News and Announcements

Conway, South Carolina – All Horry County Treasurer’s and Horry County Auditor’s Offices will close Friday, October 3, 2014, to transition to a new tax software system. The new system, QS1, currently serves 29 of the 46 counties in South Carolina and will now be utilized in Horry County.

In addition, Internet payments will not be accessible and credit/debit transactions cannot be made at any of the Horry County Treasurer’s offices beginning at noon Thursday, October 2, 2014, until 8 a.m. Monday, October 6, 2014.

Conway, South Carolina – All branches of the Horry County Memorial Library System will have a delayed opening Thursday, October 2 due to in-house training.  Branches normally open on Thursdays will not open until 1:30 p.m. 

The Surfside Beach branch will be closed Saturday, October 4, 2014, due to the Surfside Beach Family Festival.  Also the Loris branch will be closed Saturday, October 18, 2014, due to the Loris Bog Off.

For more information, please contact the Horry County Memorial Library System Administration Office at 843-915-5285.

Conway, South Carolina –Horry County Registration and Elections would like to remind citizens that the last day to register to vote for the November 4 General Election is Saturday, October 4. The Horry County Registration & Elections Office will be open from 8:30 a.m. to noon on October 4. If mailing a registration application, it MUST be post marked by Saturday, October 4, to be eligible to vote in November. Applications turned in or post marked after October 4, will not be eligible to vote this year.

The last day to vote absentee in the Horry County Registration and Elections Office is Monday, November 3rd. The Horry County Registration and Elections Office is located at 1515 4th Avenue in Conway. (Absentee voting requirements are below.) Keep in mind that there is no EARLY voting in South Carolina.

Voters are encourage to review their voter registration information to confirm any changes prior to the upcoming General Election by going to www.scvotes.org under the “Voters” tab on the left.  Also, voters unsure of their voting location should contact their county voter registration office at 915-5440 or log onto the State Election Commission website.

1. Voters can now go on the State Election Commission website and pull up their own personal sample ballots. Horry County will feature 51 different ballot styles for the General Election.
2. Visit scvotes.org and click on "Get My Sample Ballot" in the MySCVOTES Section on the right side of the page.
3. Enter your county, name, and date of birth to access your voter registration record.
4. Click "View Sample Ballot."
5. Select a party (primaries only), then click the button to download your ballot.
6. Click "OK" to view a .pdf of your ballot.

DIRECT LINK

Polls will open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. and registered voters waiting in line at 7 p.m. will still be allowed to vote. Registered voters will be required to show any one of five forms of identification in order to vote. Voters must show a voter’s registration card with a picture, driver’s license, a picture ID issued from the Department of Motor Vehicles, any military ID or passport. All forms of identification must be current.

Curbside voting is also available for any voter, because of a physical handicap or aged 65 or older who cannot enter the polling place may vote outside of the polling place in their car.

Unofficial results from the election will be posted on Horry County’s website immediately after the results are tallied. The results will be on the county’s homepage and will be updated every five minutes. In order to receive the latest information, users will need to hit their “Refresh” or “Reload” button. The polls will close at 7 p.m. and the results will then be tallied. Also, Horry County will be opening the Horry County Government & Justice Center multi-purpose rooms the evening of November 4, 2014, for public viewing of the results as they come in throughout the evening. Keep in mind that the polls close at 7 p.m.

Persons qualified to vote by absentee ballot:

• Persons who will be on vacation outside their county of residence on Election Day
• Members of the Uniformed Services or Merchant Marine, and their spouses and dependents residing with them
• Persons who, for reasons of employment, will not be able to vote on Election Day
• Physically disabled persons
• Persons sixty-five (65) years of age or older
• Persons serving as a juror in state or federal court on Election Day
• Persons admitted to the hospital as emergency patients on day of election or within a four-day period before the election
• Persons with a death or funeral in the family within three days before the election
• Persons confined to a jail or pre-trial facility pending disposition of arrest or trial
• Persons attending to sick or physically disabled persons
• Certified poll watchers, poll managers, and county election officials working on Election Day

Procedures for voting by absentee ballot:

Qualified voters may vote absentee in person or by mail.

In Person - Visit your county voter registration office , complete an application, and cast your ballot.  You may vote absentee in person up until 5:00 p.m. on Monday, November 3, 2014. (Horry County Registrations and Elections Office is located at 1515 4th Avenue in Conway.)

By Mail - Step 1: Contact your county voter registration office to request an absentee ballot application.  You may make the request in person or by phone, mail, email, or fax. (Horry County Registration and Elections Office (843) 915-5440, fax (843) 915-6440)

Online – Step 1: Voters can also request an absentee ballot application online. Once your print and fill out the application, you can submit it by mail, fax (843) 915-6440, or email it to skipperl@horrycounty.org. Then skip to Step 4.

Step 2:  You will be mailed an application.

Step 3:  Return the completed application to your county voter registration office by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, October 31, 2014.  You may return the application in person or by mail, email, or fax. 

Step 4:  You will be mailed an absentee ballot.

Step 5:  Vote the ballot following ballot instructions and return it to your county voter registration office by 7:00 p.m. on the day of the election.  You may return the ballot in person or by mail. 

Conway, South Carolina— Approximately 26 percent of Horry County property owners will be receiving real estate assessment notices this week. The form they will receive is clearly marked at the top with “THIS IS NOT A TAX BILL”, and it shows the 2014 market and taxable property values, as well as the assessment value which is used to calculate the tax bill. The reason that not all property owners will receive this notice is that State law requires the notice to be sent only to owners of properties whose market value has increased by $1,000.  This notice also provides guidance if the owner would like to appeal the assessment on their property.

The 2014 real estate property reassessment has resulted in 65,266 properties with market value increases of $1,000 or more, which are the properties that will receive the assessment notices.  There are 158,662 properties with market value decreases of $1,000 or more and 26,000 properties with increases or decreases less than $1,000.

Each property owner has 90 days after the date of the assessment notice to notify the Assessor’s Office if they would like to appeal the value as shown on the reassessment notice. The appeal form is available HERE. Filing an appeal does not waive the tax liability, so while the appeals process is underway, it is recommended that you pay the tax liability prior to the penalty period to avoid further penalties.  For more information on property assessment notices, please contact the Horry County Assessor’s Department at (843) 915-5040.

Also towards the end of October, the county will mail real property tax bills. Approximately 250,000 bills will be mailed. However, if you have been making installment payments during the year  as payments to be applied against your  2014 real property tax bill, your tax bill will not be mailed to you until November 15th. The reason for this delay is that the installment payment that you make during the month of October needs to be processed in order to determine the remaining balance due on your 2014 taxes.  Tax bills relating to 2014 can be paid without penalty up to January 15, 2015. Payments postmarked after January 15, 2015, and payments paid at the County’s Treasurer’s Office locations after January 15, 2015 will be subject to a 3% penalty, and additional penalty of 7% if not paid on or before February 1, 2015, and a third penalty of 5% if not paid on or before  March 16, 2015.  Additional information relating to paying real property taxes on-line, or signing up for the installment payment plan, is available HERE.  New applications for the 2015 tax year Installment Payment Program deadline is January 15, 2015.  For more information concerning tax payments please contact the Horry County Treasurer’s Office at (843) 915-5470.

Conway, South Carolina- After deliberating only four (4) hours yesterday, a jury found thirty-four (34) year old Jamar Antonio Huggins guilty of Burglary in the First Degree, Kidnapping and Armed Robbery. 

These crimes were committed in the early morning hours of December 20, 2012 on Memory Lane in the Conway section of Horry County.  The incident was a true home invasion where a female deceived her friend, the victim in this case, to opening the door to her home around 1:00 a.m. to a terrifying attack.  Two men, one being an armed Jamar Huggins, rushed in, pointed a gun at her and her twelve (12) year old daughter and demanded money from them.  Before she could run to her daughter’s aid, the unidentified co-defendant forced the victim into the master bathroom. 

Jamar Huggins’ criminal jury trial began on Tuesday, September 16, 2014 in Horry County General Sessions Court before the Honorable Benjamin H. Culbertson.  Fifteenth Circuit Senior Assistant Solicitor Donna Elder represented the State and John Reuben Long, II, Esq. represented the accused.  By Thursday afternoon on September 17, 2014, Jamar Huggins was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to serve fifteen (15) years at the South Carolina Department of Corrections in Columbia, S.C. 

All three of these crimes are deemed “violent, most serious” and “no parole” offenses under South Carolina law.  Offense like these are considered strikes against Jamar Huggins under South Carolina’s two-strike and three-strike laws.  “No parole” offenses are any crimes carrying a penalty of twenty (20) years or more.  That means that service of eighty-five percent (85%) of the sentence imposed is required before Jamar Huggins is eligible for release to community supervision (parole). 

If you have any questions about this case, please contact Senior Assistant Solicitor Donna Elder at (843) 915-5460.