Lauren Clever, the former Director of The City of Myrtle Beach Downtown Development Office, and the City of Myrtle Beach administration agreed to mutually part ways. Mrs. Clever is no longer employed by the City of Myrtle Beach.
Reorganized in 2019, the City of Myrtle Beach Downtown Development Office provides leadership, vision and directs the implementation of the new Downtown Master Plan. The department’s prime roles are expanding downtown economic development, building a new center for arts & culture and preserving the built history of downtown Myrtle Beach. They are charged with creating an interesting, walkable and lively downtown for locals and visitors alike.
Prior to 2019, the department was it’s own city funded entity known as the Downtown Redevelopment Corporation (DRC). The group was funded by parking meter fees.
Clever was initially hired as a secretary for former DRC Executive Director, David Sebok. After several high profile lawsuits in an area then known as the Myrtle Beach Superblock, Sebok vacated the position.
Clever was then promoted to DRC Executive Director by then City Manager John Pedersen. It was one of the many “bad” hires former city staff now claim Pedersen made as Clever had no prior background in downtown redevelopment.
Because of the many lawsuits, key employee departures, and low city staff moral, Pedersen will certainly go down as the worst City Manager in the over 80 year history of Myrtle Beach.
Lauren Clever in 2020 was employed directly by the City of Myrtle Beach and had an annual salary of $92,374 according to public records. This salary is 44 percent higher than average and 60 percent higher than median salary in City of Myrtle Beach.
A source inside the City of Myrtle Beach sent us the following this week: Current City Manager Fox Simons told her she wasn’t the right person for the job after working with Clever. Fox took over the City Manager position on Jan 9, 2021 with the retirement of Pedersen. Clever finally went to him and said if he felt that way, he should offer her a severance package and she would leave.
The City of Myrtle Beach gave her a severance package and she left.
We reached out to City Manager Fox Simons for a reply and he stated the following via email, “You are correct, Lauren is no longer working for the city. She approached us and we mutually came to an agreement. As you know, the City does not normally comment on personnel matters.”
Tuvia Wilkes, one of the larger property owners in the city of Myrtle Beach said, “The cabal hired her. The cabal elevated her. The cabal showered her with tax payers’ money. The cabal knew she was not qualified and the cabal covered up her dismal performance and finally the cabal saw to it she got a bonus when she was finally exposed……..“
Added Wilkes, “The cabal covered up for her failures so she could cover up for their 20 year failure running a suspect entity known as the DRC. There is no other way to waste tax money without accountability .. It is a “I’ll cover up your stupidity” if you cover up for my stupidity game.”
Wilkes stated, “Give credit to Assistant City Manager, Brian Tucker, who may be cleaning up the bad ole boy system there… Clever was a nice lady to those she liked, not nice to me or anyone that questioned the city’s course of action.”