The Municipal Association of South Carolina offers city officials and staff access to publications covering a wide variety of local government topics, including the handbook Forms and Powers of Municipal Government.
South Carolina municipalities must structure themselves using one of three forms of government defined in state law: the mayor-council form, the council form or the council-manager form. The legislative functions of city and town councils work the same across all three forms, but other functions differ in important ways.
The handbook articulates the powers given by state law to mayors, councils and city managers or administrators under the different forms. It also describes who performs administrative duties under each of the three structures, who supervises departments and appoints and removes employees, and when officials can delegate authority.