Columbia - Elected officials from cites and towns across the state gathered this week in Columbia for the Municipal Association of South Carolina’s Hometown, SC Legislative Action Day.
Over the two-day meeting, participants heard from business leaders, legislators and the Speaker of the South Carolina House. All echoed the theme of the importance of building partnerships and collaboration between the business community and the state’s cities and towns to increase South Carolina’s competitiveness.
Keynote address
Joel Smith, dean of the Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina, was the keynote speaker. Smith, a longtime state business leader, discussed the importance of cities to the state’s economy.
Cities are becoming increasingly more important with cultural and population changes, Smith said. “Cities are economic engines, attracting the brightest employees with their diversity, cultural activities and abundance of services,” he said. “These employees are seeking a good quality of life and the best educational opportunities for their children.”
Great urban areas to live and work are places that support and nurture the knowledge-based economy, Smith said. “As we move further away from industry and manufacturing to the knowledge economy that rewards innovation and entrepreneurship, cities have a renewed opportunity to compete for jobs and workers.”
Cities no longer exist solely for the delivery of services, Smith said. “Economists now view the city as the promise of opportunity; an important resource and not a liability. In today’s market economies, knowledge and learning are the ‘goods and services’ of the past. It is knowledge and learning that create value and give the competitive edge that results in economic success.”
He closed his speech with a challenge to local elected officials, “You must convince the leadership of our state that there is a broader opportunity to position South Carolina to compete regionally, nationally and internationally. And, by building partnerships, we need to work together to find solutions to those impediments that prevent South Carolina from living up to its fullest potential.”
Business Leader Panel
Smith also was part of a panel of business leaders who discussed the importance of partnerships between businesses and cities and towns.
For too long, cities have viewed each other as competition, said Paula Harper Bethea, director of external relations for McNair Law Firm and former chair of the SC Chamber of Commerce. Today’s competition, she stressed, is with other countries, not other cities, counties, regions or even states.
“We’ve got to have a unified voice. We need a partnership between towns.” Bethea said. “That’s the real opportunity, to come together around the economic well-being and health of South Carolina.”
That partnership already is being developed among the state’s research universities, Smith said. The universities play a critical role in the knowledge-based economy.
A diversified economy also will help move the state forward, Bethea said. Many areas of South Carolina rely on one type of economy, such as hospitality along the coast. That could lead to major problems if the state were hit by a disaster such as a hurricane, she said.
Communication is the best way for city and business leaders to build trust, said Columbia attorney Steve Benjamin who is involved in a partnership with a City of Columbia project to build affordable housing. “Leaders need a regular forum - one that crosses racial, gender and socioeconomic divides - to discuss and push ideas forward,” he said. “Strong leadership is crucial in making that happen,” added Benjamin, who also serves on the boards of the state Chamber of Commerce and the Palmetto Institute.
Local leaders need to work together and consider future generations, said Bill Barnet, Spartanburg mayor and a statewide business leader who serves on the Palmetto Institute Board. “Leaders can’t point fingers at each other,” he said. “We’re trying to land precious things called jobs.”
Meeting with House Speaker Bobby Harrell focusing on the “new economy”
House Speaker Bobby Harrell joined a group of large city mayors and leaders of the state’s major business associations to talk about the role of strong cities in the development of the state’s new economy. “The economy is the issue of the next two decades.” He noted that cities have an important role to play. “We all have the goal of helping the private sector drive up per capita income.”
Harrell is the chief sponsor of legislation to support the growth of fuel cell research and hydrogen development which many see as a cornerstone of this new economy.
And it’s not just about the research universities and larger cities, he said. Part of this collaborative effort is making sure cities of all sizes contribute to this effort – and reap its benefits.
Harrell encouraged the mayors to make certain their local economic development leaders are connecting with the research universities to take advantage of partnerships to bring growth to their areas. “Our goal isn’t just to have this kind of growth in the big cities,” he said.
In discussing the state and local government’s roles in supporting the development of the new economy, Harrell said, “This is the first time we’ve seen everyone pulling together toward a common goal to raise individual income.”
That’s where strong cities can make the difference, said Jim Fields, executive director of the Palmetto Institute, a non-profit research institute focusing on increasing competitiveness and individual income, “We can’t do the things we need to do without strong, robust economically viable urban areas.”
George Fletcher, executive director of the SC Council on Competitiveness, echoed Fields’ observation saying “Cities are the engines of regional economic success.” The Council is charged with developing strategies and partnerships to foster economic growth.
“The meetings over the past two days represent a new way for elected officials in our cities and towns to take a statewide leadership role in growing the new economy of our state,” said Doug Echols, mayor of Rock Hill and board president of the Municipal Association. “By bringing together this group of mayors with statewide leaders like Speaker Harrell and business leaders who share our goals of making our state more competitive, we all win.”