MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – On Tuesday Myrtle Beach City Council decided to move forward with plans for a downtown ambassador program.
Council says the city’s funding can support the program’s first year and businesses would be responsible for the bill after that.
In recent weeks the program has had the majority of support by council and the chief of police.
On Tuesday two council members showed opposition to the program and said more police presence on Ocean Boulevard would be a better use of funds.
Some local businesses say they won’t be able to pay for the program after already paying a high amount of city taxes.
Buzz Plyler, owner of the Gay Dolphin Gift Cove, spoke during the meeting and said funding should be invested in public safety.
“One of the single largest ways that you can make an impact is to have visual presence of the police department. If we have somebody in that area, generally speaking, you don’t have problems. I watch the cameras all the time and listen to the scanners. What I’ve seen is whenever policemen comes in to the area, the troublemakers scatter like roaches,” said Plyler.
Ultimately the program was approved at a 5-2 vote and could start as early as July.
Council also approved the first reading of nearly 10 million dollars worth of budget cuts in the 2020-21 fiscal plan.
City council says most of the cuts were made internally and will not impact public services.
During the pandemic no full-time city employees have been laid-off or furloughed.
At the end of Tuesday’s meeting several people spoke during public comment to address policing concerns within the city.
Protest organizers of the march in Myrtle Beach on May 31st questioned if the “violent arrests of protesters” were being investigated.
Others asked if the officers involved in an $8 million lawsuit would be fired for excessive force and perjury.
Bernadette Diana asked council what policies are in place to protect minorities from being overly targeted by police and the new ambassador program.
“How will the [ambassador] program be different than mere civilian policing? What safeguards are in place to guarantee that officers don’t over target communities of color? How will officers be held accountable for discriminatory activity?” asked Diana.
Both council and the chief of police didn’t have answers to all questions, but did clarify that excessive force complaints are all investigated.
Mayor Brenda Bethune requested incident reports from the May 31st arrests to be made to the public.
Stay with News13 for updates as we learn them.