Here’s why Horry County is spending millions of taxpayer dollars. What are we getting?

As Horry County’s population continues to rapidly grow, its emergency services are forced to grow as well.

The police department is building a new precinct, the fire department is preparing to open three new stations and the coroner plans to install a new cooler in a few weeks to accommodate the number of bodies the department receives.

Locals have complained for years about the overcrowding within Horry County. The influx of people has caused hundreds, if not thousands, of new homes and apartments to be built in order to keep up with demand.

In the past 14 years, over 100,000 people have moved to Horry County. The population grew from 270,295 in 2010 to 383,101 in 2022 according to USA Facts.

As more people move here, emergency resources are forced to respond to an increasing population along with the influx of summer tourists. It has forced Horry County officials to use millions of dollars in taxpayer money to add additional fire stations, police precincts and increase the number of employees, among other capital improvements.

That includes the three new fire stations which are set to open at the end of the month at a cost of over $13 million.

In addition, since 2014, there have been at least eight schools built, with two more planned for the Carolina Forest area, according to the district. Building new facilities is costly, with the two new schools having a price tag of over $130 million. They have been funded by adding a 1% sales tax across the county.

When it comes to essential services, Horry County agencies said that they have been expanding to meet the needs of all the new residents.

Coroner to double its capacity for bodies

In 2021, The Sun News reported that the coroner’s office was running out of space to hold bodies and since that time, its cases have grown by 15%.

“[Our caseload] increases every year,” said Deputy Coroner Tamara Willard. “Whether it’s a few or by a couple 100, it increases every year.”

Willard said on a busy day, the coroner’s office has to put stretchers in the cooler to store extra bodies. She also works with funeral homes or hospitals to hold bodies if space is really tight.

The Horry County Coroner’s Office has plans to get a second cooler but Willard said she wasn’t sure when it would be installed. Horry County allocated $62,500 for the cooler and equipment.

The office currently has one cooler that holds around 16 people and second cooler would provide space for up to 20 more. This will help alleviate the overflow, Willard said.

New buildings come for police, fire

The number of calls Horry County Fire Rescue receives climbs every year, according to spokesperson Tony Casey. In 2023, the fire department received 79,238 calls, which is 2,000 more than the previous year.

The growing calls prompted the department to build three new fire stations in the county in order to serve its residents, Casey said. The stations will be located in the Forestbrook, Nixonville-Wampee and Shell areas.

The department will hire 38 additional firefighters to work for the stations. The average Horry County firefighter salary is $55,751, according to GovSalaries.com.

The new fire stations had a combined budget of nearly $14 million, according to document’s from County Council’s 2023 budget retreat. Part of the project has been paid for using general obligation bonds to fund the projects. The Shell and Nixonville-Wampee will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony on March 26 to celebrate the openings, according to a Facebook post.

“Our call volume is increasing but so are we,” Casey said. “We’ve been able to respond to the growth and the needs of our residents and all the emergencies that come with that growth.”

Horry County also began building the Central Coastal Complex, a large government building that would include a fifth police precinct in the Carolina Forest area. Horry County Council approved $25 million for the project in 2021 and broke ground in late November 2023.

Jail sees new challenges

In the old part of J. Reuben Long Detention Center, there are large cracks between the floor and the wall, parts of the flooring tile are missing and the windows are falling apart.

The building has reached its end-of-life but Horry County needs it to house the over 700 occupants it has on a daily basis. And, that number grows every year, said Director Marcus Rhodes.

From 2020 to 2023, the jail saw a 15% increase in inmates. There were 9,861 total inmates in 2020 and 11,337 in 2023, according to a presentation by Rhodes.

Since the detention center has a maximum capacity of 1,000, it appears that there should be enough beds for everyone, but it’s not as simple as that. There are many factors that go into deciding where an inmate will stay, Rhodes said. For example, Rhodes said he can’t house members of rival gangs together.

“You have then all these various reasons that are legitimate to separate people,” Rhodes said. “When you start to try to manage all the different classifications, the number of beds is not equal to capacity.”

What is most needed is specialized bed units, such as more beds in a medical unit. With the ongoing opioid epidemic, Rhodes said he’s seen more people detoxing while in jail. There’s also many inmates dealing with severe mental health and other medical problems that require them to visit the jail hospital regularly.

Rhodes has proposed an $83.5 million project to build a new tower. This is an alternative to a $9 million project to add an annex with more beds and $22 million to renovate the old part of the jail. Rhodes said these numbers were created several years ago and the prices are now outdated.

J. Reuben Long is still a long way from getting the additions and renovations it needs. In December, Rhodes requested $250,000 from the Horry County Council to conduct a study on what the jail needs and to develop a master plan. This was tabled by the Horry County Council in January.

Rhodes said although his request has been paused, he’s confident the council will request what he needs and that one day the jail will able to add on.

“I’m highly optimistic,” Rhodes said when asked if he thinks he’ll get the facility he needs. “This is an integral part of the public safety plan and the quality of life plan for our community.”