|
|
From Virginia Town & City, Oct. 2010 -- PDF version
VLGMA adapted training to economic fallout
No one needs to tell local government managers that times are tough. The Virginia Local Government Management Association used the tough economic times as an opportunity to rethink, refine and refocus its priorities and programs. As a result, the association moved forward with strategies to better help local government professionals and the communities they serve.
While some associations cut back or cancelled training during the recession, VLGMA reaffirmed its support for educational opportunities for its membership.
The association refined a number of facets of its two statewide training conferences to reduce costs while focusing on topics to help managers deal with the challenges their communities face as a result of the recession. The association also instituted one-day conference rates to allow members to participate in selected training sessions. While restricted training budgets led to some drop in conference attendance, participation in the association’s meetings remained strong.
VLGMA accepted a challenge from the International City-County Management Association to help fund scholarships for the ICMA annual conference in Montreal. This allowed a small number of VLGMA members to participate in their first ICMA conference. Providing this assistance gave these members the opportunity to participate in high-quality training sessions and network with local government managers from the United States and around the world.
The association continued to build on its efforts to prepare the next generation of local government managers. In the fall of 2008, VLGMA began an educational partnership with Virginia Tech to offer a local government certificate program. In the beginning, the program was offered only to employees of local governments and was underwritten by local governments. During 2009-2010, the program was opened up to any student in Virginia Tech’s public administration program, and the number of sites to which the classes were beamed was increased. As local government training budgets were cut, the association started its own scholarship fund to help defray costs for local government students in the program.
VLGMA committees and task forces stayed busy in 2009-2010. For example, the Professional Development Committee worked with a task force on conference subsidy practices to refine and refocus the association’s practices and procedures regarding training conferences. The Communications and Networking Committee examined the association’s newsletter, website and regional networking opportunities, and developed a list of recommendations to improve how news is shared with members. In addition, the Strategic Planning Committee proposed several revisions to the association’s strategic plan, which were adopted by the membership in June.
The association capped its year with its annual conference in Virginia Beach in June. It elected Lynchburg City Manager L. Kimball Payne III as president. Payne hopes to focus the association’s efforts in the coming year on:
- Member support and increasing member involvement through participation in various activities in service to the organization.
- Support for the association’s deputies, assistants, and others (DAOs) group.
- Continued support for the Virginia Tech-VLGMA Local Government Certificate Program through recruitment of students and instructors, and through the establishment of a scholarship endowment fund.
- Promoting the long-term sustainability of VLGMA through sound fiscal management and membership growth.
- Strengthening relationships with VML, the Virginia Association of Counties, Virginia First Cities and local government professional organizations.
Other officers for 2010-2011 are: Williamsburg City Manager Jackson C. Tuttle II, president-elect; Staunton City Manager Stephen E. Owen, first vice president; Poquoson City Manager James R. “Randy” Wheeler, second vice president; Gloucester County Administrator Brenda G. Garton, third vice president; Goochland County Administrator Rebecca T. Dickson; secretary; and Smithfield Town Manager Peter M. Stephenson, immediate past president.
VML Director of Policy Development Janet Areson serves as the association’s executive secretary.
What's new | Marketplace | VML Insurance Programs | About the League | Calendar | Sustaining membership
Legislative activities | Publications | Conferences | Affiliate organizations | Links©2008 Virginia Municipal League. Comments and questions about this page or the data provided may be addressed to Manuel Timbreza. Special thanks to the Virginia Institute of Government for hosting this site.
