A Lexington County town will soon see technological changes thanks to a new program.

Irmo was recently accepted into the National League of Cities’ City Inclusive Entrepreneurship initiative, which will help the town identify issues and connect it with companies that can help solve them. Implementation of the program is set to begin within six months. 

According to Mia Wilkins, the town's director of economic development and communications,  and Town Council Member Erik Sickinger, Irmo is behind when it comes to technology, and the program will help make it more efficient.

“It is important because software, at the end of the day, can make our lives easier and save frustration –  resident frustration, and staff frustration and time,” Sickinger said. “Well that's the world because our job as a government is to deliver services, regardless of anyone's background, or how well they know somebody, we just need to do the job for everyone. And this will help us do that.”

After Irmo figures out the issues they want to focus on, the City Inclusive Entrepreneurship team along with CivStart, a nonprofit innovation hub, will begin locating and recruiting tech start-ups who can help solve the targeted issues.

Irmo is the first municipality in Lexington County to participate in the program, but others in South Carolina have, including Rock Hill, Holly Hill and Charleston.

The latest cohort to begin with the initiative also includes Peoria, Ill., Grand Rapids, Mich., Las Vegas, Nev., and Raleigh, N.C.

Unlike many other municipalities, Irmo doesn’t have property taxes and other common revenue and has to find other solutions to keep up when it comes to things like technology, which made the City Inclusive Entrepreneurship attractive.

“It's a great opportunity for Irmo to get more technology, more advanced in technology,” Wilkins said. “Because right now, we're a little behind the times, and it’s just a great way for us to come up to speed and help our businesses grow and help our departments grow.”

The town reached out to staff and employees to see how they would like to see the new program benefit the town, with Wilkins telling the Chronicle about the top three:

• Improved surveillance – Members of the Irmo Police Department want to see an improvement in the town's surveillance systems, stating that this will help with tracking license plates and other similar needs.
• Stop and shop – This idea would be both beneficial both internally and externally, creating a mapping resource for town residents and staff. Internally, it would allow staff to pick a location and see if there are any code violations associated with it. Externally, residents would be able to determine if a desired location is located within town limits. According to Wilkins, all this information is only on paper, and having this resource will be helpful since Irmo rests in both Lexington and Richland Counties.
• Human resources – Wilkins shared that the town is currently doing everything on paper. Switching to an automated service would improve its handling of human resources, allowing it to more efficiently handle employee timesheets and benefits.