CHARLESTON, S.C. — The College of Charleston’s Riley Center for Livable Communities, which carries the name of Joseph P. Riley Jr., has started a statewide program meant to give small towns and rural counties the kind of expert backup that bigger cities take for granted.
Called the Rural Local Government Initiative, it targets places where a single employee may juggle several jobs. Twenty-eight of South Carolina’s 46 counties are losing people or growing by no more than 5%, and the center says the state is the only one in the Southeast without a major university center built to bolster local government on a wide scale.
The program has three parts: an online resource hub with templates and contacts open to any rural community, a yearlong leadership course taught in small local groups at little or no cost, and project help for towns that finish the course, such as strategic or downtown plans.
Laurens Mayor Nathan Senn joins as a fellow while remaining mayor, and Maren Trochmann is the new director of professional development. Trochmann pointed to a wave of retirements draining expertise from small governments. Money for the effort comes from the S.C. General Assembly, and the center is forming an advisory board of about 10 to 12 local officials.
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