2009 "Municipal Government Works" Month Booklet(.pdf)

Since 1993, Maryland's cities and towns have celebrated Municipal Government Month each April in an effort to promote citizens' awareness of and interest in the government in their communities. The following excerpt keenly describes why this effort is so important:

Former Deputy Mayor of the City of Los Angeles and President of the Institute for Local Self Government, Ray Remy in an article for Western City, writes:

"Consider this: Public officials at one level of government are blamed for policies enacted by others...City complaints are often directed to the wrong department...Many city residents cannot identify any of their locally elected officials... Municipal elections often have voter turnout rates that are half those of state and national elections despite the fact that one vote in a mayoral race has far more impact than a single vote in a state or national contest. And, all too often, citizens are awakened from their apathy and impelled to vote only when an issue directly affects them, often enacting public policy in an atmosphere of emotion and animosity rather than decision based on meaningful debate."

Does this sound all too familiar? He goes on to say:

"Local government also distinguishes our democracy from all others through its independence, its variety of forms, its sheer numbers, through the lack of hierarchy found in other levels of government, and by the extent of agreement on basic values among citizens required to make community decisions. As the level of government closest to the people, local government offers its citizens the best opportunity to be heard and to influence the course of our communities. But self-governance is inherently dependent on the awareness of citizens and the level of commitment they have to participating in government."