Myrtle Beach Police and Fire Departments are closer to becoming the highest paid for starting employees in the entire state, and while city employees would also receive raises, it comes at the price of increased taxes.
"It takes people to provide service. If we are not competitive, we won’t have the people. So we’ve been losing people to other better-paying jobs,” Myrtle Beach spokesman Mark Kruea said. For city employees, starting pay would jump to $32,700 a year, and anyone making under $30K would get a 14% raise, anyone making under $40K would get a 10% raise, and anyone under $45K would get an 8% raise. For the fire department, starting pay is about 20% higher, and employees get $300 more for each year of service, up to 10 years.