HOLD FOR RELEASE:   October 25, 2017     

CONTACT:   Michele Frisby, Director, Public Information, mfrisby@icma.org; 202-962-3658                                  

SAN ANTONIO—Matthew W. Hart, town manager, West Hartford, Connecticut, was installed today as a Northeast Regional Vice President of ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, during the organization’s 103rd Annual Conference in San Antonio, Texas. He was elected to the three-year term on June 23.    

ICMA’s mission is to advance professional local government management worldwide through leadership, management, innovation, and ethics. The organization’s 11,000+ members from 32 countries include appointed chief administrative officers (city, town, and county managers), assistant and deputy administrators, and other employees who serve local governments and regional entities around the world. ICMA’s membership also includes educators and students.

“We are honored that Matt will join the ICMA Executive Board as a Northeast Regional Vice President,” said ICMA Executive Director Marc A. Ott. “The individuals who serve on the ICMA Executive Board are outstanding leaders, not only in their own communities but also in the field of professional local government management. These individuals are committed to moving our organization and our profession forward, and we appreciate the time, energy, enthusiasm, and thoughtfulness that Matt and the other newly elected members of the board will bring to ICMA.”

ICMA’s 21-member Executive Board acts in the capacity of directors, overseeing the organization’s financial, member-related, and programmatic affairs and selecting the board president. The board also enforces ICMA’s Code of Ethics, which governs the professional and personal conduct of the membership.  ICMA Executive Board members attend four board meetings annually.

“I am excited to represent my colleagues in the Northeast region and around the world,” Mr. Hart said in response to his appointment to the ICMA Executive Board. “ICMA is our ‘go-to’ resource for professional development and best management practices, and I look forward to working more closely with ICMA in service to our members. I want to do my part to ensure that future local government managers and leaders will have the opportunity to benefit from a strong and vibrant ICMA, just as I have throughout my career. I would like to thank the town council and the town of West Hartford for supporting me in this endeavor.”

As one of 18 vice presidents, three of whom are elected from the organization’s Northeast Region (which includes Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont), Mr. Hart will represent ICMA to state associations of local government management and maintain relationships among other affiliated organizations. The Northeast Region is one of five ICMA regions in the United States. Three vice presidents are also elected from countries outside the U.S.

Mr. Hart began his career in public service with the U.S. Army, which he served from 1987 to 1990. Following stints as a management associate with the town of Windsor, Connecticut (1995-97) and the private sector (1996-97), he accepted the position of assistant to the town manager in Windsor, which he held from 1997 to 1999. Mr. Hart went on to serve as assistant to the town manager (2000-02), assistant town manager (2002-06), and eventually town manager (2006-17) in Mansfield, Connecticut. He assumed his current position as town manager for West Hartford, Connecticut, in July 2017.

Mr. Hart has been an active member of ICMA since 1997, serving on the organization’s Annual Conference Planning (2005-06) and Evaluation (2004-05) Committees; Sustainable Communities Advisory Committee (2007-17); and Governmental Affairs & Policy Committee (2009-13). He earned ICMA-Credentialed Manager status, the highest professional designation bestowed by the association, in 2007 and received an ICMA Service Award in recognition of his 20 years of service to local government in 2016

Also an active member of the Connecticut Town and City Management Association, Mr. Hart served as a board member (2001-06 and 2011-13), president (2006-07), and past president (2007-08).

Mr. Hart earned his bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam in 1992 and his Juris Doctor and Master of Public Administration degrees from the University of Connecticut in 1997 and 1998, respectively. He completed ICMA’s Senior Executive Institute (SEI) program in 2015 and attended ICMA’s Gettysburg Institute in 2011.

About ICMA
ICMA, the International City/County Management Association, advances professional local government worldwide through leadership, management, innovation, and ethics. ICMA provides member support, publications, data and information, peer and results-oriented assistance, and training and professional development to more than 11,000 appointed city, town, and county leaders and other individuals and organizations throughout the world. The management decisions made by ICMA's members affect millions of individuals living in thousands of communities throughout the world, from small villages and towns to large metropolitan areas.