City and town officials from across South Carolina will gather in Greenville this July for the Municipal Association’s Annual Meeting, a three-day conference addressing critical issues including civility in local government, economic development, affordable housing and law enforcement administration. Those joining the meeting can review the meeting agenda and several session previews to help decide which of the concurrent sessions they would like to attend.
Session previews
On a recent podcast, Municipal Association Executive Director Todd Glover and Chief Operating Officer Jake Broom discussed many of the sessions scheduled for the Annual Meeting, including youth engagement, retail recruitment and the City Connect Market cooperative purchasing program.
The Municipal Association has placed significant focus on its civility in local government initiative, and that effort will continue at the Annual Meeting. The keynote speaker will be Chris Singleton, a former professional athlete who lost his mother in a racially motivated mass shooting, and has since traveled extensively as a motivational speaker to share his message that “love is stronger than hate.”
Law enforcement policies and procedures have remained an important focus in recent years, and in South Carolina, lawmakers passed Act 218, the Law Enforcement Betterment Bill, which codified many law enforcement standards statewide. One of the Annual Meeting concurrent sessions will explain what cities and towns need to know about the new law, while another will explore hiring practices for law enforcement as well as the requirements for reporting officer misconduct to the SC Criminal Justice Academy.
2023 marks the 40th anniversary of Main Street South Carolina, the grassroots downtown economic development program housed within the Municipal Association. Main Street SC has already been using conferences and published articles highlighting its successes over the last four decades. At the Annual Meeting, several Main Street officials from around the state will explain how they have invested in their historic commercial districts and used the Main Street Approach to revitalize their local economies. One of the programs to be featured, Downtown Florence, won the prestigious Great American Main Street Award at the National Main Street Conference in March.
Find the 2023 Annual Meeting Agenda here.
Download the Municipal Association app for meeting information
The Municipal Association of SC app isn’t just for events — it also offers plenty of event information for the Annual Meeting. Attendees can use the app to plan which of the various concurrent sessions they want to attend.
The app also provides users with information on speakers and exhibitors. Beyond the Annual Meeting, it offers access to resources like the Association’s training calendar, municipal directory, staff listing and job openings.
Users should note that the app only refreshes when they navigate through it, selecting links. If they have not navigated through the app since a previous meeting, then old meeting information may populate when they open the app. They can correct this by selecting links to make the app update itself.
Download the app from either the App Store or Google Play by searching for “Municipal Association of SC.” Association staff will be available at the Annual Meeting to assist with the app.
Key Annual Meeting dates
- June 20, 21 and 22 – Cities with a phone appointment register on one of these days. During the appointment, an Association staff member will call the city representative to start the online registration/reservation process.
- June 23 – Online meeting registration opens for cities without appointments and nonmunicipal officials.
- July 3 – Deadline to make hotel reservations.
- July 13 – Deadline to register for Annual Meeting.
- July 27 – 30 – Annual Meeting.