Unless you are involved in a city council or administration, you may not have heard of the Appalachian Council of Governments (“ACOG”).  But particularly if you live in a small town or an unincorporated community, ACOG provides crucial support and funding for its economic development, planning, workforce development, administrative management and supervision, and providing awareness of and access to available grants.  The ACOG budget is primarily funded by Federal programs.  

ACOG is one of ten Councils of Governments (COGs) in South Carolina.  ACOG covers six counties:  Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Pickens, Oconee, and Cherokee.  

Don Godbey, a former Mayor of Mauldin, has been involved with ACOG for seventeen years, and is now ACOG Chairman.  In an interview, he described the ACOG programs.  “Over half of ACOG’s budget,” he reported, “goes to elder care, getting tax dollars back into your communities, particularly in the lower-populated areas.  Programs such as Meals On Wheels support elders who are home-bound and unable to travel.”

Former Mauldin City Administrator Trey Eubanks also works at ACOG.  Mr. Eubanks helps “the very small communities that cannot afford Administrators,” Mr. Godbey said.  That includes taking care of personnel issues, applying for grants, applying for things that the smaller rural communities desperately need, but don’t have the wherewithal to accomplish. 

While the bigger cities such as Greenville, Spartanburg, and Anderson have their own resources, they remain involved with ACOG.  But ACOG is “mainly about the smaller communities that don’t have the resources to get their Federal dollars returned to their communities, such as for road management, water, and sewer – That’s a lot of money.”  With the influx of population, there is a desperate need for infrastructure.  There are three people in ACOG that help small communities to write the applications for grants, to get projects done.  That brings in millions of dollars to the small communities that otherwise they would not otherwise receive.  

Funding to support roads, fire departments, water mains, and sewers must precede the housing developments that will require those services.  ACOG’s support can become essential in small towns or unincorporated communities. 

State Senators, House members, Mayors, and others are involved with ACOG, Godbey says.  “There’s no pay; it’s voluntary positions.  It brings together the political forces of the Upstate, to talk about regional planning.”

“Each County has different needs, and all six counties have benefitted from the COG.”  

ACOG is not just a little bureaucracy  It is explicitly the channel for the distribution of Federal funds.  COGs are established by the Federal government; there are too many small and unincorporated communities for the Federal government to be aware of and track.  That is the assigned responsibility of each COG.  

 Another source of funds for ACOG is the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), which covers thirteen states from Maine to Alabama.  In recent years, the South has been dealing with too much growth, while the North was dealing with decline and impoverishment; each has different needs. The aftermath of Hurricane Helene also required the cooperation of South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia.

Similarly, the Upstate Alliance works to attract businesses – particularly foreign businesses, such as BMW – to the Upstate.

ACOG also works to bring new businesses and employment opportunities to areas where old companies have shut their doors.

See more about ACOG at its website, “www.scacog.org”.●