Columbia, South Carolina moved quickly to respond when COVID-19 was declared a health pandemic. Mayor Stephen Benjamin declared a state of emergency in March and Columbia’s City Council approved a stay-at-home order weeks before a similar order was issued statewide.
Hear from Mayor Benjamin why it was important to move with speed to support local businesses. He also took his message to Congress in May to share his community’s experience with the novel coronavirus and why they were looking to the federal government for its partnership in helping municipalities recover.
In his address to Congress, Mayor Benjamin outlined that his city faced more than $20 million in revenue shortfall as a result of COVID-19.
About the Author: Melissa Williams is a communications and marketing manager at NLC. She supports NLC’s membership and partnership teams.
About Our Partner: IGNITE is a global consulting practice designed to develop, engage and ignite relationships with Mayors, CIOs and global technology firms. The objective is to architect a connected city by placing people at the center of our purpose. IGNITE has refocused the connected city space and developed a smart framework that can scale, replicate and become profitable. The result creates a visible impact that is measured by PEOPLE through citizen engagement, transformed infrastructure and improved city services.