Letter | Horry County needs to get its own books in order before lecturing Coast RTA

County needs to get its own books in order

The Horry County Council needs to hold themselves to the same standards as they expect from others.

Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus took Coast RTA to task for not being accountable for their expenses. Now council says expenses are outpacing revenues by 2 to 1 in the county.

The solution? A one-size-fits-all tax increase.

Granted, part of the problem might be lost revenue from the council's efforts to close businesses, and the year-round ban on beach tents. And there might be some need for special assessments for areas of the county with significant infrastructure issues and quickly expanding school needs.

But the bulk of the problem is probably increases in normal operating expenses. As a long time auditor, I never saw a government program that didn't have redundancies and waste. Horry County may be the exception, but it is unlikely.

Lazarus asked the tough questions about cuts; now he needs to dig into the details of the services and programs before increasing taxes.

This story was originally published May 25, 2015 at 12:49 PM with the headline "Letter | Horry County needs to get its own books in order before lecturing Coast RTA."