community? I believe, as with any experience, it’s what you make it. If you want it to feel like a community, you get involved and attend the various offerings of interest and make the effort to get to know those in our city. If you prefer to keep to yourself, that works too, but it doesn’t mean our city has “lost that community feel.” I recently saw a definition of community as a: feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests and goals. I challenge you in the new year to renew our commitment to our city and become more involved with the events and programs that are available to us and our neighbors. Thank you for the opportunity to serve! See you around the island. Phillip Pounds, Mayor IOP 843-252-5359 ppounds@iop.net 11 Mayor’s Message New year means renewed committment By Philip Pounds Mayor, Isle of Palms CIVICS www.FrontBeachIOP.com | Explore The Best of Front Beach IslandVibesIOP.com s we bid farewell to the year behind us and embrace the possibilities of the new one ahead, I extend my warmest wishes for a joyous new year! May 2024 bring prosperity, unity and moments of shared success to our vibrant community. Let’s continue working together towards a future filled with opportunities, resilience and the collective strength that defines Isle of Palms. One of the last decisions this council made was to approve a significant investment in our employees. City council approved raises for all staff based on a recent wage and compensation study with a particular focus on our public safety teams. Many of our staff have faced the headwinds of inflation, long commutes to serve our community and high housing costs, and have been struggling to make ends meet. I’m thankful our council took the bold action it did to show those that serve us just how important they are to our community. The past two years we have made significant progress on many fronts, and I’m looking forward to continuing that progress. To align your newly sworn-in council to our strategic objectives, we started the year in an offsite meeting to agree on what success will look like and received orientation training from the Municipal Association of South Carolina (MASC). MASC was formed in 1930, and they represent and serve the state’s 271 incorporated municipalities. The Association is dedicated to the principle of its founding members: to offer the services, programs and tools that will give municipal officials the knowledge, experience and tools for enabling the most efficient and effective operation of their municipalities in the complex world of municipal government. I felt it was critical to schedule this session right after inauguration to help set the foundation for a successful, unified team all focused on the same strategic objectives. Prior to our recent election, there was much talk about our community and what it has become. I have talked to several new residents that have moved here in the past few years that have been pleasantly surprised at the “community feel” of our island. They attributed that feeling to the special events the city sponsors, the rec center offerings and the number of full-time residents. I have also talked to some residents that bemoan the loss of our island’s “community feel.” How do residents living on our island have such differing views of our A
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