ICMA was formed as the City Managers’ Association in December 1914, when eight of the 31 existing U.S. city managers met in Springfield, Ohio, “to promote the efficiency of city managers and municipal work in general” (Source: ICMA Constitution adopted at the second annual conference in Dayton, Ohio, November 1915).

 

Since that time, ICMA has published or collected a number of original sources and interesting documents, issues of PM (Public Management) magazine devoted to milestone ICMA events, and historical accounts and analyses by ICMA members and others. We’ve organized some of the best publications here for your review. These materials augment the information captured in the ICMA 100th Anniversary Timeline.

 

You are invited to peruse these documents and learn more about ICMA and the local government management profession. Then help us enhance the content of this section by contributing your own relevant historical documents. Send any book chapters, monographs, or other materials with historical relevance that you would like to have posted in this section of the anniversary website to Michele Frisby at ICMA, mfrisby@icma.org.



Documents

ICMA–A Chronicle of Service—This document, authored by ICMA Honorary Member and former Editor of the Municipal Management Series David S. Arnold, provides an outstanding, comprehensive  overview of ICMA's history from its establishment in 1914 through 1986, a period of significant expansion and diversification for the association.



Code of ethics

Curious as to how the ICMA Code of Ethics, which was initially adopted by the membership in 1924, has evolved over the years? Take a look at this collection of Codes, which span 1924 until the most recent modification.



Commemorative Issue sEctions of PM (Public Management) Magazine