North Myrtle Beach’s new mayor inherited a $35 million debt, an outdated comprehensive plan, and a city without a clear direction. But he didn’t inherit it from strangers — he sat at the table for 22 years while the decisions were being made. Five months in, residents are watching the same council that built the mess try to clean it up with lifestyle ordinances. It’s time for clear direction.
A City Looking for Its Footing
For 24 years, Marilyn Hatley led North Myrtle Beach. On December 1, 2025, she handed the gavel to longtime councilman J.O. Baldwin III [MyHorryNews, 2025]. The transition was framed as a fresh chapter.
Here’s the more honest version. Baldwin served on city council since 2003 — more than 22 years on the same body that allowed the current problems to take root [Post and Courier, 2025]. He was Mayor Pro Tem for several years before being elected. Most of the current council served alongside Hatley for multiple terms, with the exception of two newer members. The transition wasn’t really a transition. It was a promotion.
The new administration inherited real problems — but the inheritance came from a table they were sitting at. So far, North Myrtle Beach can’t seem to decide if it wants to be Big Brother or the little one with no boundaries — and it’s trying to be both at once. Neither fits.
Smoking Bans and Golf Cart Silence
On May 4, 2026, council gave final approval to ban smoking and e-cigarettes on all public beaches, effective January 1, 2027 [WPDE, 2026; WFXB, 2026]. The first reading on April 6 passed unanimously [North Myrtle Beach Times, 2026]. Final approval came less than a month later.
That’s how an ordinance moves when council has decided it wants to act. Mayor Baldwin openly admitted enforcement will be “complaint-driven,” with signs as the primary deterrent because “there’s no way we can have somebody go up and down the beach [AOL/Yahoo News, 2026].
The city is passing rules it openly admits it can’t actively enforce — while staying conspicuously quiet on safety issues that actually require leadership, like the absence of clear restrictions on golf carts at night through busy tourist corridors. The golf cart question has come up at council meetings for years without producing a comprehensive ordinance. Smoking on the sand: from proposal to law in under thirty days. Golf carts: still on the table after years. That’s not a council with clear direction. That’s a council reaching for easy wins while the harder calls sit untouched.
Meanwhile, on Main Street
While council debated beach signage, downtown was burning through officer overtime. During the May 8–17 Bike Week Spring Rally, North Myrtle Beach police arrested at least 14 people in connection with fights along Main Street, primarily near SkyBar and Ducks Night Life [WMBF News, 2026; WPDE, 2026]. Multiple officers were injured. One was transported for medical evaluation [MyHorryNews, 2026].
Police Captain Sean Downey said the department is “debriefing” and looking at “what little postures we can take that maybe will quiet some of that down sooner” [WBTW, 2026]. That’s the right posture from law enforcement. The silence from city leadership has been the missing piece. No press conference. No public plan. No acknowledgment from the mayor or council outlining how the city will manage the next major festival — and the Black Pearl Bike Fest is starting now.
The Inheritance Was Real — But So Was the Seat at the Table
Mayoral candidate Troy Spencer made the city’s debt his central campaign issue, telling the Post and Courier: “The city is $35 million in debt and the other two guys running are a big reason why [Post and Courier, 2025]. According to North Myrtle Beach’s own unaudited reporting, the city’s debt sits at approximately $35.6 million — most of it tied to general obligation bonds for the Park and Sports Complex, including a $27 million bond obtained in June 2025 for expansion [Sun News / Yahoo News, 2025].
That June 2025 bond was approved by the same council Baldwin sat on as Mayor Pro Tem. Most of the current council voted on it. The growth they now want to manage was approved during the years they served on council. The financial position they now lead was built during the years they served on council. The comprehensive plan that’s now overdue should have been updated during the years they served on council.
They were in the room. So when council talks about “inheriting” problems, residents deserve accurate framing: they inherited the problems from themselves. That isn’t disqualifying. But it does raise the stakes for what comes next.
Pandering vs. Governing
The early instinct from the new administration — easy ordinances, complaint-driven enforcement, silence on the harder problems — looks suspiciously like the instinct that produced the inheritance in the first place.
Banning smoking polls well. It costs nothing. It signals “we’re listening” without requiring political risk. Governing looks different. It looks like finally deciding what to do about golf carts. A public accounting of the $35.6 million in debt with a plan to manage it. A comprehensive plan that moves forward. The mayor stepping in front of the cameras to talk about Main Street.
It looks like deciding, openly, whether North Myrtle Beach wants to be a quiet residential beach town or a tourism-driven event city — because trying to be both, halfway, is what got us here. And the people who got us here are still the people running the city. That’s not a reason to give up on them. It’s a reason to expect more.
What Residents Should Watch
Watch whether council finally decides what it wants to do about golf carts. Watch whether the mayor publicly addresses Main Street before the next festival. Watch whether department head positions get filled. Watch whether the comprehensive plan finally moves. Watch whether residents get an honest financial accounting from the same officials who voted on the decisions that produced it.
And watch what gets banned next. If the answer is more lifestyle ordinances while the inherited problems sit untouched, this isn’t a new direction. It’s the old direction with new packaging.
The smoking ban takes effect January 1. The brawls already happened. The $35.6 million in debt is documented in the city’s own books. The golf cart question is still unresolved. The comprehensive plan is still outdated.
The mess wasn’t created during the new administration’s first five months. But most of it was created at a table the new mayor sat at for 22 years — and most of the current council sat with him. The question isn’t whether they inherited the problems. It’s whether the same people who helped create them can finally make the call to lead us back out.
It’s time for clear direction. Big Brother or the little one with no boundaries — pick one. The current limbo isn’t working.
Further Reading
- NMB City Debt Breakdown ($35.6 Million) — Sun News / Yahoo (Dec. 2025): yahoo.com
- NMB Mayor Race — Baldwin’s 22 Years on Council — Post and Courier (Oct. 2025): postandcourier.com
- NMB Smoking Ban Final Approval — WPDE (May 2026): wpde.com
- Dozen Arrests After Main Street Fights — WMBF News (May 2026): wmbfnews.com
- NMBPD Adjusting Strategy After Brawls — WBTW (May 2026): wbtw.com
- Baldwin Sworn In as Mayor — MyHorryNews (Dec. 2025): myhorrynews.com
