Concurrent sessions, where attendees break out into one of a couple of sessions several times during the Municipal Association’s Annual Meeting, give city and town leaders options for learning more about many topics relevant to their communities.
The full agenda for the Annual Meeting, taking place July 17 through 21 in Greenville. Here are the concurrent session options:
Thursday, July 18
2 p.m. sessions
- How to Manage Rising Municipal Insurance Costs – Increased claims costs and insurance market forces are driving increases in municipal insurance premiums. This session will address key areas impacting municipal property and liability premiums and provide takeaways to manage those costs.
- Collaboration and Economic Opportunity: The Partnership for Inclusive Innovation – This session will introduce participants to the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation, a public-private partnership begun in Georgia that is catalyzing innovation for shared economic prosperity across that state and the Southeast. Hear about their programs and opportunities for funding, mentorship, active programming, and other ways South Carolina cities and organizations can collaborate with the Partnership.
3:15 p.m. sessions
- Partnering for Wellbeing: Effective Mental Health Resources for Local Governments – Mental health issues affect a significant portion of residents within our cities and towns. Untreated mental health issues place a considerable burden on emergency services and local law enforcement officers who are responding to mental health emergencies that they are not trained to address. In this session, hear how understanding and investing in mental health resources, local governments can create safer, more vibrant communities for all residents, while reducing strain on emergency services. Leaders from the SC Department of Mental Health will outline services and resources that are available to cities and towns through the department and its 16 regional offices.
- Revitalize Your Downtown District: Unlock the Power of Economic Development Incentives – Explore strategic uses of incentives to fuel downtown revitalization efforts. Discover valuable redevelopment tools such as the Bailey Bill, tax credit programs and grants. Learn from the panel including a town manager, a tax credit professional and a downtown property owner about effective methods to engage and incentivize local investors.
Friday, July 19
11:15 a.m. sessions
- Small Projects, Big Impact: Activating Your Community Through Placemaking Projects – Cities and towns can activate their communities both visually and economically through placemaking projects that will catalyze retail growth. By incorporating creative projects like street art and murals, communities can build upon renewal strategies that will spur retail economic development in historic downtowns or suburban shopping areas. In this session, learn about tools and strategies for working with limited funding to execute placemaking ideas and build a retail recruitment plan to successfully transform retail environments and boost economic growth.
- Police Departments and Crisis Intervention Teams – Mental health response teams can provide resources to assist those in mental health crisis. Learn more about how police departments such as those in the cities of Clemson and West Columbia are using crisis intervention teams.
2:30 p.m. sessions
- Your City’s Future Workforce: Unleashing Gen Z and Millennial Talent – Gen Z and Millennials will make up more than half of the U.S. workforce by 2025. It’s critical that municipalities maximize young professional talent now to prepare for tomorrow's workforce. This session will give participants tools that clearly illustrate how to enhance performance with the "4 Es" — embrace intergenerational communication, engage, equip and empower future leaders.
- Large City Roundtable – This roundtable discussion will cover important issues facing cities and towns with populations of 20,000 and higher.
3:45 p.m. sessions
- Brownfields Redevelopment: Available Resources for Turning Your Community’s Liabilities into Assets – Whether it’s a former textile mill, landfill, or an asbestos-laden building, many South Carolina municipalities are far too familiar with the economic and community development crippling effects caused by the presence of brownfield sites. Due to current state and federal efforts, more grant and low-interest loan funding is available than ever before for the assessment and cleanup of these sites. This session will include tips and resources for accessing funding for assessment, cleanup, and voluntary cleanup contract processes, as well as an overview of the SC Brownfields Environmental Site Testing and the SC Brownfields Cleanup Revolving Loan Fund programs, which can be used to kickstart the process of revitalizing a municipality’s brownfield sites.
- Building Better Cities: Cultivating Leaders Through Civic Academies – Civic leadership academies educate, connect and inspire leaders to develop a strong commitment to community service for the greater good of cities. Academies provide a learning experience for existing and emerging leaders to understand city services and functions, while building the skills and knowledge to succeed in city leadership roles. Hear how cities like Clemson, Fountain Inn and Spartanburg are cultivating leaders through civic academies.
Saturday, July 20
10:15 a.m. sessions
- Taming the Town Hall Meeting: Simple Strategies for Productive Public Discourse – Maintaining civility at controversial public meetings can be difficult. In this session, led by Municipal Association Executive Director Todd Glover, learn how some simple steps can help make for smoother meetings.
- “Can’t We All Just Get Along?” Cities and Counties Working Together – Cities, towns and counties all rely upon one another to best serve their residents. But when communication and cooperation among them breaks down, residents lose. Hear from municipal and county officials from Greenwood and Sumter whose positive relationships benefit their local governments and their entire communities.
11:15 a.m. sessions
- Navigating Business Licensing – Administering business licensing in compliance with state law is a multifaceted process, involving standardized licensing years and deadlines, a standard class schedule, and mandatory participation in the Local Business Licensing Renewal Center. Hear from the Municipal Association’s Manager for Local Revenue Services Caitlin Cothran on what elected officials need to know, and the questions they should be asking their officials about business licensing.
- WeShopSC: Empowering Your Locally-owned Small Business Community – Discover how this innovative statewide marketplace fosters growth, connectivity, and resilience in South Carolina’s local economies. Hear about success stories and gain insights into leveraging WeShopSC.com as a powerful tool for community revitalization and sustainable business support.
Find more Annual Meeting details and agenda information, including preconference sessions, general sessions, exhibits, the Achievement Awards Luncheon and other items online. All Annual Meeting registrations must be complete by July 5.