Horry County Council candidates want more police officers, but paying for them remains a question

All the candidates for Horry County Council District 3 want to expand the county’s police force.

But how they will pay for those additional officers remains unclear.

None of five candidates at Wednesday night's forum in Myrtle Beach provided detailed plans for how they would fund the public safety enhancements that have become the central issue of the campaign.

Yet Republicans Bob Kelly, Ethan Leyshon, Keith VanWinkle and Bubba Owens, along with Democrat Jimmy Washington, all insisted more must be done to improve public safety in the county.

“Public safety is No. 1,” VanWinkle said. “If we don’t have a safe citizenry, nothing else matters.”

Sponsored by the Myrtle Beach NAACP, Wednesday’s forum at the Mary C. Canty Recreation Center lasted more than an hour and touched on topics ranging from road projects to economic development. But several questions focused on the county’s public safety division, which has been a major part of each candidate's campaign.

Candidates spoke of the need to pay officers better salaries and reduce agency turnover. They also talked about the need for more police.

However, the question of paying for those improvements stumped them.

“I can’t give you a solid answer on that because I don’t know at this point,” Kelly said. “I don’t know how they raise the money or don’t raise the money. The thing to do would be to study everything. There’s always a way to trim a little fat.”

A retired police officer who lives in Carolina Forest, Kelly said the county’s public safety division is understaffed and the employee training has been insufficient. As for addressing those problems, he said all options should be considered before a tax increase.

VanWinkle, Myrtle Beach taxi driver, suggested the county’s police department form a joint task force with the city police to search for ways to reduce crime. He also said public safety should top other budgeting concerns.

“It comes back to priorities,” he said.

Ethan Leyshon, a local golf instructor, recommended that county council create a dedicated funding source for police similar to the one the council sets for fire service.

“This is not something that’s going to change overnight,” he said. “It’s not something that you can really hit the nail right on the head, but I think dedicated funding is probably the way to alleviate that problem.”

Owens, a Myrtle Beach businessman who repairs arcade games and pool tables, adamantly maintained that the additional officers could come without a take hike, though like the others he couldn’t say where the money would come from.

“I don’t really have an answer for that either,” he said. “We’re not going to raise the taxes if I make it up there.”

Washington, a former school board member, also questioned the need to increase taxes.

“Raising taxes may not solve the problem,” he said. “We can cut a little fat from here and there just to get the job done.”

The four Republicans will square off Tuesday in a primary. The winner will face Washington in a Dec. 22 general election.

District 3 covers much of the city of Myrtle Beach as well as part of Carolina Forest. A special election is being held to replace Marion Foxworth, a Democrat who held the post for nearly 14 years. Foxworth stepped down in August to accept a job as the county’s register of deeds.

This story was originally published October 28, 2015 at 8:39 PM with the headline "Horry County Council candidates want more police officers, but paying for them remains a question."