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Journalist @baltimoresun writer artist runner #amwriting Chaplain PIO #partylikeajournalist
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Showing posts with label Maryland Municipal League see MML. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maryland Municipal League see MML. Show all posts

Thursday, November 03, 2011

Kevin Dayhoff - The Tentacle: Work Cut Out For Municipal League

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4723
Kevin Dayhoff - The Tentacle: Work Cut Out For Municipal League

November 2, 2011

Work Cut Out For Municipal League
Kevin E. Dayhoff
This week officials from Maryland cities and towns throughout the state converged on the Cambridge Hyatt Chesapeake Bay conference facilities for the three-day Maryland Municipal League’s fall legislative conference.

The Maryland Municipal League, (MML) was founded in 1936 by Annapolis Mayor Louis N. Phelps in an effort for Maryland municipalities to obtain funds available to local governments from the Work Progress Administration (WPA) under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.

The organization is run by local officials from the 157 cities and towns from across the state. It works as an advocate for those municipalities.

In recent years, much of the advocacy of the MML has centered on maintaining, and indeed, restoring municipal state-shared revenues that have been taken away by the Maryland General Assembly in order to balance the beleaguered state budget.

Last weekend’s rare October winter weather may not be the only “deep freeze” that descended on the state as national, state and local elected officials attempt to fathom the political consequences of the prolonged economic downtown, increased rules, regulations and unfunded federal and state mandates being placed on local governments...


Labels: 
Labels: Maryland Municipal League see MML, MML, MML Municipal League
http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/search/label/MML%20Municipal%20League:


For more information on the 2011 Fall Maryland Municipal
League’s Fall Legislative Conference at the Cambridge Maryland Hyatt Regency
Chesapeake Bay, including a “Complete 2011 Fall Conference Information (.pdf)”
packet, visit the MML website at www.mdmunicipal.org.


Maryland Municipal League see MML, MML, MML Municipal League, MML Municipal League Fall Legislative Conference, Dayhoff Media The Tentacle, 
*****


Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/


My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/


*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
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Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Kevin Dayhoff - The Tentacle: Work Cut Out For Municipal League

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4723
Kevin Dayhoff - The Tentacle: Work Cut Out For Municipal League

November 2, 2011

Work Cut Out For Municipal League
Kevin E. Dayhoff
This week officials from Maryland cities and towns throughout the state converged on the Cambridge Hyatt Chesapeake Bay conference facilities for the three-day Maryland Municipal League’s fall legislative conference.

The Maryland Municipal League, (MML) was founded in 1936 by Annapolis Mayor Louis N. Phelps in an effort for Maryland municipalities to obtain funds available to local governments from the Work Progress Administration (WPA) under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.

The organization is run by local officials from the 157 cities and towns from across the state. It works as an advocate for those municipalities.

In recent years, much of the advocacy of the MML has centered on maintaining, and indeed, restoring municipal state-shared revenues that have been taken away by the Maryland General Assembly in order to balance the beleaguered state budget.

Last weekend’s rare October winter weather may not be the only “deep freeze” that descended on the state as national, state and local elected officials attempt to fathom the political consequences of the prolonged economic downtown, increased rules, regulations and unfunded federal and state mandates being placed on local governments...


Labels: 
Labels: Maryland Municipal League see MML, MML, MML Municipal League
http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/search/label/MML%20Municipal%20League:


For more information on the 2011 Fall Maryland Municipal
League’s Fall Legislative Conference at the Cambridge Maryland Hyatt Regency
Chesapeake Bay, including a “Complete 2011 Fall Conference Information (.pdf)”
packet, visit the MML website at www.mdmunicipal.org.


Maryland Municipal League see MML, MML, MML Municipal League, MML Municipal League Fall Legislative Conference, Dayhoff Media The Tentacle, 
*****


Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/


My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/


*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
*****

Carroll officials meet at Maryland Municipal League legislative conference in Cambridge

Carroll officials meet at Maryland Municipal League legislative conference in Cambridge

http://www.baltimoresun.com/explore/carroll/news/ph-ce-municipal-league-1106-20111101,0,3097247.story

November 1, 2011 | 9:24 p.m.
Hours after a rare October winter storm dumped several inches of heavy, wet snow on Carroll Countyfor most of Saturday, local municipal officials braved the weather and joined colleagues from Maryland cities and towns throughout the state at theCambridge Hyatt Chesapeake Bay conference facilities for a three-day Maryland Municipal League fall legislative conference.


MML – Maryland Municipal League Fall Conference October 31 - November 2, 2011




MML Fall Conference October 31 - November 2, 2011


For more information on the 2011 Fall Maryland Municipal League’s Fall Legislative Conference at the Cambridge Maryland Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, including a “Complete 2011 Fall Conference Information (.pdf)” packet, visit the MML website atwww.mdmunicipal.org.

*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/

Monday, October 31, 2011

Reminiscing about the 2004 October MML Fall Conference - By Kevin Dayhoff October 30, 2011


By Kevin Dayhoff October 30, 2011

On Sunday evening, October 30, 2011 and early Monday morning, October 31, 2011, elected officials from Maryland cities and towns throughout the state will converge on the Cambridge Hyatt Chesapeake Bay conference facilities for the Maryland Municipal League’s fall legislative conference.

I have not attended a fall Maryland Municipal League (MML) conference since 2004. In that year, I attended as the mayor of Westminster and an elected member of the Maryland Municipal League’s board of directors.

The contracted economy has caused a prolonged reduction of revenues from local governments from across the state in the face of increased demands on services.

However, as I learned first hand when I served on the MML board of directors for five consecutive years, from June 2000 to May 2005; in addition to education and networking, perhaps the MML has been most effective in advocating for municipalities with the Maryland General Assembly. 

It may be easily argued that Maryland state budget cuts to municipalities in recent years could have easily caused much more damage to local governments if it had not been for the tireless efforts of the MML working the hallways and offices of Annapolis during the legislative session.

If I am not mistaken, the first fall MML legislative conference I attended was in 1999. On October 27, 2004, I wrote about the fall conference:

On October 21-23, 2004, I had the privilege to join Carroll County leaders such as Suzanne Albert, Laurell Taylor, John Medve, Haven Shoemaker, Jim McCarron, Bob Flickinger, Frank Johnson and Wendy Peters at the annual Maryland Municipal League’s (MML) Fall Legislative Conference at Rocky Gap near Cumberland. 

Each year, the MML fall conference unites elected officials from municipalities across the state and experienced speakers to assist local governments with various issues.  

While the MML’s legislative agenda for the upcoming Maryland General Assembly remains a priority, the conference has been expanded in recent years to make it more like a "mini convention. 

This year, over 225 municipal officials from 70 of the state's 157 municipalities, joined statewide leaders such as Senator Rich Colburn, Harford County Executive Jim Harkins, Delegate Brian Moe, Congressman Bartlett and Lt. Governor Michael Steele in an intense interactive agenda that included nine workshops that touched upon issues that are affecting citizens today, including  everything from environmental issues and growth and development to an explanation on First Amendment legal issues and the Main Street Maryland program. 

The conference had a good mix of education and training through workshops, networking and meeting counterparts and other officials with information that could be helpful to all of us – now. 

Local officials, John Medve and Steve Horn gave excellent presentations on planning issues.  Other presentations included: Local Government Employment Issues; Administering the Chesapeake Bay Restoration Fund; Municipal Utilities – Growth Capacity Analysis; The “Main Street Maryland” Program; Maryland’s “Priority Places” Initiative; Growth is Coming – Are You Ready?; Parliamentary Procedure & Effective Council Meetings; First Amendment Legal Issues Explained;  Basics of Risk Management for Public Officials; and Understanding Your Municipal Charter. 

The main issues were growth and planning issues, and that five letter word: ‘water’. The issue just doesn’t seem to go away.

At the business meeting on October 22, the three MML priorities for this coming year were intensely debated. 

Each year, the MML chooses several priority issues that directly affect the future well-being of Maryland’s cities and towns, and those who live in them. 

The MML then has these issues introduced as legislation before the Maryland General Assembly, and works to usher these issues through the legislative process.  This year's legislative platform addresses public safety, restoring municipal resources and electric aggregation.

All three issues greatly impact the lives of citizens, with the biggest priority being the issue of restoring funds that have been lost over the last three years because of problems in the state budget. 

Cities have lost the most money in Highway User Revenues and Program Open Space funds.

Maryland’s incorporated cities and towns have few municipal revenue sources to rely on. More than other government forms in Maryland, cities and towns depend on the property tax as their primary general fund revenue source with which to support basic services for our communities. 

For the FY 2005 budget, approximately 36% of Maryland’s municipalities increased instituted or increased cost recoveries or user fees, 14% reduced or eliminated existing services, 45% laid off employees or eliminated cost of living increases in salary, 46% delayed construction projects, delayed capital purchases or sold assets, 48% used money from their savings accounts to pay operating expenses, and 18% increased property taxes.

In terms of public safety, the idea is for police departments to receive better equipment so officers can communicate with each other quicker.

The most hotly debated issue was the matter of municipal electric aggregation.

The 1999 electric deregulation legislation specifically did not allow municipalities a reasonable opportunity to pool our citizens’ electric bills in an attempt to minimize the impact of electric deregulation and rising electric bills. 

In subsequent attempts in the last several legislative sessions, the Maryland General Assembly has consistently said that it will not even entertain MML legislation to remedy this situation. 

Reminding the municipalities at the business session, the MML leadership wanted to change the Electric Aggregation Legislative Priority to request a Taskforce, instead of remedial legislation. 

After a floor fight conducted by about 60 mayors, who dusted the cobwebs off the deep arcane corners of Roberts Rules of Parliamentary Procedure and traded motion and counter motion for 45 minutes, ultimately deciding upon, attempting the legislation with a fall back position of a Taskforce.  Can you say “aspirin”?

+++++++++++

MML – Maryland Municipal League Fall Conference October 31 - November 2, 2011





For more information on the 2011 Fall Maryland Municipal League’s Fall Legislative Conference at the Cambridge Maryland Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay, including a “Complete 2011 Fall Conference Information (.pdf)” packet, visit the MML website at www.mdmunicipal.org.

Labels: ,

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2011/10/reminiscing-about-2004-october-mml-fall.html
*****
Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/
My http://www.explorecarroll.com/ columns appear in the copy of the Baltimore Sunday Sun that is distributed in Carroll County: https://subscribe.baltsun.com/Circulation/
*****

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Lobby of the Cambridge Hyatt for fall MML conference on legislative issues


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MML – Maryland Municipal League Fall Conference October 31 - November 2, 2011



Wednesday, November 03, 2004

October 2004 Maryland Municipal League Fall Conference


October MML Fall Conference
November 3rd, 2004 by Westminster Mayor Kevin Dayhoff (528 words)
By the time you read this, the 2004 Presidential election will be over and hopefully, if there is a merciful higher being, we will have a clear cut winner.  Hopefully you voted.  Hopefully, it is now safe to watch TV again without getting an instant migraine.  Now that it is over, continue the aspirin therapy until the flashbacks of the obnoxious TV coverage of ugly charges and counter charges and counter-counter charges are over.  Can you say “Where’s the beef?”
Getting back to local matters, on October 21-23, I had the privilege to join Carroll County leaders such as Suzanne Albert, Laurell Taylor, John Medve, Haven Shoemaker, Jim McCarron, Frank Johnson, Bob Flickinger and Wendy Peters at the Maryland Municipal League’s (MML) Fall Conference.  While the MML’s legislative agenda for the upcoming Maryland General Assembly remains a priority, the conference has been greatly expanded in recent years. 
This year, over 225 elected officials from 70 municipalities, joined statewide leaders such as Congressman Roscoe Bartlett and Lt. Governor Michael Steele in an agenda that included nine workshops that touched upon issues that are affecting citizens today, including everything from environmental issues, growth and development to the Main Street program.  The main issues were growth and planning issues, and that five letter word: ‘water’.  The issue just doesn’t seem to go away.  Local officials, John Medve and Steve Horn gave excellent presentations on planning issues. 
Each year, the MML chooses several priority issues that directly affect the well-being of Maryland’s municipal citizens.  The MML then ushers these issues through the legislative process.  This year's legislative platform addresses public safety, restoring municipal resources and electric aggregation.
All three issues greatly impact the lives of local citizens, with the biggest priority being the issue of restoring funds that have been lost over the last three years because of problems in the state budget.  For the FY 2005 budget, approximately 36% of Maryland’s municipalities instituted or increased cost recoveries or user fees, 45% laid off employees or eliminated cost of living salary increases, 46% delayed construction projects and capital purchases, 48% used money from their savings accounts to pay operating expenses, and 18% increased property taxes. 
The most hotly debated issue was municipal electric aggregation.  The 1999 electric deregulation legislation specifically did not allow municipalities a reasonable opportunity to pool our citizens’ electric bills in an attempt to minimize the impact of electric deregulation and rising electric bills. The General Assembly has consistently said that it will not even entertain MML legislation to remedy this situation until 2006 at the earliest. 
Understanding this, the MML leadership wanted to change the Electric Aggregation Priority to request a Taskforce, instead of remedial legislation.  After a floor fight conducted by about 60 mayors, who dusted the cobwebs off the deep arcane corners of Roberts Rules and went on a parliamentary procedure safari trading motion and counter motion for 30 minutes, it was decided to attempt the legislation with a fall back position of a Taskforce.  Can you say – more aspirin please? 
The conference was time well spent.  We learned a lot about cutting edge challenges and creative solutions.  It is certainly a never-ending learning curve. 
20041103 
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