Horry County is looking to disband its Airport Advisory Committee and replace it with a new committee that will focus on all forms of transportation.
The County says its Airport Advisory Committee is no longer needed and, in some cases, has caused confusion and inefficiency.
Right now the 11 person advisory committee made up of different members of the community, many with backgrounds in aviation, is a part of the decision making process for airport related issues.
However, another committee made up of council members also looks at these decisions.
“It takes up a lot of staff time and a lot of appropriation when they could be doing other things,” said Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus.
Lazarus says a plan that is up for final vote next Tuesday, would immediately disband the Airport Advisory Committee.
That would leave the county’s admin-committee, which also handles many other aspects of county government, as the only control on airport topics before they go to council.
But Lazarus says the changes would keep coming.
“Council is taking the advisory committee out and taking it to the transportation committee,” he said.
The transportation committee which Lazarus would appoint in June would be in charge of the county’s airports, railroads, Coast RTA and road-related issues.
Not everyone on council favors the change.
At first reading, council member Marion Foxworth voted against the plan to disband the airport advisory committee.
On second reading, Council Members Jody Prince and James Frazier also voted against the move.
One concern is dissolving the committee would put all decisions on council members and remove a level of checks and balances concerning the multi-million dollar airport budget.
But Lazarus says getting rid of the advisory board would actually do the opposite.
“It’s not avoiding things it’s just streamlining the process to make it a smoother transition. And it makes county council accountable. We are accountable to the public,” he said.
News 13 reached out to every member of the Airport Advisory Committee.
A few were completely unaware the board they represented was in talks of being disbanded.
The majority either did not answer our calls, including the board chairman and vice chairman, or refused on-camera interviews.
News 13 also reached out to council members Marion Foxworth, Jody Prince and James Frazier who all recently voted against the proposal, but they did not return our calls.
Final vote on disbanding the advisory committee is next Tuesday count on continued coverage.
