SC Gov Wants To Add Chief Resilience Officer; To Date, There's One Person In The State W. That Title

Gov. Henry McMaster is asking to add a chief resilience officer to state government, an appointment to his executive staff who would oversee efforts to tackle extreme weather and sea level rise in the Palmetto State.

The move comes as several other states have already installed similar officials, who focus on securing federal funding for flood fixes, crafting plans to restrict vulnerable development and improving disaster response. In South Carolina, the only person with the job title is Mark Wilbert, who works for the city of Charleston.

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It’s unclear, however, whether the state-level position will actually be created. Similar to an ask for $10 million to fix flooding in Charleston’s Medical District, the resilience chief is in the governor’s executive budget. That document lays out essentially a series of requests to state lawmakers, who actually write and approve the budget every year.

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Above all, local leaders across South Carolina have said they need funding for drainage work, seawalls, and other projects to protect from rising water. Charleston officials have pegged the total bill at $2 billion. Smaller Beaufort has similar capital needs, and Mayor Billy Keyserling said he hoped a resilience chief would help bring in federal funding. That may not be so easy. While finding funding for projects is also part of a resilience job, federal dollars for pre-disaster work is thin, Whitehead said, and North Carolina has had to look within its own budget for cash.

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https://www.postandcourier.com/news/mcmaster-wants-to-add-a-resilience-chief-to-sc-government/article_8e74e05c-4cff-11ea-9dc1-b7c5f6f13e31.html