MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce says it wants to set the record straight on a few things said during the city’s mayoral campaign.
Confusion started when the city started to look for ways to put more officers on the streets in Myrtle Beach. The chamber said it was willing to help.
In a public meeting Tuesday, June 20, Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce President Brad Dean vowed to support the City of Myrtle Beach in whatever way possible. In a follow-up interview June 23, Dean said redirecting funds to police is likely the best option to get more officers on the streets.
“While advertising is a good investment, there’s no better investment we can make than safety, and I think right now, if we look at redirecting funds from accommodation taxes, revisiting the Tourism Development Fee law, or even possibly rededicating some of the hospitality fees to law enforcement,” Dean said in June.
But a few mayoral candidates have questioned how much money the chamber is willing to give and where would it get the money?
“In this pocket, the chamber’s got all of their money, they’re holding it back,” says mayoral candidate and former mayor of Myrtle Beach Mark McBride.
McBride has criticized the way tourism dollars are used through the Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce.
“They’re going to the state and saying, ‘Hey, y’all go take money from everybody else. Get something else. Have everybody else continue to contribute to Myrtle Beach while we have our own pocket here while we won’t spend our own money,’” mimics McBride.
The Myrtle Beach chamber is trying to debunk similar claims by sending out flyers that read, “A few individuals are attempting to mislead you.”
“That didn’t start and won’t end with the election, but it does seem to have been ratcheted up at least by a couple of candidates who either don’t understand what the chamber has done or simply don’t want to convey the facts,” explains chamber president Brad Dean.
Dean says each year the chamber collects tourism tax dollars. It gets a portion of A-tax funds and millions of dollars of what’s called TDF funds.
Part of McBride’s plan is to use those TDF funds to support law enforcement.
“There is not going to be $11.5 million laid over to the City of Myrtle Beach for police. That’s not going to happen,” promises current and mayoral candidate John Rhodes.
Dean says that’s true with the way state law is written now, and they’ve asked for a change from lawmakers in Columbia.
Right now, Dean says the chamber doesn’t care which bucket the money comes from, but that the chamber is ready and willing to help.
“There are multiple sources that could be used. It could be TDF, it could be A-tax, it could be other sources that pay for law enforcement, we don’t have to choose between promoting tourism and funding law enforcement,” assures Dean.
Dean says he cannot say how much the chamber would like to give the police department. That amount would be up to the general assembly.
