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VLGMA maintains professional growth opportunities
Established to provide professional development opportunities for senior local government managers and promote ethical behavior, the Virginia Local Government Management Association continues its long-standing reputation as one of the strongest state affiliates of the International City/County Management Association.
VLGMA strives to “develop, support, nurture leadership and ethics in VA local government managers in order to fulfill the vision of each community.” Participation by all local government managers promotes the values and professionalism so important to VLGMA and offers opportunities to learn from colleagues and stay abreast of state and national trends in governance. Further, it provides the invaluable support of peers when dealing with complex issues in local governance.
In July, VLGMA elected Fairfax Deputy County Executive Rob Stalzer as its new president. The leadership team working with Stalzer includes President-Elect Bonnie Svrcek, assistant city manager of Lynchburg; Vice President Phillip Rodenberg, city manager of Fredericksburg; Vice President Sanford Wanner, county administrator in James City; Vice President Kathleen Guzi, Bedford County deputy administrator; Secretary Peter Stephenson, town manager of Smithfield; and Immediate Past President Billy Mitchell, assistant city manager in Newport News.
Utilizing VLGMA’s strategic plan as their foundation, Stalzer and his VLGMA leadership team have identified the following priorities for their work on behalf of VLGMA:
- optimize the use of technology to improve communications among the profession and the membership;
- recognize the importance of succession planning for VLGMA and encourage new people to enter the profession;
- build a sense of obligation that the role of “civic educator” is a continuing, important, and integral part of the manager’s job;
- continue to provide ethics training programs as a part of regular conferences;
- incorporate the eight groups of ICMA professional practices into VLGMA summer and winter conferences and other training opportunities;
- develop and promote mentoring opportunities for new and potential professionals; and
- continue examining the vision of the “preferred” (vs. the predicted) future of the profession.
Significant accomplishments have already been made in addressing some of these priorities. An initiative recently completed amends the Constitution and bylaws to reflect evolving practices of VLGMA and further refines and defines responsibilities of the several vice presidents. Specific roles and responsibilities of each of the vice presidents to oversee the newsletter, budget and ethics issues, member support, civic education and professional development are outlined. This specificity ensures that these critical areas become part of the mission of each vice president.
Another effort underway is the creation of job descriptions for the officers of VLGMA. The job descriptions, which are based on the amended constitution and bylaws and goals set forth by the strategic plan, will provide a professional framework for officers as they manage new responsibilities and do the work of the organization. The amended constitution and bylaws and the job description efforts are critical to increasing professionalism within the organization and to its succession planning.
Other areas of focus for the year include an “Emphasis on Ethics,” which will utilize the 12 tenets in ICMA’s code of ethics as a basis for membership education and professional dialogue through the newsletter, conferences and e-mail. Using technology and updating the Web site as a resource for getting more information out about VLGMA is also a priority for Stalzer and his leadership team. Stalzer’s primary goal as president is to encourage as many members as possible to become credentialed managers through the International City/County Management Association’s credentialing program. He has set the aggressive goal of doubling the number of credentialed managers during his presidency.
These are just some of the priorities the VLGMA leadership team will work on this year. They are also committed to an ongoing inclusive process to engage the membership at large in identifying additional priorities and implementing action plans throughout the year. Virginia has enjoyed a strong tradition of highly skilled local government managers. Stalzer, Svrcek, Rodenberg, Wanner, Guzi, Stephenson and Mitchell are a part of this proud history and they look forward to their upcoming work together as the leadership team of VLGMA.
Denise Thompson, director of environmental policy and member services at VML, serves as VLGMA executive secretary.
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