Coast RTA to receive 4Q payment; Some Horry councilmen call it last straw

Horry County Council voted at its meeting Tuesday to issue its final payment of the fiscal year to Coast RTA and grant the agency an extension on some of the requirements it had to meet in a funding agreement from 2014.

The final quarterly payment of a little more than $263,000 is essential to the agency because it uses these local funds for operations expenses as the Grand Strand’s tourist season kicks off.

The money and extension came with warnings from council members — some who are fed up with Coast RTA’s failure to follow the council’s requests and one who said it’s the last time he’ll go to bat for the agency.

Bernie Silverman, chairman of the Coast RTA board, sent a letter in March to council that asked for two extensions in a funding agreement the county and Coast entered into last summer.

Arrigo Carroti, Horry County’s attorney, said the extensions were for a transportation development plan Coast was asked to create, a five-year, long-range strategic plan, a forensic audit of the agency’s finances and an investigation into a management agency running Coast.

Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus said he wants to see Coast RTA get its business in order, and said it would be “in our best interest to grant the extension.”

“I think of couple of them were points well taken, especially when it comes to planning,” Lazarus said. “You potentially have a new CEO coming on board and they may have other ideas. Supposedly the individual who has been chosen has lot of background in these areas.”

Lazarus was referring to the possible hiring of Brian Piascik, who is the Coast board’s choice for its new chief executive officer. It’s looking for a new CEO after it fired Myers Rollins last April. The post has been served by interim general manager Julie Norton-Dew.

Coast issued a statement after Tuesday’s council meeting.

“Coast RTA extends its gratitude to the members of Horry County Council for granting the requested extension of the funding agreement for fiscal year 2015,” the statement said. “We appreciate Horry County Council’s public support of mass transportation and meeting the transit needs of its residents. Coast RTA has always valued its longstanding relationship with Horry County Council and looks forward to continuing our relationship in the future.”

Lazarus said at the meeting the council was essentially backed into a corner.

“It’s problematic for us as a council because if we don’t fund it, literally I think the bus service, according to a letter from [interim general manager] Mrs. Julie Norton-Dew that stated they would have to start laying off people and cutting off services,” Lazarus said. “I don’t know if that’s real or perceived, but the reality of it is that’s dollars they depend on to operate this last quarter.”

Coast and Council entered a funding agreement in 2014 that outlines expectations the county has for Coast because it provides $1.05 million in quarterly payments to the transit. Coast is in the middle of looking for a new general manager after its board fired Rollins.

Before council’s April 7 meeting, Coast announced it hired Piascik as its new general manager, which violated the funding agreement because the county is supposed to be able to review the new general manager’s contract before the hire is official. Board Chairman Bernie Silverman gave an update on the funding agreement and outlined the requirements of the agreement and gave an update on where Coast is on each of them.

At the end of the presentation, several council members expressed their disapproval of Coast’s announcement prior to council’s approval.

On Tuesday, Councilman Al Allen, Bill Howard and Jody Prince voted against the extension and issuing the fourth quarter payment. Allen said he supports public transit, but not in the form of how Coast RTA has been performing in recent years.

“There’s a definition of insanity, if you continue to do the same thing over and over and expect different results,” Allen said. “I really believe that we need to take a look at this. This is an organization that has been plagued with problems for the last 20 years, and it seems like this council has not been taken seriously. If we did business like this with any other organization that we deal with in this county, we’d be thrown out of office.”

In June 2013, Coast had to pass an austerity budget because council withheld its fourth quarter payment until the transit made more of an effort to put more council appointees on its board. Council has three appointees now as opposed to the one it had back then.

Councilman Gary Loftus, who is also a Coast board member, said he is through going to bat for the agency.

“RTA and their board better start taking council seriously,” Loftus said. “I’m going to go to bat for you one last time and that’s it.”

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Coast RTA to receive 4Q payment; Some Horry councilmen call it last straw."