Richland County is celebrating National County Government Month by making the call for residents to take an active role in their local government.

National County Government Month is held each April and aims to highlight the variety of services, projects and programs that governments provide. This year’s theme, “Brilliant Ideas at Work,” focuses on the importance of innovative and collaborative practices both internally, within a government’s many departments, and externally, between governmental departments and the communities they serve.

Richland County is asking residents to provide their own brilliant ideas by taking an active role in County government, whether applying to be appointed to a committee or simply attending a County Council meeting.

“It’s important for residents to understand that they have a say, that local government works for them,” said Richland County Council Chair Joyce Dickerson. “Every elected official, every volunteer board member and every County employee is also a resident. They are residents who chose to take part in government and work hard for the things that make our communities better, make our neighborhoods safer and improve our overall quality of life here in Richland County.”

Already this month, Richland County residents have engaged in County government several ways:

·         Residents participated in a graduation ceremony for Richland 101, which is a free, annual course that offers an inside look into County government through tours of facilities, staff presentations and conversations with elected officials.

·         Local students diverted 7,000 pounds of lunch food scraps from the landfill and used it instead to make compost for organic gardening with the help of Richland County Solid Waste & Recycling.

·         Residents volunteered to assist Stormwater Management staff by marking storm drains in various neighborhoods as part of an initiative to prevent pollutants from entering storm drains and flowing into nearby waterways.

Upcoming events in April include celebrating Community Development Week and a workshop organized by Richland County Court Appointed Special Advocates that teaches independent living skills to teenagers.

For a look at 10 ways residents can get involved in Richland County Government, visit www.rcgov.us and click the National County Government slide at the top of the page. 

A series of videos that promote public engagement in County government can be watched on RCTV (Spectrum/Digital Time Warner Ch. 1302, Spectrum/Time Warner C h. 2 in some parts of the County or AT&T U-Verse Ch. 99), on the Richland County YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/richlandonline and on the County’s Facebook (@RichlandSC) and Twitter (@RichlandSC) accounts.