CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – Horry County Treasurer Angie Jones has filed a lawsuit against Horry County and Horry County’s Administrator Chris Eldridge.
Jones is suing the county and administrator over a lack of funding for the Horry County Treasurer’s Office and to gain back control of the county’s Hospitality Fee and Business License Departments.
The lawsuit claims Jones has made repeated requests of Horry County Administration and the Administration Committee that immediate funding be given to her to hire more people because of the large volume of business in the county.
It goes on to say that the Horry County Treasurer’s Office has been understaffed with 13 customer service representatives covering four locations, and with additional employees on medical leave, it’s almost impossible for Jones to do her job efficiently.
The lawsuit states that because the office is understaffed, employees are at times unable to take a lunch break because there’s no one else there to replace them while they go to lunch.
The treasurer’s office has to close its satellite location from 1:00-2:00 for lunch, according to the lawsuit.
Jones has made repeated requests for more money for her office, and the lawsuit states she has told administration repeatedly that she was not consulted about the budget that was approved prior to her taking office in July.
According to the suit, the Hospitality Fee and Business License Departments were removed from the treasurer’s office and are now under the county’s finance department. It states this change was made after she was elected and without her consent.
Jones would like to gain back control of those departments because the suit states that is part of the treasurer’s office duties under the South Carolina Constitution.
Jones has filed a motion for an expedited hearing.