A Spartanburg County Courthouse history tour

07/26/18 • 44 min

As Spartanburg gets ready to construct the seventh courthouse in our 229-year history, we're sitting down with Spartanburg County Public Library Assistant Director of Local History, Brad Steinecke to talk about the previous six. What did each say about the community it served? How can looking back at these foundational civic structures, perhaps the most public of all public buildings, inform us about where we ought to be going? Listen below to hear us ruminate on those questions and for the deepest dive on local civic history you're likely to find anywhere.

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A deep, nerdy dive into the City's Hospitality Tax

When we here in local government are looking for an indicator of how the economy in Spartanburg is doing, one of the first metrics we turn to is Hospitality Tax. The two percent tax paid on prepared food and beverages is an excellent barometer for consumer spending in our city and the growth seen in H-Tax revenue over the past several years has corresponded well with what is anecdotally pretty clear to anyone paying attention; our city's business community is strong and growing. Beyond what it can tell us about the local economy though, H-Tax is an important portion of the City's revenue each year, and unlike most other sources of local government revenue, the H-Tax must be spent in a fairly proscribed manner. Today on the podcast, we're diving in deep to give you the lowdown on how the City uses these funds and how that next meal you have at a local restaurant helps pay for amenities and events enjoyed by thousands of visitors and locals every year. Listen below for more.

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City launches EMERGE business accelerator for African Americans

One of the City's primary stated goals is to address our community's longtime racial and class disparities, and while the strategies we use are as varied and complex as the problems themselves, one important approach is to help strengthen our local minority business community. What's our newest tool to tackle that problem? The EMERGE Business Accelerator for African Americans, a program designed to identify, prepare, empower and sustain African American entrepreneurs who desire to locate a business in the City of Spartanburg. EMERGE will guide participants through all stages of opening and expanding a business so they will be lender ready to up and running. A 10-week business training and development program, EMERGE will support entrepreneurs in identifying a business venture, business plan development, financial education, accounting, and securing financing. Classes will be held weekly beginning in September and will be taught by business experts and experienced entrepreneurs who share advice, guidance, and lessons learned. Two phases, start-up and growth, will be offered during the program year with approximately 10-15 business owners in each cohort. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Minority Business Development Coordinator, Natasha Pitts about the EMERGE program and about her work here at the City. Listen below for more.