CHARLESTON, S.C. — Small South Carolina towns and counties that run on a handful of employees will soon have a new place to turn for training and help, through a statewide program announced Friday by a College of Charleston public service center, the Riley Center for Livable Communities.
The Rural Local Government Initiative is aimed at three kinds of places: small counties, small towns in fast-growing areas and small towns where population is shrinking. The center says 28 of the state 46 counties are either losing residents or growing by 5% or less, even as South Carolina ranks among the fastest-growing states.
The program has three parts. A Rural Resource Hub will collect practical tools, templates, grant leads and contacts that any rural community can use. A yearlong training course will bring elected officials, appointed leaders and staff together in small local groups planned around rural travel and schedules, at little or no cost. Communities that finish the training can then get hands-on technical help on a particular project, such as a strategic plan or a needs assessment.
Center leaders say the gap is real. In a small town, one employee may handle several jobs at once, leaving little time for training or for chasing complicated grants, and many experienced local leaders are now retiring. Some funding opportunities require a comprehensive, strategic or downtown plan before a town can even apply.
The center also says South Carolina is the only Southeastern state without a major university-based center devoted to building local government capacity on a large scale.
Laurens Mayor Nathan Senn has signed on as a center fellow to lead technical assistance, especially in the Upstate, while continuing to serve as mayor. Maren Trochmann, the new director of professional development, will oversee the effort. State lawmakers are paying for it through a General Assembly allocation, an advisory board of about 10 to 12 local leaders is being formed, and work is expected to get underway in early 2027.
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