City Quick Connect Podcast From The Municipal Association Of South Carolina

Annexation is an important issue for the development of cities and towns. Municipal Association field services managers Charlie Barrineau and Jeff Shacker discuss annexation methods in SC, and important issues to consider when planning or executing annexations.

The Municipal Association’s Raising Hometown Voices to a New Level of Influence handbook digs into the specific steps city and town leaders can take to advocate for their needs effectively at the State House. Manager for Municipal Advocacy Casey Fields talks through some of the key takeaways of the guide, and how it ties into the curriculum of the Advanced Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government.

City-sponsored special events can bring questions about liability and insurance coverage for municipal officials. Heather Ricard, director of the Municipal Association's Risk Management Services, talks about some of the most common questions that event planners have.

For years, SC cities and towns have worked to simplify the business licensing process, which provides a key source of local government revenue. In this podcast, the Municipal Association’s legislative team discuss the Association’s push for standardizing business licensing around the state, how municipalities can participate as well as current legislation on the issue.

The Joint Academy of the SC Municipal Finance Officers, Clerks and Treasurers Association and SC Business Licensing Officials Association is coming October 8 – 11. Jeff Shacker and Scott Slatton talk through the agenda for this training opportunity.

The Municipal Association’s legislative team talks about the issues discussed in the first week of Regional Advocacy Meetings, and the best ways for city and town officials to get involved.

S217, a bill that would allow for hospitality and accommodations tax revenue to be used for flooding in tourism areas, needs passage by the SC House of Representatives to achieve completion of the last of the Municipal Association's 2019 Advocacy Initiatives. Melissa Harrill explains how city and town officials can advocate to help get the bill passed at the beginning of the coming legislative session.

The SC Freedom of Information Act is the backbone of governmental transparency in South Carolina. The Municipal Association's Director of Governmental Affairs Tiger Wells discusses the law as it has evolved and the requirements it places on cities and towns.

Delegates at the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s Annual Meeting unanimously elected Dennis Raines, mayor of the City of Mauldin, as the Association’s president. He will serve a one-year term. When asked about his vision for South Carolina hometowns, here is what Raines had to say.

The Municipal Association has for several years awarded Hometown Economic Development Grants for smaller-scale development projects, and will this year award a total of $325,000 through individual grants of up to $25,000. Scott Slatton talks about past HEDG winners and how to apply.

Charlie Barrineau and Jeff Shacker are the Municipal Association’s field services managers, traveling the state to help address issues that cities and towns experience and providing hands-on technical assistance. In this podcast, Charlie and Jeff talk about the kind of questions they get on the road and some resources they often provide.

Building codes exist to ensure people can live and work in a safely built environment, and they are often touched by state legislation. Scott Slatton talks about building code advocacy, especially since the Building Officials Association of South Carolina joined the Municipal Association as an affiliate in 2017.

This week’s podcast is a big one, taking a look back at the 2019 legislative session with the Municipal Association’s legislative team. The many topics covered include the Local Government Fund, public utility relocation costs, small wireless facilities, hospitality tax flexibility and funding for the SC Criminal Justice Academy, among others.

Since 1988, the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government has graduated nearly 2,000 elected officials around the state, and will graduate more at the Municipal Association’s Annual Meeting in July. In this week’s podcast, Staff Associate for Distance Learning Urica Floyd explains current and upcoming courses with the institute, including how participating officials who need to complete on-demand courses in order to graduate can do so before the Annual Meeting.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is it for city and town officials to get involved with the Association’s advocacy efforts at the State House by attending one of the Regional Advocacy Meetings this fall? According to Tiger Wells, director of governmental affairs for the Municipal Association, “somewhere between 12 and 15.” Learn about how the meetings help to make legislative advocacy possible and successful.

Krystal Dailey, information technology manager for the Municipal Association, explains some cybersecurity basics, including how planning and training can help guard against an attack that can substantially shut down a city or town's ability to conduct business.

Participants in the Main Street South Carolina program experienced North Augusta’s newly developed Riverside Village and Minor League Baseball SRP Park during the Main Street SC Summer Retreat. At that game, Jenny Boulware, manager of Main Street SC, sat down with Avery Spears-Mahoney of North Augusta Forward and Haley Knight of the Aiken Downtown Development Association to talk about what's happening in their programs

Casey Fields explains the status of newly passed and active bills following the extended session last week. She also digs into the final version of the state budget, including the increased amount of Local Government Fund revenue and the new recurring funding for the Criminal Justice Academy.

The Municipal Association’s Annual Meeting is coming up July 18 – 21 in Greenville. Eric Budds, interim executive director for the Association, talks about events scheduled for this year’s meeting, including sessions on community partnership building for law enforcement as well as opportunity zone investments.

The General Assembly ended its regular session last week and will return next week to pick up the remaining budget work. Casey Fields talks about the House and Senate versions of the budget as well as the current status of key bills, which will all remain active in the 2020 session.