PICKENS COUNTY — Neil Smith from Pickens County has been elected vice chairman of the Appalachian Council of Governments.

The Appalachian Council of Governments is a voluntary organization made up of local governments in the Upstate of South Carolina. This assembly of governments consists of 44 board members who represent 42 municipalities and six counties — Greenville, Pickens, Anderson, Oconee, Spartanburg, and Cherokee.

Smith is also a board member of Economic Development Information Systems (EDIS), a partnership which provides the economic database for industrial recruitment for the counties of Greenville, Pickens, Anderson, Oconee, Spartanburg, and Cherokee.

Regionally, ACOG provides economic/community development, transportation, aging services, workforce development, infrastructure development, and resource management for the six upstate counties.

ACOG also provides general administrative assistance, training, planning, technical assistance, information/mapping and grants to local governments of each county. Grant services assist local governments in identifying, securing, and administering funds for a wide range of community and economic development activities including: water and sewer facilities, road improvements, housing rehabilitation, community and senior centers.

Staff Report