CONWAY, S.C. -- On January 9, City Council members in Conway, S.C., will debate a proposed ordinance to require gas stations within the city limits to make consumers prepay for their fuel, reported the Myrtle Beach Sun News.
Officials said such an ordinance could save businesses thousands of dollars in loss and save the city in police time.
One business, the Cash & Dash, could be exempt because it is set up for customers to pump their gasoline and then pay an attendant at a driveup window, said the report.
The proposed ordinance is similar to one Myrtle Beach, S.C., city officials enacted in July after police officials said gasoline driveoffs are nearly impossible to solve and consume much of an officer's time and resources better spent elsewhere.
The ordinance essentially eliminates that type of crime. It makes it impossible to commit, Myrtle Beach spokesperson Mark Kruea said. We were on a pace to have nearly 900 gas driveoffs in the city. Yes, it is an inconvenience for some people because not everybody uses a credit card at the pump and not everybody likes to walk inside and pay. But it's a good tradeoff in terms of time saved, crimes stopped and benefit to the community.
Conway City Councilman Randy Alford has a similar opinion, and that is why he is pushing for the ordinance, said the report.
In a 10-month period in 2004, Conway police were called to 234 gasoline driveoffs, according to the report. After Police Chief Sam Hendrick notified businesses that officers would only respond to calls when a vehicle description and license plate number were provided, the calls dropped to 112 in 2005.
Alford said more needs to be done. It is a problem, and I feel like the city needs to be active in getting something done, he told the newspaper. We can eliminate that problem, [and paying after pumping] is just a habit that needs to be broken.
Ted Neff, vice president of operations for Scotchman and Young's Food Stores, which operates three stores in the city, told the Sun News that driveoffs are a problem and costly to his businesses. But he said to exempt one storethe Cash & Dashgives that business a competitive advantage. We support that so long as everybody in the city of Conway and preferably Horry County as a whole have to do it, Neff said. Driveoffs are a problem, and they're hard to enforce and catch the offenders. The higher price of gasoline means driveoffs cause a loss to the bottom line.
For George Allison, general manager of the Hugo CITGO, it is not a big problem, the report said. We're in favor of it if it's citywide, but excluding the Cash & Dash would give them the advantage over us; so in that case my vote would be no to the ordinance. Allison estimates his store has six to 10 driveoffs a year and credits an elaborate camera security system with helping track down offenders.
For Myrtle Beach officials, it has been a great idea, Kruea said. He noted that even some stations on the fringes of the city limits put stickers on their pump about the ordinance and require prepayment. Most of the gas station owners were in favor of it but reluctant to do it on their own for competitive reasons, so having it required eliminated that, he told the paper. Unfortunately, it was an easy crime to commit and difficult one to solve...and since the value of tank of gas has increased to $30, $40 or even $60 for a tank, it's not a small crime.
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