Myrtle Beach looks to limit the ways it gives money to special events, organizations

For the past several months, Myrtle Beach City Manager John Pedersen has discouraged City Council from granting additional money or in-kind services to events and organizations that already receive city funds through other means.

Pedersen said providing funding from only one source makes it more fair to all of the many organizations and special events that ask the city for help. The city has provided in-kind services such as police, emergency medical services and trash pickup to some events.

“The question is, if an agency gets money from accommodations taxes or the city to support an event, should we also comp city services?” Pedersen said. “I’ve taken the position that we shouldn’t.”

Sometimes City Council members take his advice. Sometimes they don’t.

On the occasions they haven’t, council members have urged organizers of annual events to readjust their budgets for the next event and to anticipate not receiving additional money from the city.

“We’ve been saying we were going to do this for a while,” Councilman Michael Chestnut has said at more than one council meeting this year. “We need to decide if this is how we’re going to work, and stick to it.”

Councilman Mike Lowder also has urged council members to set a policy and stick with it, instead of repeatedly telling many event organizers, “this is the last time.”

Now the city is trying to create that policy, which would establish that any group that receives money through the accommodations tax process or as a grant through outside agency funding would be ineligible to request in-kind services or a facility use waiver when applying for a special event, facility use or parade permit. That policy would go into effect Jan. 1.

Pedersen said Thursday he expects City Council to discuss the resolution at Tuesday’s meeting.

The resolution, originally discussed Sept. 8, leaves flexibility for City Council to grant in-kind services and facility use waivers for “exception or extraordinary” events.

Pedersen said there are other instances where, if the city is a co-sponsor, he is not opposed to waiving a facility use fee. But, he said, he still does not believe the city should offer in-kind services.

Instead, the city would charge the event organizers for those services, which Pedersen said could run about $35 an hour for police and EMS staff.

Pedersen said he hopes the city will implement the policy beginning in January.

“I think it’s a fairer way to do things,” he said.

This story was originally published September 19, 2015 at 1:08 AM with the headline "Myrtle Beach looks to limit the ways it gives money to special events, organizations."