indictments and bring charges if they don’t operate by the laws of this state.”

Two longtime Atlantic Beach residents who have closely monitored town activities and the political landscape had opposite views on what impact the changes will have on their community.

Paul Curry attended Tuesday night’s meeting, which he said was called on short notice. During the meeting, Cole and Price were sworn into office and Cole was chosen as Mayor Pro Tem, Curry said. Councilman Donnell Thompson also attended the meeting to give the group a quorum. It was the first meeting Thompson had attended in nearly 10 months.

The trio spent the majority of the meeting in executive session before coming out into open session and announcing the staff changes, he said.

“This is not good news,” Curry said of the changes.

Amy Breunig, who also owns property in the town, said she is ecstatic about the changes because the former town employees “terrorized Atlantic Beach.” Breunig did not attend the meeting.

“I think Mrs. Cole, Mrs. Price and Donnell Thompson will do an excellent job in rebuilding this town. It’s the best chance that we’ve ever had,” Breunig said. “I think the gates are open now; before it was very closed off. There were no economic opportunities. There were no development opportunities. . . . I see a freedom that we never had before.”

Breunig said she has continually supported Cole and Price and former Mayor Retha Pierce and was not pleased with decisions made by former council members and police officers.

Fisher said Breunig is upset at him and other police officers because she has been cited repeatedly for operating a business without a license. Records at J. Reuben Long Detention Center show Breunig has been arrested three times this past year on those charges and others, including breach of trust, obtaining a signature or property under false pretenses and malicious damage to personal property.

Fisher said he also has pending cases against Price and Cole, but is not sure what will happen with those now that he has been fired. Fisher said Price has been charged with interfering with a police officer while Cole faces a traffic-related charge.

Cole – formerly Carolyn Montgomery – was town manager in 2005 when the Supreme Court last ruled on a challenged Atlantic Beach election. Cole was suspended from office during the first meeting at which those new council members were seated. That council then hired Charles Williams to be interim town manager and Williams suspended all of the town’s employees.

The allegations against Booker are at least the third time Cole has accused others of financial wrongdoings. In 2004, while she was town manager, Cole accused former Town Manager Linda Angus of violating procurement laws and misappropriating about $82,000 from funds that were to be used to purchase police vehicles. That same year, Cole accused town residents – including former mayor Irene Armstrong – of embezzling nearly $20,000. No charges were ever brought in either case.

This is at least Webb’s third tenure at Atlantic Beach. Both Cole and Webb also have sued the town over employment issues in the past.

Atlantic Beach, a historically black resort town nicknamed The Black Pearl, includes four blocks along the oceanfront and is surrounded by the city of North Myrtle Beach on the other three sides. The town – with 412 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau – has no industry and few businesses, counting The Crazy Horse adult nightclub as one of its biggest taxpayers. Among the biggest revenue sources for the town’s $903,269 budget is its annual Memorial Day Bikefest, which earned a $62,000 profit this year.