Myrtle Beach council delays decision on in-kind services policy

Myrtle Beach City Council still has no official guidance when granting in-kind services to events and organizations that already receive city funds through other means.

However, according to a resolution the council was expecting to vote on Tuesday, City Council members still would have been able to use their discretion and allow city employees to provide police, emergency management and trash pick-up services with no additional charge to the event organizations.

Councilman Mike Lowder said if council members are going to create a guideline that they don’t follow all of the time, there’s no point in creating the guideline.

“If we’re not going to do this 100 percent, I don’t think we should do this,” he said. “I’m just one of those guys. If you draw a line in the sand, you draw a line in the sand.”

Councilman Michael Chestnut said the resolution was a good first step, especially for organizations that come to the city year after year asking for more and more money for their events – as well as in-kind services.

“By having this resolution, it’s going to at least let some of these groups know, ‘Don’t be coming back and asking,’” Chestnut said. “But, I agree with what [Councilman Philip Render] is saying: if there’s a big enough event that’s going to increase revenue for the city, I’m willing to take a look at it.”

Chris Walker – former president of the Oceanfront Merchants Association, which puts on several events on Ocean Boulevard including Oktoberfest and a St. Patrick’s Day festival – said he feels it’s fair to ask for in-kind services because the events hosted by OMA benefit the entire city.

“I like the idea of being able to come to you with an argument of why I think what we do is good for the city and not just going to line our own pocketbook,” Walker said, arguing that some out-of-town event organizers simply use Myrtle Beach as a way to make money.

Council members could not agree on whether to pass the resolution Tuesday – originally discussed Sept. 8 – or to abandon the idea all together.

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 resolution 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.

The resolution leaves flexibility for City Council to grant in-kind services and facility use waivers for “exceptional 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 city staff is going to compile more information for council members on the costs for in-kind services and other concerns for a future discussion.

Council members could discuss the resolution again as soon as the next meeting Oct. 13.

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach council delays decision on in-kind services policy."