Will there be an additional one percent sales tax in North Myrtle Beach? Many in the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce say a study prepared by Coastal Carolina University shows the tax would be beneficial. The study says around six million dollars would be generated for the promotion of tourism. Members of the North Myrtle Beach City Council are studying the matter and it is expected to come before a Council meeting for consideration in the near future.

New North Myrtle Beach City Manager Michael Mahaney is on the job and he is working on the hiring of a new Director of Public Safety, or a Police Chief if the City Council decides to split Public Safety back into separate Police and Fire Departments. Currently, Captain Rick Buttlemeyer is serving as the interim Director of Public Safety. It is a position he has held since William Bailey’s job ended in at the end of April. NMB Mayor Hatley says the Department has seen a resurgence of morale in recent months and she has praise for the officers working there. “The do their jobs well and the morale is up and I think they all realize that we are working as hard and as best we can for a new director and for making a decision as to what we are going to do as far as splitting the department.”

The City has over 400 applications from individuals who want to serve as the NMB Public Safety Director.

North Myrtle Beach Police arrested a man on Monday after he had fled here from Brunswick County during a vehicle chase. It was a bizarre chase where at one point the man being chased stopped and ran into Seacoast Medical Center on foot. He then fled from there and went back to the Seacoast Parking lot where he stole a vehicle and fled to Sixth Avenue south where he changed from the car he was driving to a taxi. He was then arrested by local officers in the area of Third Avenue South. The original chase had begun near Shallotte involving a stolen car there.