Gov. Nikki Haley announces Local Government Competitiveness Council
March 2, 2016
Director Rick Reames To Chair Council Comprised Of S.C. Business Leaders
COLUMBIA, SC – Governor Nikki Haley announced the Local Government Competitiveness Council. Established by executive order, the Council will analyze factors and criteria that impact the ability of local governments to attract, retain, and develop business and industry. South Carolina Department of Revenue Director Rick Reames, who joined the governor and business leaders at today’s announcement, will chair the Council.
A copy of Executive Order 2016-10 can be found on the governor’s website.
“We are very excited about this Competitiveness Council, and they’re going to start getting to work right away,” said Gov. Nikki Haley. “What we really hope our end goal is that once we come out with this report and we talk to the counties about it, when they go to decide something for that county, they will know whether they need to vote for that extra fee and whether they should be increasing taxes or decreasing taxes. … They will have a toolkit to let them know how to improve in their county, and not only that, the people will have that toolkit on whether they’re making decisions to move that county forward or backward.”
The Council will evaluate local governments based on three general categories and will be made up of business leaders with expertise in each of those areas:
Public Infrastructure
Keller Kissam – Senior VP, SCANA Corporation
Deepal S. Eliatamby – President, Alliance Consulting Engineers, Inc.
Bob Hughes – President, Hughes Development Corporation
Taxes, Business and Industry, and Regulation
Burnet R. Maybank III – Attorney, Nexsen Pruet
Dr. Rebecca Gunnlaugsson – Economist, Acuitas Economics
Suzanne Pucci – Owner, Stanley Steemer of Columbia, S.C.
Workforce Readiness
Dr. Barrie B. Kirk – VP of Corporate and Continuing Education and Economic Development, Midlands Technical College
Kim Phillips – HR Director, Hamrick Mills
Helen Hill – CEO, Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau
Dr. Rebecca Gunnlaugsson – Economist, Acuitas Economics
