Tax hike needed to pay for more Surfside Beach firefighters, leaders say

SURFSIDE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — As long-term talks continue between Horry County and Surfside Beach about the town fire department’s future, it could cost residents a bit more to address critical staffing needs that can’t wait.

“We heard from the town that the vast majority of people want the fire department, and now we’re trying to work through that, and that’s going to create some expenses,” Mayor Rob Krouse said during a Tuesday budget workshop.

Town Administrator Gene Vincent is recommending a combined tax hike and accommodations revenue spending to hire seven full-time and five part-time firefighters.

The department currently has a deputy chief, three captains, three firefighter engineers, two part-time employees and 13 volunteers.

If approved by the town council, it means a home appraised at $300,000 would see between $48 and $72 added to property tax bills depending on its assessment ratio.

Under state law, accommodations tax dollars can be used to pay for EMS, fire and police services in any county that collects more than $900,000 a year.

Town leaders talked about transferring control of the town’s fire protection services to Horry County during a workshop meeting last week.

The discussions come after Vincent submitted a 2024-25 budget proposal that took into account a $1.8 million deficit and included a hiring freeze and the elimination of numerous positions.

But that shortfall would only happen if every department was funded at its requested levels. State law requires budgets to be balanced.

To do that, Vincent said he had to freeze three firefighter positions approved in the 2024 fiscal year budget. He also turned down requests to hire four firefighters and five part-time firefighters and “unfunded” the deputy chief position.

The proposed budget also freezes two vacant police officer positions and a captain’s position, all coming while the police department is dealing with town leaders’ efforts to look into turnover within the department — a move that prompted Chief Kenneth Hoffmann to tender his resignation.

Vincent also proposed eliminating a Public Works request for an additional position, freezing a vacancy in the Facilities Division and eliminating a payroll contract that would allow the town to fund a senior accountant position that was previously approved by the town council but was never funded.

“There are some things that need to be nitpicked but the town is not broke, by no means,” council member William Stamey said on Tuesday.

Other cuts could be coming

With so many positions going unfilled, several council members said a stronger dose of financial discipline is needed. That could mean employees won’t get a 5% cost-of-living adjustment, bypassing a formal grand opening for the town’s pier or even cutting floats out of Surfside’s Christmas parade.

“We’re a small town. Let’s start acting like a small town,” council member Shawn Fallon said.

She and others on the council questioned whether the town should spend $30,000 for a fireworks display to formally christen its multi-million pier.

“It’s like, you can’t feed your kids, but let’s go to Disney World,'” council member Harry Kohlmann said. “It doesn’t work like that … we’re in trouble here.”

The new fiscal year begins July 1.

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .

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