S.C. college launches initiative to help rural communities keep up

CHARLESTON, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Running a small town can come with some big responsibilities, but across South Carolina, local leaders are often expected to manage growing demands with limited staff, funding and resources.The College of Charleston is launching a new initiative aimed at helping those communities strengthen their local governments and better prepare for the future.The Joseph P. Riley Jr. Center for Livable Communities announced the Rural Local Government Initiative, which will provide training, resources and hands-on assistance to small counties and municipalities across the state.The effort comes as 28 of South Carolina’s 46 counties are either declining in population or growing by 5% or less.Maren Trochmann, the Riley Center’s director of professional development, says one challenge is the loss of experienced leaders as they retire.“There’s what they call the silver tsunami. So a lot of the people with the expertise or with the leadership in those communities, they are r