The leaders of the state’s smaller cities and towns have an opportunity to join a conference geared toward their needs and challenges in Greenville on Thursday, July 27, when the Municipal Association hosts its first Small City Summit.
The event has a separate registration from the Municipal Association Annual Meeting, with a deadline of July 13. Registration for the limited-seating summit is now open, and the Association will give registration preference to those municipalities whose populations are 3,000 or fewer.
The event will have no hotel block of its own, and those attendees who will not attend the Annual Meeting need to make hotel arrangements on their own. Those who attend both events will have their hotel rooms reserved during the Annual Meeting registration process handled by their city.
Although the Small City Summit is a single-day conference, it will cover numerous topics:
- Law enforcement policy changes required by Act 218 – Act 218, passed in 2022, codified many law enforcement standards statewide and has become part of an ongoing effort to improve upon best practices and address the risk management needs of police departments.
- Outsourcing of municipal services – This can include finance, IT, building inspection or law enforcement.
- City planning for small cities
- Business licensing – Act 176, the South Carolina Business License Tax Standardization Act, required the state’s cities and towns to use standard methods of administering the business license tax beginning in 2022.
- Legal requirements for operating a municipality – This can include items like budgets, audits and monthly council meetings. The Municipal Association also offers a Handbook for Municipal Officials in South Carolina.