From July 27 to 29, officials from cities and towns across South Carolina gathered in Greenville at the Municipal Association’s 2023 Annual Meeting to address topics ranging from the civility in local government initiative to economic and community development, as well as legislative advocacy. Many of the Annual Meeting sessions have presentations and recordings now available on the Association’s website.
Summing up the past year and looking ahead
Delegates elected Barbara Blain-Bellamy as president of the Municipal Association of SC during the Association’s 2023 Annual Meeting in Greenville.
In her remarks (audio available here), Blain-Bellamy drew attention to the Municipal Association’s civility in local government campaign — first highlighted at the 2022 Annual Meeting — which has since gained attention among municipal leagues elsewhere in the nation. It has also spurred interest among officials inside the state, both through municipal councils using the civility pledge during their meetings, and through a partnership between the Municipal Association and the SC School Board Association.
At the same time, Blain-Bellamy said, the Municipal Association has achieved success at the State House “supporting and passing legislation to ensure our elected officials have the tools necessary to govern our cities and towns and provide the best services to our residents, visitors and business owners.”
The Association’s outgoing president, Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon (audio available here), praised the expansion of the civility initiative at a time when public discourse has deteriorated, and also the growth of the Municipal Association’s federal outreach efforts. Municipal Association representatives now regularly meet with South Carolina’s Congressional delegation and host meetings with their staffs.
“This outreach has already paid dividends, from heads-up phone calls, questions, changes made to bills and relationships formed that we have never had in the history of the Association,” he said.
Osbon listed some of the state-level legislative wins of the last year, including the removal of a budget proviso that would have prohibited cities and towns from regulating short-term rentals, allowing the use of state and local accommodations taxes for workforce housing development, a ban on dangerous “squat truck” modifications, an act allowing smaller municipalities to provide a compilation of financial statements instead of cost-prohibitive audits, and an increase in penalties for fentanyl trafficking.
He cautioned that proposed bans on short-term rental regulations continue to be introduced in the General Assembly, with one such bill, H3253, remaining active for the 2024 session.
Municipal Association Executive Director Todd Glover echoed this issue (audio available here), describing the push for a regulation ban as one that “may be the biggest act of preemption since I’ve been with the Association.”
“We all know that short-term rental answers for Edisto Beach or Folly Beach or Charleston are probably not the solution for Greenwood or Simpsonville. We have to maintain the ability for all of you to make that local decision. You are the folks that see your constituents in the school, at church, at the grocery store. You have your finger on the pulse.”
Glover called attention to the Association’s inaugural Small City Summit, which took place simultaneously with the first day of the Annual Meeting, addressing the resources and needs of municipalities of fewer than 3,000 residents, a group that makes up nearly 70% of South Carolina municipalities.
He also called attention to the current efforts of the Association’s downtown technical assistance program, Main Street South Carolina, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, expanding its staff and launching WeShopSC, a statewide e-commerce platform for small businesses.
“We're here to try and make your job easier,” Glover told the gathered city and town officials. “If there's anything that we can do to help you do your jobs, please let us know.”
“Love is stronger than hate”
The Annual Meeting’s keynote speaker, Chris Singleton, is a former professional athlete drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2017. Following the loss of his mother in a racially-motivated mass shooting in Charleston, Singleton became an inspirational speaker who has shared his message of unity and racial reconciliation with large numbers of organizations nationwide every year. He shared his message with the Municipal Association of SC Annual Meeting that “love is stronger than hate.”
Singleton drew a connection between his message of unity and the Municipal Association’s civility pledge, which reads, “I pledge to build a stronger and more prosperous community by advocating for civil engagement, respecting others and their viewpoints, and finding solutions for the betterment of my city or town.”
In respecting others’ viewpoints rather than dismissing them, Singleton said that everyone who disagrees with someone else needs to reflect on the life experiences, or personal story, that would have led the other person to arrive at their stance.
His request to the audience is that they not change who they are in the pursuit of civility, but that they “remind people there is a story behind every single stance.”
From the Dome to Your Home live podcast
The regular podcasters of From the Dome to Your Home, Casey Fields and Scott Slatton, hosted a session of the legislative podcast with a live audience both to discuss the communications purposes of the program and to demonstrate how it is made. In the episode recorded, they talk about the Municipal Association’s participation in meetings such as the Southern Legislative Conference.
Achievement Award videos
During each Annual Meeting, the Association recognizes superior and innovative efforts in local government with the Achievement Awards. See the videos highlighting this year’s winners, ranging from West Pelzer’s Rural Renewal Master Plan to Bluffton’s Neighborhood Assistance Program to Goose Creek’s communications surrounding the development of its Central Creek Park.