Feeling sick? Horry County Treasurer doesn’t want you in her office
If you’re feeling sick, Horry County Treasurer Angie Jones asks that you stay away from her office if you need to pay your taxes in person.
Some residents, though, have not abided by that protocol, and have come into the treasurer’s office knowing they had tested positive for COVID-19, Jones said in a Wednesday Facebook post, prompting her to issue the warning.
“It has been brought to my attention that we have had several alleged COVID-19-positive folks enter our office to pay taxes,” Jones wrote. “This is absolutely unacceptable and reckless. We have drive-thrus and online services available as options to our citizens.”
In the comments under her post, Jones clarified that some taxpayers told her staff members they had tested positive for COVID-19 when they were in the office to pay taxes.
“That was just a nice way to say it,” Jones wrote in one comment. “That’s why I am pleading with folks. We need to keep each other safe.”
Jones said that one person told one of her staff members that they had tested positive. Another person came into her office still wearing a hospital wrist band after having been treated for COVID-19, she said.
In her post, Jones said that employees in her office don’t come to work sick as a way to protect taxpayers, and hoped that courtesy would be extended to her staff.
“We don’t come to work sick to protect you so please don’t come to our lobby if you are sick or have been exposed,” she wrote. “We would like to be able to keep our lobbies open for those that need extra assistance.”
In another comment, Jones noted that two of her staff members in the treasurer’s office are currently out because they’ve tested positive for COVID-19.
Jones’ plea to taxpayers comes just two days after her offices reopened to walk-in taxpayers. In mid-August, a surging number of COVID-19 cases caused Horry County to limit public access to some of its offices and facilities, including the treasurer’s office, which moved to online and drive-thru operations only. The county auditor’s office closed, as did the treasurer’s Myrtle Beach office. Visitors to the M.L. Brown Public Safety Building and county fire stations and police precincts were asked to make appointments before showing up in person.
Last week, though, Jones posted on Facebook that her office would reopen Monday. Now, on Wednesday, Jones was led to plead with the public to prevent another closure.
In an interview with The Sun News on Wednesday, Jones said she was “infuriated” that taxpayers would risk getting her staff sick, especially so close to tax season. County tax bills are due to hit mailboxes in about a month, meaning Jones’ office is about to enter its busy, high-traffic season. That means she’ll need all of her staff members healthy and able to be at work to help residents pay their taxes.
“Please don’t come in if you’re sick, I need my lobbies open,” Jones said.
Jones, a conservative Republican, also asked that residents not view her calls for safety precautions as political. Everyone needs to take precautions to stop the spread of the virus, she said. A majority of her staff has been vaccinated and visitors to the office are asked to wear face coverings, though they aren’t mandated.
“It doesn’t matter what side of the political scale you’re on, people are dying, and that’s not made up,” Jones said.
Jones said she is hoping she won’t have to close her office to the public again in the near future.
“If it comes to losing a team member or closing my lobby, I’ll close my lobby every time,” Jones said, adding that other county officials support her doing what she deems necessary to keep staff safe. “Just stay home if you’re sick. I make my people stay home if they’re sick. This is not funny, people have families and children at home. It’s not funny.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2021 at 5:12 PM.
