|
|
December
9, 2011
Dear
John:
A few
weeks back, I made a presentation to the ICMA staff in which I referred to
the next 10 years as the “Decade of Local Government.” With state funding
at an all-time low, the federal government unable to reach consensus on
just about anything, and our country’s financial recovery progressing at a
snail’s pace, many of us feel as if we’ll be on our own for at least the
next 10 years—if not longer.
At the
same time, I believe the next decade will be one of incredible creativity
for local government. By now most of us have come to realize that the
status quo no longer works, and that thinking and doing things in
innovative ways is the only way to maintain a balance between
responsiveness to resident demand for services and our fiscal challenges.
Over the
past 12 months, ICMA has attempted to strike a similar balance between our
financial limitations and our desire to serve you, our members, as capably
as we can. I hope you feel that we’ve successfully maintained that balance.
Board
Convenes Task Force on Financing ICMA
The ICMA Executive Board is convening a task force of members to evaluate
our revenue sources and the membership dues structure. A similar task force
met in 2003-2004 and issued its final report in 2004. By the end of
February 2012, the board will appoint roughly 20 members to serve on the
new task force. For more information and details on how to volunteer, read
the task
force article posted on icma.org. Expressions of interest are due by
Wednesday, January 11, 2012.
Lower
Dues for Early to Mid Career Professionals
We have a great opportunity for early to mid career professionals—lower
dues. In the past, after three years of reduced rates ($150 in year one;
$175 in year two; and $200 in year three), entry-level to mid-management
Affiliate Members moved to a salary-based dues rate in their fourth year of
membership. Now, all entry-level to mid-management Affiliate Members will
pay $200 in their third year of membership and each year beyond. We hope
you will help us spread the word about this outstanding membership value.
Visit the special Affiliate
Members-Join Now section of icma.org for more information.
Life,
Well Run Campaign
Reenergized
Designed to raise awareness of our role and contributions as professional
local government managers and to ensure that there is an adequate next
generation of professional managers in the pipeline, the Life, Well Run
campaign has gained renewed momentum. Generous pledges from the Texas
City Management Association ($100,000) and Midwest region ($200,000), a
dollar-for-dollar fundraising match by the ICMA Retirement Corporation for
up to $250,000, and an association investment of $200,000 have reenergized
the campaign. We recently selected GMMB, a leader in cause communications,
to help us develop the campaign brand guidelines, messaging, and
strategies, and selecting communities for our pilot programs.
The Life,
Well Run campaign will have a national message that will be
customizable by state, region, and jurisdiction to ensure that the message
resonates with targeted audiences. We’ll need your help with the
fundraising and content development as we roll out the campaign. Look for
information as it becomes available, or visit lifewellrun.org
for updates.
Center
for Public Safety Management Demonstrates Impact
In its second year of operation, the ICMA
Center for Public Safety Management has worked with communities in 27
states to make recommendations that have affected nearly 100 police, fire,
public safety, and EMS departments. Recently, in collaboration with IPMA-HR
and the Pittman Group, we expanded to launch an assistance program for
managers who are recruiting police and fire chiefs. The center also
supported ICMA International with its community-based crime prevention
efforts in Panama and El Salvador and worked with IPMA-HR to develop
leadership training for police in China.
Center
for Sustainable Communities Cultivates Successful Partnerships
A product of our longstanding collaboration with the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and the largest national event focused on economic
redevelopment, land revitalization, and sustainability, the Brownfields
2011 conference in April saw record-breaking registration numbers of more
than 7,400.
Through
a $4.8 million, five-year partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy,
the ICMA
Center for Sustainable Communities provides training, education, and
knowledge resources on solar energy to local government managers. We also partnered
with the Center for Urban Innovation, Arizona State University’s Global
Institute of Sustainability, the Alliance for Innovation, and others to
administer and analyze one of the first national surveys on local
government efforts to create more sustainable communities. The resulting
report, “Breaking
New Ground: Promoting Environmental and Energy Programs in Local
Government,” was underwritten by the IBM Center for the Business of
Government.
ICMA
International at Work
In September, the U.S. Agency for International Development awarded ICMA
funding to continue our signature CityLinks program, this time with a new
focus on climate adaptation. Starting in 2012, we expect the program to
provide expanded opportunities for members to participate in short-term
international technical assistance assignments. ICMA
International is also implementing programs in 10 countries on four
continents, and we have just formalized the creation of the Beijing-based
ICMA China Center in partnership with the China University of Political
Science and Law.
These
relationships and our work with you over the past 12 months have made 2011
a very good year for ICMA. I look forward to 2012 and hope to see many of
you during my visits to your area on state association and other meeting
travel. I’m providing a link
to my travel schedule for the first 10 months of 2012. I also encourage
you to share your thoughts with me about the challenges ahead for our
profession. Feel free to email me at roneill@icma.org.
On
behalf of President Sam Gaston, the Executive Board, and the ICMA staff, I
wish you and yours a most joyous holiday season and a safe and prosperous
New Year!
Sincerely,
Bob
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
