As newly elected mayors and councilmembers first enter office, they need to understand the specifics of how their municipality works, the state laws that govern how city government operates, and even how to navigate compromises with their fellow councilmembers.
The Municipal Association offers a variety of resources to help those who are new to elected office. Here are some highlights:
Education and training opportunities
The Association offers the state’s municipalities with onsite assistance in the form of its Field Services managers — a three-member team that travels among all of South Carolina’s 271 municipalities to help local officials with their questions or challenges. They also provide hands-on technical assistance, regularly attend city and town council meetings, conduct informational sessions and goal-setting workshops, and offer training for newly elected officials.
Beginning in 1986, the Association has offered the Municipal Elected Officials Institute of Government to help city councils around the state understand the key issues involved in running their government, ranging from managing budgets to policy decisions, economic development and legal compliance. The Association also offers educational sessions at its Hometown Legislative Action Day, taking place at the beginning of each legislative session, and the Municipal Association Annual Meeting taking place each July.
Local officials everywhere can take advantage of the Association’s library of reference publications, including most significantly the Handbook for Municipal Officials in South Carolina.
Collaboration and civility
Councilmembers need to understand that their council operates as a team, and need to develop and maintain positive working relationships with each other and with municipal staff. The Municipal Association advocates frequently for civility in local government and provides resources to help with this, including a resolution that councils can adopt to promote civility, and a civility pledge.
Forms of government
State law allows municipalities to choose their governance structure from one of three forms: the council form, the mayor-council form, and the council-manager form. Each has its own regulations for the powers vested in the council, the mayor, and the administrator or manager, if any. It’s important for councilmembers to respect the roles of officials and staff in their form of government. The Municipal Association’s Forms and Powers of Municipal Government handbook explains all the differences between the three.
Freedom of Information Act
The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act governs a huge number of important issues for local governments, ranging from how to properly give public notice of meetings, conduct public meetings and release public records. The SC Press Association offers a thorough guide to FOIA issues in its Public Official’s Guide to Compliance with the S.C. Freedom of Information Act.
Stay in touch
Some of the key ways to keep up with what’s happening with the Municipal Association of SC include reading the monthly Uptown publication, which covers a wide variety of topics of important to elected officials; as well as the From the Dome to Your Home legislative updates sent weekly throughout the legislative session; and the Association’s podcast channel, covering everything from legislative action to city administration and award-winning municipal projects.