15th solicitor looking to fund 2 more attorneys; Horry council chair says funding plan needed

Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson is seeking two more Horry County-funded attorneys to catch up with the growing caseload in the last 15 years, which is the last time the county has funded any new attorneys to that office.

Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus says in order for that and other requests to happen, council would have to make “very tough decisions” on millage increases and impact fees that he thinks are possible through a comprehensive plan.

Richardson currently has 25 attorneys to serve Horry and Georgetown counties, which has largely remained the same since 2000. He said some attorneys carry a caseload of 560 cases at any given time.

“Fifteen years have gone by and our caseload has gone up from 5,000 to basically 8,400 in that time,” Richardson said.

Richardson said a gradual increase in police officers through the years created a ripple effect to his office.

“If the new officers are worth their weight at all, they’re going to be making cases,” Richardson said. “If there’s a 10 percent increase in police, there’s going to be a 10 percent increase in cases made. All of these extra police obviously make more cases.”

Lazarus said the funding issue is a bigger one, and thinks a comprehensive plan can become a reality by July 1, which is the start of the 2016 fiscal year.

He credited staff members for cutting $4.5 million from the budget, but realizes there are needs, like Richardson’s attorneys, that have to be addressed somehow.

“I want to put a comprehensive plan together that will have a little bit of a lot of things in there,” Lazarus said. “One of them could be an impact fee that is on new construction that could go toward funding new capital costs… That’s just one part of it. The second part of it is we’re looking at splitting the law enforcement out where law enforcement stands on its own in the unincorporated areas of Horry County. Right now it’s paid out of the general fund. Do you split those out or do you come back in with a millage increase? That may happen.”

County officials were asked at the spring budget retreat to examine an impact fee on new single-family home developments, scaled based on the value of the home. Lazarus said he figures enough revenue would be raised considering 200 new homes per month are currently brought before the planning department.

Though law states impact fees can help solely with capital improvement, the move would help free up money from the general fund to re-allocate to public safety.

The county also received a request for a West Precinct building for Horry County police, whose officers are currently cramped into two offices and a hallway in a magistrate’s building in Green Sea.

Lazarus said many of the additional requests are “necessary and needed” for the county, which makes the need to fund them even more important.

“This council is faced with some very tough decisions and we’re going to have to make them, and I believe this council will make them,” Lazarus said.

Richardson said 10 additional attorneys funded by both state and county funds would be sufficient for the office, but he understands budget restraints.

“Whatever we got would be great,” Richardson said. “I think it will be rectified, if not this year, then they’re at least aware of the problem… And if we don’t get anything, we’ve handled it up to this point, so we’ll continue that.”

This story was originally published April 20, 2015 at 6:38 PM with the headline "15th solicitor looking to fund 2 more attorneys; Horry council chair says funding plan needed."