UPTOWNMunicipal Association of South Carolina

Inside This IssueMunicipal clerks and financestaff achieve page 3

Start planning to update yourcomprehensive planspage 5

Doughnut hole loopholepage 6

Advocacy. Service. Innovation.

November 2006

More than 600 municipal officialsare expected to be “Making the

Connection” during the MunicipalAssociation of South Carolina’s annualHometown Legislative Action Day(HLAD) on February 28, 2007 at theMarriott Hotel in Columbia.

“Hometown Legislative Action Dayis an opportunity for our members tomake connections on numerous levels,”explained MASC Executive DirectorHoward Duvall. From the opening session to the luncheon to an afternoonbusiness roundtable, municipal officialswill continue to see the important connection between strong, vibrant citiesand a strong, vibrant state.

As the name indicates, HLAD’s primary focus is on legislative issues oflocal government interest. In the morn-ing, MASC staff will brief attendees onthe Association’s major legislative

initiatives and other issues. Officials willsee how to “make the connection”between proposed bills and their effectson local governments as a whole – and specifically on their hometowns. “It isessential for our officials to understandhow the bills we are monitoring on thestate level will affect their individualmunicipalities,” Duvall said. “We will beproviding the information and tools toallow them to do that.”

Visits to the State House and thelegislative reception will give attendeesthe opportunity to connect with theirstate legislators. “There are two purposesbehind these visits,” Duvall added. “First,we hope the municipal officials will useHLAD as an additional opportunity tobuild on relationships and partnershipswith their state legislators. Also, weencourage our attendees to take the timeto explain to their legislators how actions

at the State House will directly affecttheir hometowns.”

Another key part of HLAD is meeting and connecting with other localofficials from across the state. The sessions offer an opportunity to learnfrom others’ experiences and discuss bestpractices.

HLAD begins with registration at 8 a.m. followed by the opening session at9 a.m. and concludes with the legislativereception at 5 p.m. Sessions A and B ofthe Municipal Elected Officials Instituteof Government will be held the daybefore on February 27.

Deadline for pre-registration isFebruary 5. MASC will mail registrationinformation in early January. Registrationinformation will also be available on theMASC Web site (www.masc.sc). Thehotel reservation deadline is February 4to receive the $129 group rate.

Training deadline nears

Making the Connection

Time is running out to complete the mandatory six-hour planning

commission basic training required bystate law. Planning officials and staffmust complete the training by January1, 2007. Officials in municipalitieswith a population of more than 35,000had to have their training completedby January 1, 2006, and must completethree hours of continuing education byJanuary 1, 2007.

The training is mandatory for members on local government plan-ning commissions, boards of zoningappeals and architectural review, andfor staff who directly or indirectlywork with planning officials. The consequence for not attending thismandatory training is severe. Anappointed official can be removedfrom office, and a professional employ-ee can be suspended or dismissed.

DEADLINE continued on page 9

Whether it’s hurricanes in the summer or ice storms in the win-

ter, municipal employees are the firstresponders to an emergency. Mindful ofthis responsibility, many cities are takingextra steps to prepare for disasters beforethey even occur.

The Townof MountPleasant and theCity of Greerannounced inSeptember anew “automaticaid” agreementto provide eachother help in case of disaster.

Under the agreement, either city canrequest automatic aid with a simplephone call from the Mount Pleasant townadministrator or the Greer city adminis-trator. It requires the receiving city to payfor any services within six months.

“It is an excellent opportunity toexhibit good governance and a chancefor two municipalities to cut through thered tape that often prevents communitiesfrom bringing immediate assistance totheir sister cities,” Greer Mayor RichardDanner said.

Mount Pleasant and Greer makegood partners because they often facedifferent threats, said Greer CityAdministrator Ed Driggers.

“The nature of our need, we believe,would be very different from MountPleasant’s,” Driggers added. “They dealwith hurricanes; we deal with icestorms.”

Last year’s slow government responseto Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coastled Mount Pleasant officials to considerother ways to receive assistance outsidetraditional channels, said Mac Burdette,Town of Mount Pleasant administrator.

“The federal and state systems failed toprovide immediate assistance,” Burdettesaid. “We know that in five or six days,

the federal and state governments wouldstart getting their act together and aidwould arrive. But we need people in thefirst 48 hours.”

Also the agreement will help withthe dissemination of information so criticalin times of crisis, Burdette added. The

assisting city canpost valuableupdates on itsWeb site aboutcurrent condi-tions, safe returninformation andthe status ofutility services,

he said. The affected city would likely bedealing with power outages and unableto offer this information on its own.

With the agreement, the two munici-palities can be pro-active and ensure theaid process is put on the fast track inemergencies, Burdette said.

“The bottom line is we’regoing to provide a much-expedited delivery ofresources,” Driggers added.

The City of Beaufortestablished an informal partnership with Leesburg,Florida, and Long Beach,Mississippi. “A network of ahalf-dozen or so small cities ispotentially a very beneficialthing to all these cities,” saidBeaufort Mayor Bill Rauch. “I thought we ought to form aloose-knit organization.”

SC’s municipal electricutilities have a similar aidagreement. These 21 utilitiesbelong to the South CarolinaAssociation of MunicipalPower Systems, which wasformed to share aid such ascrews or equipment duringtimes of disaster. While thisassociation has grown to

provide various other services, mutualaid remains its core function.

The Federal Emergency ManagementAgency encourages cities to have writ-ten mutual aid agreements in case offires, emergencies or other major disas-ters. FEMA will honor the reimbursementprovisions in these agreements, accord-ing to the agency’s Web site.

Whatever agreements cities put in place,good planning is the key to respondingquickly to a disaster, said MASC ExecutiveDirector Howard Duvall.

“The more a city can do to preparefor any type of disaster, the quicker itcan recover,” he added. “It may be amajor hurricane, an ice storm or just apower failure that takes out your computer system, but pre-planning willmake recovering easier on both yourstaff and citizens.”

2 Uptown November 2006

These are no fair weather friends

“The bottom line is we’regoing to provide a much-

expedited delivery ofresources.”

– Greer City Administrator Ed Driggers

November 2006 Uptown 3

In September, 11 individuals graduatedfrom the Municipal Clerks and

Treasurers Institute (MCTI), a three-yearprogram designed to provide municipalclerks and treasurers with the skills criticalto their profession. The fall 2006 graduates are Mary Adger, clerk for theCity of Manning; Vivian Case, clerk/trea-surer for the Town of Ridgeway; TerriCrosby, clerk/clerk of court for the Townof Cottageville; Judy Edwards, clerk forthe Town of Batesburg-Leesville; MaxineFogle, finance clerk for the Town of EdistoBeach; Becky Hildebrand, clerk for theTown of Lexington; Johnna Hodge,administrative clerk for the City ofChester; Connie Littlejohn, clerk/clerk tocouncil for the City of Spartanburg; BetsyMosteller, clerk for the Town of HiltonHead Island; Ruth Padgett, assistantclerk/treasurer for the Town of Edgefield;and Inell Waring, administrative assistantfor the Town of Blackville.

To receive their certificates, graduatesattended more than 100 class hours ontopics such as financial management,overview of government, public adminis-tration, conducting meetings and the roleof the municipal clerk.

Completion of MCTI satisfies the education requirements for certificationfrom the International Institute ofMunicipal Clerks (IIMC) and theAssociation of Public Treasurers.

Before receiving accreditation fromIIMC, candidates must complete a final

requirement: the capstone project. Fourmunicipal employees completed their capstone projects in September: VivianCase, clerk/treasurer for the Town ofRidgeway; Terri Crosby, clerk/clerk ofcourt for the Town of Cottageville; BeckyHildebrand, clerk for the Town ofLexington; and Betsy Mosteller, clerk forthe Town of Hilton Head Island.

During the fall Institute, Sue Woods,clerk for the Town of Liberty, received athree-year scholarship to attend MCTI.The scholarship is sponsored by theMunicipal Finance Officers, Clerks andTreasurers Association (MFOCTA) and isunderwritten by SCANA Corporation.

MCTI is sponsored by MASC, MFOCTA and the Center for Govern-mental Services at the University of SouthCarolina’s Institute of Public Service andPolicy Research.

Municipal clerks and finance staff achieve

The fall 2006 graduates are (in alphabetical order) Mary Adger, clerk for the City of

Manning; Vivian Case, clerk/treasurer for the Town of Ridgeway; Terri Crosby, clerk/clerk of

court for the Town of Cottageville; Judy Edwards, clerk for the Town of Batesburg-Leesville;

Maxine Fogle, finance clerk for the Town of Edisto Beach; Becky Hildebrand, clerk for the

Town of Lexington; Johnna Hodge, administrative clerk for the City of Chester; Connie

Littlejohn, clerk/clerk to council for the City of Spartanburg; Betsy Mosteller, clerk for the

Town of Hilton Head Island; Ruth Padgett, assistant clerk/treasurer for the Town of

Edgefield; and Inell Waring, administrative assistant for the Town of Blackville.

(Note: not all listed are pictured.)

Four municipal employees completed their capstone project in September: from left, Becky

Hildebrand, clerk for the Town of Lexington; Betsy Mosteller, clerk for the Town of Hilton

Head Island; Terri Crosby, clerk/clerk of court for the Town of Cottageville; and Vivian

Case, clerk/treasurer for the Town of Ridgeway.

4 Uptown November 2006

■ The City of Asheville, NC, is accepting

applications for the position of parks and

recreation director. Submit an application

and resume to City of Asheville, Human

Resources Department, PO Box 7148,

Asheville, NC 28802-7148, fax 828.259.5479

or e-mail rnix@ashevillenc.gov. Applications

are available online at www.ashevillenc.gov.

■ The City of Greenville is accepting appli-

cations for the position of assistant director

of office management and budget. Mail

resume to Ruby D. Moore, City of Greenville,

PO Box 2207, Greenville, SC 29601 or

e-mail to moorer@greatergreenville.com.

■ The City of Greenville is accepting

resumes for the position of director of

human resources. Send resume and cover

letter to Human Resource Department,

City of Greenville, PO Box 2207, Greenville,

SC 29602-2207 or e-mail them to

moorer@greatergreenville.com.

■ The City of Hartsville is accepting appli-

cations for the position of assistant public

works director. Send resume to HR Director,

City of Hartsville, PO Drawer 2497,

Hartsville, SC 29551. For more information,

visit www.hartsvillesc.com.

■ The City of North Augusta is accepting

applications for the position of city adminis-

trator. Submit cover letter, resume and

salary history to City of North Augusta,

Attn: Diana Miller, Manager of Human

Resources, PO Box 6400, North Augusta,

SC 29861-6400. Application deadline is

November 28, 2006.

■ The Town of Bluffton is accepting

applications for the position of

stormwater/best management practices

(BMP) plan reviewer. Mail resume to Town

Clerk, PO Box 386, Bluffton, SC 29910,

Attn: Stormwater/Best Management

Practices (BMP) Plan Reviewer position,

fax 843.706.4510 or e-mail

townclerk@townofbluffton.com.

Classifieds

“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.” This old saying

certainly applies to local ordinancesdesigned to escape state assessment oncourt fines and save citizens frompoints assessed for driving violations.Several municipalities are finding outthe hard way those local ordinances on“Careless Operation of a MotorVehicle” may be more costly than theyare worth.

In 1992, the Legislature allowedmunicipalities to issue an ordinancesummons for municipal ordinance violations. This allowed the city toissue a ticket instead of making anarrest. As state assessments on localfines increased in the 1990s, manytowns enacted local ordinances for“Careless Operation of a MotorVehicle.” Often, officers gave violatorsan option between the state ticket orlocal violation written on the ordi-nance summons. The higher localviolation fine offset the state’s finebecause no points were assessed tothe driver and sent to the Departmentof Motor Vehicles.

SC Code Section 56-7-80(B), whichauthorizes the use of the ordinancesummons, states, “No county ormunicipal ordinance which regulatesthe use of motor vehicles on the publicroads of this State may be enforcedusing an ordinance summons.” SCCode Section 56-7-10 states, “Therewill be a uniform traffic ticket used byall law enforcement officers in arrestfor traffic offenses …”

The state attorney general hasissued several opinions stating localordinances pertaining to traffic ormotor vehicle offenses, such as carelessoperation of a vehicle, must be citedon a uniform traffic ticket. (2003 WL22682947 (SCAG))

The bottom line is that officersmust use the uniform traffic ticket forany violation of state or local lawsinvolving traffic or motor vehicleoffenses. The state assessment appliesto all court fines, including those forviolations written on a local ordinancesummons. The municipality must forward the uniform traffic tickets tothe Department of Motor Vehicles,which will apply the appropriate driver points.

“If your municipality is using localordinances for traffic or motor vehicleoffenses,” cautioned Howard Duvall,MASC executive director, “you may bebetter off citing the state offense. Somedeals may be too good to be true.”

Too good to be true?

The law does not authorizeusing ordinance summonsfor motor vehicle violations.In fact, state law specificallyprohibits using them. Anymunicipality using an ordi-nance summons for theseviolations is subject to stateaudit and liable for anystate assessments not col-lected and remitted to thestate treasurer.

November 2006 Uptown 5

Last year’s active hurricane seasonwith $58 billion in claims has prop-

erty insurance companies scrambling.They are increasing their rates, or insome cases, not offering coverage at all.The Insurance Information Institutepredicts rates will rise between 20 percent and 100 percent over the nextyear in 18 states, from southern Texasto the tip of northern Maine. The restof the country is expected to see a 4 percent rate increase.

One way municipalities can helpmanage their property insurance ratesis to have a current property appraisal.“Periodically conducting theseappraisals increases an insurer’s comfort level in providing you withcoverage,” said Jeff Thompson, assistant director of the MunicipalAssociation of South Carolina’s RiskManagement Services. “They better

know what they’re insuring, and theproperty is insured to its proper value.”

The SC Municipal Insurance andRisk Financing Fund (SCMIRF) board oftrustees recently approved expandingits Property Appraisal Pilot Program toall SCMIRF members. In 2005,American Appraisal Associates (AAA)conducted a pilot property reappraisalproject for nine SCMIRF members. Theproject’s purpose was to determine ifSCMIRF needed to undergo a systematicreappraisal of all its membership. It hasbeen several years since many membersreceived an on-site appraisal.

Starting in 2006 with the 11SCMIRF charter members (memberssince 1990), all members will receive areappraisal over a four-year period.

This reappraisal process will giveSCMIRF members the unique opportu-nity to get an updated, detailed

appraisal of all their buildings, contentsand other structures at no cost to themember. Members also have theopportunity to purchase additionalappraisal services while the appraiser ison-site for historical valuations of properties and GASB 34 compliance.

“This is just one example of theadditional services provided to RMSmembers,” said Harvey Mathias, RiskManagement Services director. “Thisservice would typically cost between$5,000 and $25,000 depending on thesize of the city, but SCMIRF is offeringthis as a membership benefit.”

For additional information regarding the SCMIRF appraisal program, contactJeff Thompson at jthompson@masc.sc or803.933.1216.

Reappraisal services offered to help cities manage increasing insurance rates

Cities and towns need to begin updat-ing their comprehensive plans. “The

state passed new comprehensive planninglegislation in 1999, consolidating all com-prehensive planning laws,” said HowardDuvall, MASC executive director. Thenew law stipulated every municipalitymust review its comprehensive planevery five years and completely update itevery 10 years – or its zoning laws are nolonger enforceable.

“Without a valid comprehensive plan,you can’t have zoning in your municipali-ty,” Duvall said. “If you don’t follow thelaw and don’t update your plan at the 10-year anniversary, you may be chal-lenged in court.

“There are changing elements, such asthe environment and transportation, so

you should update the statistics on whichyou based your plan,” he added. “Or amunicipality may have changed its strategicplan and should update its comprehensiveplan to reflect that.”

The legislation also requires everymunicipality establish a planning com-mission to review and eventually updatethe comprehensive plan, Duvall said.

“The planning commission shouldfirst look at the existing plan, then formadvisory committees to study the planand its elements,” he added. “Citizens canhelp you review the plan and see if it stillmeets the wishes of your community.”

Once the planning commission rec-ommends the updated comprehensiveplan, council must adopt it by ordinance.

Additionally, recent changes in statelaw require any municipal staff and plan-ning officials involved in updating thecomprehensive plan to take six hours oftraining. (See the related article on page 1.)

To view Title 6, Chapter 29 of the SC Code ofLaws, which is the Local GovernmentComprehensive Planning Enabling Act of1994, go to the MASC Web site(www.masc.sc), choose “Links,” then“Federal/State Legislative,” then “SC Codeof Laws.”

For a PDF version of the ComprehensivePlanning Guide on the MASC Web site,choose “Research/Resources,” then“Publications.”

Start working on updating your comprehensive plans

6 Uptown November 2006

Afew years ago, large trees wouldgreet Mary Beth Freeman as she

pulled into her Cheraw neighborhood.These days, those trees are overshad-owed by an even larger cell phonetower.

The cell tower was placed in a resi-dential area because of a loophole inannexation laws known as enclaves, or“doughnut holes.”

“I don’t think it’s right; I don’t thinkit’s fair,” said Freeman, a former staterepresentative.

Enclaves occur when a piece ofproperty in an unincorporated part ofthe county is surrounded by propertylocated within a municipality. Theenclave looks similar to a doughnuthole on a map.

South Carolina municipalities have a difficult time annexing enclaves. The Municipal Association of SouthCarolina has pushed the GeneralAssembly to update annexation lawsfor some 60 years, said Gary Cannon,MASC director of IntergovernmentalRelations. “We probably have some ofthe most difficult annexation laws inthe country,” he added.

Under South Carolina’s annexationlaws, there are three ways for residentsto come into a city: An individual canpetition for annexation if the landtouches a city boundary, 75 percent ofland owners in an area with 75 percentof assessed value can petition, or 25percent of the electors in a designatedarea can petition for council to hold aspecial election. If council approves therequest, 50 percent plus one of the elec-tors must approve the annexation.

For the last few years, Cannon said,MASC has supported legislativechanges allowing municipalities to

annex areas by ordinance if certain con-ditions are met: The area to be annexedis less than 50 acres; it contains lessthan 25 registered voters; it must havebeen completely surrounded (or havebeen an enclave) for three years.

Better annexation laws are essentialfor the orderly growth of cities andtowns, said MASC Executive DirectorHoward Duvall.

“The ability to easily annex areascompletely surrounded by the city willmake providing government servicessuch as police and fire protection moreefficient,” Duvall added.

Too often, there are serviceinequities in these enclaves, Cannonsaid. Many residents in enclaves mustrely on law enforcement protectionfrom the sheriff and fire protectionfrom a fire district, he added. It cansometimes take these officers 25 to 30 minutes to respond when city personnel are just a few blocks away.

“Our holes constantly delay policeservices because dispatchers don’tknow who to call – the city police orthe county sheriff. Or once one or theother arrives, they must make a call forthe other agency,” said Scott Slatton,city manager for the City of Woodruff.

Enclave residents cannot receive cityservices like trash pickup and may payhigher rates for water or sewer service,Cannon said.

Then there’s the problem of enclaveresidents taking advantage of city services without paying for them. Cityof Lancaster Administrator Steve Willissaid some people will drag items acrossthe street onto city property to avoidhauling them to the county conveniencecenter. Others will simply dump wastein the city streets rather than hauling itaway, he added.

“Unless we catch them in the act, it is virtually impossible to prove whodumped the item,” he said.

The enclave issue probably affects50 to 60 percent of municipalities in thestate, but lawmakers have been reluctantto make changes. Many legislators rep-resent constituents who live inunincorporated areas, and they worrythat changes would result in increasedtaxes, Cannon said. They don’t see thebenefits of improved services andincreased response time for emergencyworkers, he said.

Those who resist changes also needto remember the city has no controlover the enclaves in terms of land useor regulations, Cannon said. “Anythingcould be going on that could be detri-mental to the city.”

It’s a problem that’s all too familiarfor Freeman. She worries about howthe enclave could affect other propertyshe owns near the cell tower.

“If we ever wanted to develop, tosell lots, it would be a detriment to us,”she said. “Anything could go up therethat the county allows.”

Doughnut hole loophole

“Our (doughnut) holes constantly delay police

services because dispatchersdon’t know who to call

– the city police or the county sheriff.”

– Woodruff City Manager Scott Slatton

November 2006 Uptown 7

There are sights we see during theholiday season that only surface

between Thanksgiving and New Year’s:Santa, snowmen with corncob pipes,packed shopping malls and more foodthan any of us need. Add this to the listof holiday sightings: Local businesseshaving municipalities provide off-dutypolice personnel for security.

“Moonlighting,” as it is termed, hasbeen around for years, but the approachesto protecting the municipality and lawenforcement personnel are as varied asthe ingredients in grandma’s fruitcake.Many of these approaches don’t do agood job at protecting either but arepopular because of their ease ofadministration, which normallyconsists of the local businesspaying the cops cash for theirsecurity services. This type ofarrangement is not recommended.

Consider the following situation: A “moonlighting” cop is working securitydetail at the local shopping mall. Whilethere, he spots an individual he knowshas an outstanding arrest warrant andmoves in to try to make an arrest. Ascuffle ensues, and both the officer andsuspect are injured.

While it is easy to say that the shopping mall’s insurance should takecare of both the workers’ compensationclaim and the suspect’s general liability claim for excessiveuse of force, it isn’tthat easy. Because theofficer is working security, he will neverhave the legal capacity as a security guard to conduct thelaw enforcement activities heundertook. It is only as he acts “underthe color of law” (i.e., as a police officer)that he has the legal capacity needed tomake an arrest.

The question now becomes, “Whopays?” Suffice it to say this is an intricatelegal question that is beyond the scopeof this article, but you can rest assuredthe municipality (and the municipality’sinsurer) where he is employed as asworn law enforcement officer will bepulled into the scenario. This could leaveyour officer in a “pinch point” betweeninsurance companies as to whom willpay his medical claim and who will

defend him in an excessiveforce lawsuit. (His healthinsurer will deny any

medical claim becausethe injury was

occupational in nature.)

Instead of leaving officers in such apinch, municipalities should developstrict moonlighting policies administeredby the police chief. All aspects of themoonlighting arrangement should flowthrough the police chief, including payments. (Payments for moonlightingservices, including the cost of overtime,can then be included in the moonlightingofficer’s paycheck from the municipality.)

The municipality needs to requirethe requesting business sign a contractclearly delineating each party’s responsi-bilities. Each municipality can charge arate to the business requesting the security service that encompasses thecity’s cost of workers’ compensation,general and law enforcement liabilitycoverage, overtime costs and othercosts. With the municipality agreeing toprovide all necessary insurance coverages, there will be no questionwhich insurer needs to respond. If thereis negligence or partial culpability onthe part of the requesting business, themunicipality’s insurer can pursue a

claim against the company’s insurer.This way, neither the municipality nor

the officer is left wondering who willcover the incident.

The Municipal Association ofSouth Carolina is not recommend-

ing doing away with allowingofficers to moonlight.

However, municipal officials need toensure all parties

involved are protected.This entails more than justallowing law enforcement

personnel to contract directlywith the business needing the securityservices. Using the approach describedabove will ensure all are protected andthat no one ends up with a lump of coalin their stocking.

‘Tis the seasonBy Jeff Thompson, Assistant Director of Risk Management Services, MASC

8 Uptown November 2006

The eight regional Hometown, SCRoad Show training sessions in

September and October were a bigsuccess, drawing more than 250municipal officials around the staterepresenting 100 cities and towns.

When the Municipal Associationrolled out the Hometown, SC initiativeat the Annual Meeting in July, partici-pants got a broad overview of thislong-range initiative. The regionalRoad Shows brought municipal offi-cials together in smaller groups tolearn more about how to localize theinitiative for their own communities.

The idea behind Hometown, SC isto raise hometown voices to a newlevel of influence. This will happenover a period of time by using thecommon messages of “Value,Partnerships, Resources” to build andnurture relationships to increase thelevel of awareness of the value ofcities and towns to the state’s economic prosperity.

“This is a relationship-buildinginitiative,” said Doug Echols, mayorof Rock Hill and MASC president.“We are focused on building coalitions and networks with keyinfluencers to help us increase aware-ness of the value of cities.”

Echols described key influencers asthose local citizens who are known asthe “go to” people in their communities.“You know best who your key influ-encers are,” he said. “A key influencercan be the president of a bank or college,the local barber or a retired teacher.They are the people who get thingsdone in your city or town.”

The first step in this long-range andsustainable initiative is to get local keyinfluencers involved in a new way withtheir cities and towns. Road Show participants got ideas about engaginglocal key influencers in a collaborativedialogue and encouraging them to havean increased sense of ownership in thefuture direction of their hometowns.

Everyone attending the Road Showsreceived a toolkit with guidelines, sample letters and discussion ideas tohold local sessions to start this engage-ment process. The toolkit alsocontained tips on using Hometown, SCmessages daily and working with thenews media.

“The toolkit exceeded my expecta-tions,” said Susan Schneider, director ofstrategic marketing for the City ofSpartanburg. “It’s truly a turnkey package with sample letters, agendas,FAQ sheets. They thought of everythingto get us started on bringing theHometown, SC initiative to the grassroots level.”

One key to the success of Hometown,SC is establishing some commonthemes municipal officials in all 269cities and towns can use to weave“Value, Partnerships, Resources” intotheir local messages. Starting in January,MASC will provide monthly editorialcalendar packets to give every city and

Road Shows put tools in local tool boxes

TOOLBOX continued on page 9

Road Show locations ..............................8

Attendees ..........................................263

Cities represented ..............................100

Mayors in attendance ..........................55

Managers/administrators/assistants in

attendance ..........................................50

Councilmembers in attendance ..........110

Largest delegationFlorence with ..........11

Largest event................Greenville with 42

Mayors submitting

“key influencers” form..........................40

Hometown, SC RoadShow Statistics

ValueStrong cities and towns are essential to jobs, prosperity and qual-ity of life for all South Carolinians.

PartnershipsSouth Carolinians reach their full potential when all levels of gov-ernment, business, education, the arts and communityorganizations work together.

ResourcesDifferent conditions around the state require cities and towns tohave flexible resources and authority to meet citizen needs.

November 2006 Uptown 9

town, turnkey press releases, newspa-per columns, event ideas and otherresources. This will give municipalleaders the information to highlightthe same value messages at the sametime. Look for the January packet inthe mail in late November.

Other Hometown, SC resources inthe toolkit included tips for workingwith the local media, ideas for weaving Hometown, SCmessages into daily communications and guidelines for holding localengagement sessions to initi-ate a collaborativedialogue with keyinfluencers.

The toolkitcontents and other informationfor municipalofficials aboutlocalizingHometown, SC can befound on the MASC Web site

through the Hometown, SC link. An external Web site targeted to keyinfluencers and policy makerslaunched November 1 atwww.hometownsc.org. This siteincludes policy briefs and other information to help communicate themessages of “Value, Partnerships,Resources.”

Deadline continued from cover

Toolbox continued from page 8

The Municipal Association of South Carolina, the SC Chapter of the American Planning Association(SCAPA) and the SC Association ofRegional Councils (SCARC) workedtogether to develop a six-hour curricu-lum provided in one-hour segments onDVD. To arrange a training session inyour city or town, contact a certifiedfacilitator. (The list is available online at

www.masc.sc/education/PlanningandZoning.htm) Officials cannot watch theDVD on their own and receive credit.

Also MASC, SCAPA and SCARChave developed a three-hour DVD tofulfill the law’s continuing educationrequirement. As with the basic trainingsession, an approved facilitator mustmoderate the continuing education session. “The DVD was produced in an

entertaining and interactive way conducive for participants to learn andretain important lessons in the curricu-lum,” said Michelle James, MASCdirector of Education and Training.

The training sessions are monitoredby the South Carolina PlanningEducation Advisory Board Committeeas directed by state law.

■ Andrea McDonald, deputy clerk/

administrative assistant for the

City of Hartsville, earned her Certified

Municipal Clerk (CMC) designation by

meeting the educational, experience and

service requirements of the International

Institute of Municipal Clerks.

■ Warren Harley and Casey Fields have

joined the staff of the Municipal Association

of South Carolina. Harley, former assistant

administrator for Orangeburg, works in the

intergovernmental relations area, providing

technical support and legislative guidance.

Fields, former advocacy and outreach direc-

tor for the SC Campaign to Prevent Teen

Pregnancy, works in the communications

department and focuses on Hometown, SC

initiatives and media relations.

■ The Association of Public Treasurers of

the United States and Canada (APT US&C)

elected Tumiko Rucker to its board of

directors during its annual conference,

held in Memphis, Tennessee. Rucker is

administrator for the Town of Kiawah

Island. She also earned her Certified

Public Finance Administrator (CPFA)

credential at the national conference.

News Briefs

10 Uptown November 2006

Whether it’s chasing lawmakersthrough the State House halls

or popping his head into their offices early in the morning, Gary Cannonknows he must work fast during thelegislative session.

“We usually have two-minute conversations,” said Cannon, lobbyistfor the Municipal Association of SouthCarolina. “I have to explain our position in two minutes or less.”

As MASC’s director of Inter-governmental Relations, Cannon isresponsible for tracking legislation thataffects South Carolina’s cities andtowns. Last session, there were morethan 300 pieces of legislation that witha potential impact on municipalities,Cannon said. Of these, theAssociation actively monitored about50, he added.

Cannon and four contract lobbyistsspend their days reviewing bills thathave been introduced. They dash toand from various committee and subcommittee meetings, monitoringaction taken on bills. Cannon andHoward Duvall, MASC’s executivedirector, are frequent participants inlegislative hearings on issues affectinglocal governments.

Cannon familiarizes himself withthe lawmakers on the committees andkeeps in close contact with local officials represented by those statelawmakers.

While an important part of the jobis developing and maintaining relationships with legislators, their

staff and local leaders, a more impor-tant role is working to strengthen therelationships between the cities andstate leaders.

“We ask mayors and councilmem-bers to stay in contact with theirrepresentatives, even when there’s

not a front burner issue under consid-eration in the legislature,” Cannonsaid. “Local officials have more influence over legislators as their constituents than I do.”

An insider’s look at a day in the life at the State House

January 30Cities in Abbeville, Chesterfield,

Clarendon, Darlington, Edgefield,Greenwood, Kershaw, Laurens, Lee,Marlboro, McCormick, Newberry,Saluda, Sumter and Union counties

February 28All municipalities for MASC’s

Hometown Legislative Action Day

March 27Cities in Beaufort, Berkeley,

Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester,Dillon, Florence, Georgetown,Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Marion andWilliamsburg counties

April 24Cities in Anderson, Cherokee,

Chester, Fairfield, Greenville,Lancaster, Oconee, Pickens,Spartanburg and York counties

May 29Cities in Aiken, Allendale,

Bamberg, Barnwell, Calhoun,Lexington, Orangeburg and Richlandcounties

INSIDER’S LOOK continued on page 11

Hometown Connection calendarMunicipal officials should come to the MASC office at 1411 Gervais

Street in Columbia at 10:30 a.m. on their county’s designated date.

November 2006 Uptown 11

City leaders are encouraged toestablish and maintain relationshipswith their state lawmakers at home byinviting them to events or councilmeetings, Cannon added.

Part of the work of cultivatingthese hometown relationships is donethrough the Hometown Connectionprogram offered by MASC during thelegislative session. (See the 2007Hometown Connection calendar onpage 10.) Each month during the leg-islative session, groups of municipalofficials are invited to Columbia to bebriefed on legislative issues and meettheir officials at the State House.

Each week during the session,Cannon writes a legislative report forMASC members and affiliates, detail-ing what bills have been taken up andwhat’s on the horizon.

When there’s a piece of legislationthat critically affects cities, Cannon e-mails and faxes a legislative alertthat includes details of the bill and

talking points. Cannon said this alert isused sparingly – when he needs to rally the troops around an importantbill. In the past, it’s been used for thehot-button issues of billboards andeminent domain.

It’s critical for local governments toparticipate in the workings of stategovernment, Cannon said.

“Decisions are made by theGeneral Assembly that affect munici-palities’ ability to provide services toconstituents,” he added.

There are 269 municipalities in thestate, and they’re all diverse, Cannonsaid. “What may be good for FollyBeach may not be good for Pickens.”

Therefore, it’s important theGeneral Assembly not get tooinvolved in making the decisionsabout services provided by local governments, he said.

“We’re the pistons of the economicengine. Cities were formed as the centers of commerce,” Cannon added.

“If we don’t have healthy cities, wedon’t have a healthy state. We needthe General Assembly to give us thetools to continue to be healthy.”

Note: MASC will no longer usethe legislative listserve to distribute itslegislative reports and alerts. “We willuse our new association managementsoftware this year,” explained Duvall.If you did not receive the 2006 legisla-tive reports via e-mail but would liketo, visit the “Featured Links” section of www.masc.sc and complete the contact form.

Insider’s look continued from page 10

Editor’s note: GASB 45The September/October 2006 issue of Uptown had incorrect dates for

GASB 45 compliance. Below are the correct dates. We apologize for the error.

Effective dates

For first fiscal yearending after6/15/1999:

Statement 45 effec-tive for fiscal yearsbeginning after:

Phase 1

Revenue Over $100 Million

12/15/2006

Phase 2

Revenue $10 Million - $100 Million

12/15/2007

Phase 3

Revenue Under$10 Million

12/15/2008

In early November, the MunicipalAssociation of South Carolina mailedmunicipal and official update forms toeach municipality. It is critical forMASC to have accurate, up-to-dateand complete information in itsdatabase. Gathering e-mail addressesis particularly important, as e-mail isan efficient way to communicate.MASC is using e-mail more and moreto send out important information oneverything from legislative issues tomeeting announcements to other typesof alerts.

The deadline to return this infor-mation is November 20. If yourmunicipality did not receive its formor you have questions, e-mail SophiaJohnson at sjohnson@masc.sc or call803.933.1236.

Update forms dueNovember 20

1411 Gervais Street ■ P.O. Box 12109Columbia, South Carolina 29211Tel: 803.799.9574 ■ Fax: 803.933.1299www.masc.sc

President: Mayor Doug Echols, Rock Hill

Executive Director: Howard E. Duvall Jr.

Managing Editor: Reba H. Campbell

Editor: Mary M. Brantner, APR

Associate Editor: Christie M. Zeller

Designed by Corporate Communication Solutions © 2006

Prsrt StdU.S. Postage

PAIDMunicipal

Association ofSouth Carolina

For more information about these meetings or other MASC meetings not listed,please call 803.799.9574, or visit our Web site at www.masc.sc.

Hometown Connection■ January 30, municipal officials fromAbbeville, Chesterfield, Clarendon,Darlington, Edgefield, Greenwood,Kershaw, Laurens, Lee, Marlboro,McCormick, Newberry, Saluda, Sumterand Union counties visit with their statelegislators. Officials will meet at MASC’soffice at 1411 Gervais Street in Columbiaat 10:30 a.m.

Municipal Elected Officials Instituteof Government■ February 27, will hold Sessions Aand B at the Columbia Marriott.

MASC■ February 28, will hold its HometownLegislative Action Day at the ColumbiaMarriott. (See related article on page 1.)

SC Utility Billing Association■ March 21-23, will hold its AnnualMeeting at the Marriott Resort at GrandDunes in Myrtle Beach.

Municipal Elected Officials Instituteof Government■ March 22, will present “BasicBudgeting for Municipal Officials.” Thesession will be broadcast via satellite tothe 10 regional councils of government.

Hometown Connection■ March 27, municipal officials fromBeaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton,Dorchester, Dillon, Florence, Georgetown,Hampton, Horry, Jasper, Marion andWilliamsburg counties visit with theirstate legislators. Officials will meet atMASC’s office at 1411 Gervais Street inColumbia at 10:30 a.m.

Hometown Connection■ April 24, municipal officials fromAnderson, Cherokee, Chester, Fairfield,Greenville, Lancaster, Oconee, Pickens,Spartanburg and York counties visit withtheir state legislators. Officials shouldmeet at MASC’s office at 1411 GervaisStreet in Columbia at 10:30 a.m.

Municipal Elected OfficialsInstitute of Government■ May 3, will present “You’ve BeenElected – Now What?” and “Freedom ofInformation Act.” The session will bebroadcast via satellite to the 10 regionalcouncils of government.

Hometown Connection■ May 29, municipal officials fromAiken, Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell,Calhoun, Lexington, Orangeburg andRichland counties visit with their statelegislators. Officials will meet at MASC’soffice at 1411 Gervais Street in Columbiaat 10:30 a.m.

Educational Opportunities