As of 4/2/08
MML Convention Workshop Descriptions for
Convention Program Book
MML Convention Workshop Descriptions for
Convention Program Book
| Sunday, June 22, 2008 | ||
| 1:15 PM - 1:45 PM | First Time Attendees Orientation | |
| Moderator: Speakers: | ||
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2:00 PM - 5:00 PM | Workshop:Consensus and Team Building (C) |
| Does interpersonal conflict in your municipality ever interfere with accomplishing town business? Does it sometimes seem as though everybody is pulling the town in a different direction? This workshop will provide attendees with a better understanding of how to resolve conflict and build consensus within a municipal setting. The workshop includes exercises and role plays built around hypothetical situations that will look familiar to anyone who has served as a local government official. | ||
| Speakers: Tom Reynolds Manager, Research & Information Management Maryland Municipal League | ||
| 3:30 PM - 5:00 PM | Involving Youth in Community Decision Making | |
| Encouraging youth voice and leadership can help local governments make better decisions, save money, and support positive youth development. Youth councils and commissions provide young people with opportunities to advise local officials on important issues facing their city and to serve in decision-making roles that better influence programs and services offered to youth. Participation on city boards, commissions, and youth summits are also ways that youth are influencing local governments in cities across the country. One way cities are involving youth in leadership opportunities is through a youth master planning process focused on developing comprehensive plans to promote the well-being of children and youth. In this workshop, participants will learn about how various strategies to promote youth engagement in community decision making are working in different communities. | ||
| Moderator: Speaker: Leon T Andrews, Jr. Director - Youth Development National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education and Families Kate Sandel Senior Associate Youth Development National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education and Families | ||
| Monday, June 23, 2008 | ||
| 8:15 AM - 9:45 AM | • Topic Roundtables | |
| Moderator: Speaker: | ||
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8:15 AM - 9:45 AM | • Municipal Budgeting (C) |
| The budget is a legislative act, a tool, and a process. Focusing on the operating budget, this workshop will review the role of budgeting in local government; introduce concepts of budgeting as they relate to financial management; discuss some of the key elements of budgeting; and address some current budgeting issues. The workshop will include group exercises designed to increase participants skill in dealing with their own municipal budgets. Participants are encouraged to bring a copy of their towns most recently adopted budget to this session. | ||
| Moderator: Speaker: Alfred E. Martin Finance Director, Hagerstown Jeanne Bilanin Deputy Director, Institute for Governmental Service and Research | ||
| 10:00 AM - 11:45 AM | Opening General Session Keynote | |
| Speaker: Joel Zeff | ||
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2:15 PM - 3:30 PM | • E-Mail Dos & Donts (E) |
| If your city or town finds itself in the middle of litigation, there's a good chance your seemingly confidential documents, including e-mails, will be pored over by teams of lawyers looking for that smoking gun. The speakers for this session will tell you what to expect when the law allows your email to be discovered. Also covered will be some of the fundamental dos and donts of conducting municipal and personal business over email. Learn how you can prevent those private emails from becoming open invitations to embarrassment, hostile reactions from colleagues and constituents, and perhaps even a major security problem for town operations. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: Charles D. MacLeod Attorney Funk & Bolton Victor K. Tervala Attorney Funk & Bolton | ||
|
2:15 PM - 3:30 PM | • The New World of Cable Franchising (E) |
| The last two or three years have seen a great deal of change in the way cable television franchising works for Maryland cities. The principal driver for these changes has been the entry of Verizon and other telephone companies into the video market. Some cities now have two or more cable providers offering service in competition with each other formerly an almost unknown situation. The telephone companies have persuaded the Federal Communications Commission to issue orders (currently on appeal) imposing strict deadlines and other conditions on local franchising. As a result, there have been significant shifts in how one negotiates a franchise and what a community can obtain in an agreement. At the same time, in a number of states the telephone companies have succeeded in passing legislation that takes most franchising authority away from local governments and moves it to the state level, although that has not happened thus far in Maryland. This session will discuss these developments, the status of the appeals of the FCCs orders, and the best ways to approach franchising under todays conditions. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: Frederick E. Ellrod III Attorney Miller & Van Eaton, P.L.L.C. | ||
| 2:15 PM - 3:30 PM | • Creative Ways to Fund Playgrounds | |
| Finding ways to fund playgrounds in your community always presents a challenge. In this session we have three panelists who will share their expertise on how your community can meet this challenge. They include a representative from KaBOOM!, a national nonprofit organization that works to rally communities to achieve better public policy, funding and public awareness for increased play opportunities by providing resources, including trainings, challenge grants, and publications for communities; Boundless Playgrounds, which is the first national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping communities create extraordinary barrier-free playgrounds where children, with and without disabilities, can develop essential skills for life as they learn together through play. The Boundless Playgrounds model identifies ways to garner support from families, corporations, foundations, government agencies, community leaders, civic groups and countless others in making a real difference in childrens lives. The third speaker is from the State of Maryland, Community Parks and Playgrounds Program. Through this program the State provides a dedicated funding source focusing on providing flexible grants that assist local governments rehabilitate, expand or improve existing parks, create new parks, or purchase and install playground equipment in older neighborhoods and intensely developed areas throughout the State of Maryland. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: James W. (Chip) Price Program Open Space Grants Manager Maryland Department of the Environment Deborah Midford Senior Director of Programs & Services Boundless Playgrounds® Ben Duda Manager of RALLY KaBOOM! | ||
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2:15 PM - 3:30 PM | • Ethics (C) |
| Officials should have sufficient knowledge of their Public Ethics Ordinance as generally required by state law. Many officials fill out the necessary forms and assume that they have complied with the law. But, are their day-to-day actions living up to the intent of the law? The often fine-line differences between legal and ethical behavior will be illustrated in small group discussions. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: Ernie A. Crofoot Attorney Funk & Bolton | ||
| Tuesday, June 24, 2008 | ||
| 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM | Business Meeting | |
| 10:30 AM - 11:30 PM | • Municipal Dogs Parks | |
| Get the Poop on the positive economics of these rapidly expanding social venues for dogs and their owners. You will also learn about some of the costs involved in creating a dog park, strategies to help offset the costs and dog park design. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: John S. Marshall Chief of Park Operations Anne Arundel County | ||
|
10:30 AM - 11:30 PM | • Historic Preservation (E) |
| Every community has features that make it unique -- historic buildings, open spaces, tree-lined streets and more. Local governments have lots of options to ensure the preservation of these important community assets, including historic area zoning ordinances, conservation districts, design guidelines and easements. Learn about the tools and financial assistance programs that are available to ensure the preservation of your community. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: Nicole A. Diehlmann Administrator of Statewide Preservation Programs Maryland Historical Trust | ||
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10:30 AM - 11:30 PM | • Police Departments and the Elected Leadership: Breaking the Culture Barriers (E) |
| What information should police departments share with their elected officials? What involvement with police department business is appropriate for elected officials? Sometimes there is a perception of them against us. Learn how to break the culture barrier to develop trust and open lines of communication. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: G. Frederick Robinson Mayor, Bowie John A. Foster Mayor, Denton Bernadette DiPino Chief of Police, Ocean City | ||
| 10:30 AM - 11:30 PM | • Mansionization: What Is It? How Can a City/Town Prevent It from Occurring? | |
| There has been a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of mansionization in recent years. The workshop speakers will define mansionization and discuss the many issues a municipality will encounter when addressing this phenomenon. We will consider the legal implications of regulations aimed at curbing mansionization and what lessons can be learned from the few pioneering jurisdictions that have decided to take action. The discussion will include a look at the controls that have been developed and applied by others in an effort to preserve the character of neighborhoods. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: Ronald M. Bolt Attorney Stein, Sperling, Bennett, De Jong, Driscoll & Greenfeig, PC. Chris Jakubiak Jakubiak & Associates, Inc. | ||
| 12:15 PM - 1:45 PM | Big City Forum & Lunch | |
| This is an informal session for officials from cities with populations of 20,000 or more. Pick up your lunch in the exhibit area and then join your colleagues to discuss issues of mutual concern. | ||
| 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM | Roundtable Forum with Cabinet Secretaries | |
| Following the introductions, each Cabinet Secretary will move to a roundtable to conduct informal one-on-one discussions with municipal officials. This is your opportunity to ask specific questions about Department/Agency activities and their interaction with you and your municipal residents. | ||
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2:30 PM - 4:00 PM | • Quality of Life and the T.A.G. Approach (E) |
| Learn how using elements of public works, code enforcement, community Services and the police department can create an environment that deters and reduces crime in the community. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: John E. Moss Chief of Police Bladensburg Timothy McNamara Director of Code Enforcement Bladensburg | ||
|
2:30 PM - 4:30 PM | • Employment Issues (C) |
| This workshop will provide an overview of preferred employment practices. Speaker will address how positions should be advertised and interviews conducted. Learn about risk management techniques concerning proper supervision of employees, as well as appropriate procedures for disciplining employees. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: Kevin Karpinski, Esq. Karpinski, Colaresi and Karp | ||
| Wednesday, June 25, 2008 | ||
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9:00 AM - 11:00 AM | • Housing Issues Part 1: The Nuts and Bolts of Rental Housing (E) |
| In the next decade, Maryland faces a shortage of affordable housing; senior citizens, individuals with disabilities, and working families will face the brunt of the problem. The Maryland Department of Housing and Community Developments Multifamily Financing Group facilitates the production and preservation of affordable rental housing opportunities through its lending products and works in partnership with the private sector to ensure financing gaps are met. This workshop highlights DHCDs priorities and the use of tax credits, bonds, state loan funds and private equity in the development of affordable multifamily housing projects. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: Patricia Rynn Sylvester Director, Multifamily Housing, CDA Department of Housing and Community Development | ||
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9:00 AM - 11:00 AM | • Housing Issues Part 2: Preserving Homeownership and Weathering the Foreclosure Crisis (E) |
| Homeownership is the most common way to build wealth, but for many today, homeownership is being threatened with exotic, or other unfavorable mortgage products; including homeowners facing mortgage payment resets. This workshop sponsored by the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development will highlight the programs and services available to homeowners challenged with mortgages that no longer fit their financial situations and threaten their ability to build wealth. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: Bill Ariano, Jr., Deputy Director, CDA Department of Housing and Community Development Kelly Vaughn, Outreach Director Department of Housing and Community Development | ||
| 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM | • Open Meetings Act (C) | |
| This workshop will provide an overview of the Open Meetings Law and a review of some of the cases that have come before the Compliance Board. Topic content will also include a look at some of the complaints filed with the Compliance Board that were found not to be in violation of the Open Meetings Law. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: William R. Varga, Assistant Attorney General Maryland Attorney General's Office | ||
|
11:15 AM - 12:45 PM | • Update on ADA Key Topics for Municipal Officials (E) |
| How can municipalities ensure that their streets, sidewalks, and intersections their rights of way - are accessible to persons with disabilities? What are their responsibilities under the law? And how can municipalities best plan for the needs of persons with disabilities in an emergency? Representatives of the U.S. Department of Justice and the Access Board will explain the requirements and offer resources for local planning and implementation. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: Jeanine Worden Deputy Section Chief, Disability Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division U.S. Department of Justice Lois Thibault Research Coordinator The Access Board | ||
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11:15 AM - 12:45 PM | • Theft: Protecting Your City/Town, Its Employees, and Citizens Identities |
| Identity theft is a growing 21st century problem that increasingly demands that local government leaders take substantive steps to protect the personal and financial information belonging to both employees and citizens. This workshop will explore the expanding threat of identity theft and look at a variety of precautions and best practices that municipalities may wish to adopt when dealing with the challenge. | ||
| Moderator: Speakers: Sue Johnson Regional Marketing Manager, Legal Resources, Inc. Sergeant Gary Renninger, Supervisor Financial Crimes Section / Computer Data Recovery Unit. Montgomery County | ||
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