Got a workshop idea to help educate Maryland's city and town leaders on timely issues and governing best practices?  Consider submitting a session proposal for MML's 2025 Summer Conference in Ocean City.  Deadline for submission is Friday, January 17.  If you have questions or need more information, please contact Tom Reynolds at [email protected].

The obligation deadline for municipalities receiving SLFRF funding is December 31, 2024.  Funds not obligated by the deadline will not be available to benefit your community and will need to be returned to the U.S. Treasury.

If your town is struggling to expend SLFRF funds or with the compliance process, we encourage you to contact the Department of Budget and Management’s Municipal Technical Assistance Program (MTAP). Given the impending December 31 deadline, MTAP has moved its Office Hours to every Tuesday, now through December 17, to increase the number of opportunities to discuss the obligation deadline. Please see below for the Office Hours meeting link and call in number. You can use the same meeting link each Tuesday.

The Maryland Department of Budget and Management’s Municipal Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) is seeking your feedback to better understand your municipality’s needs and current progress through the ARPA SLFRF and Federal Funds survey. This 5–10-minute survey will gather data on American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) obligation progress ahead of the December 31, 2024, obligation deadline and municipal interest in federal funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) at the local government level.

This year's jam-packed Excellence in Leadership Fall Conference includes five (5) workshops designated as Academy for Excellence in Local Governance elective classes.  To see which classes qualify for elective credit, visit the updated preliminary conference schedule on the Maryland Municipal League website.

Academy Electives include:

Sustainable Maryland is excited to announce the inaugural year of funding for the Sustainable Maryland Action Grants for incorporated municipalities, furthering a commitment to enhance livability for all Marylanders by supporting a wide range of community-scale sustainability efforts. Funding for this grant program was made possible by the State of Maryland when it created the Sustainable Maryland Program fund in 2022. This fund sets aside a portion of the state’s annual budget specifically to support Maryland’s municipal sustainability efforts through the Sustainable Maryland program. By offering $100,000 to municipalities that are registered and certified with Sustainable Maryland, these grants seek to bridge the gap between local budget and resource capacity and state funding.

For more information, visit the Sustainable Maryland SM Action Grants webpage.

The Maryland Department of Budget and Management’s Municipal Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) has begun publishing Grant Summary Reports on open Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) grant programs potentially applicable to Maryland municipalities with open Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs). Grant Summary Reports have been published on Environmental and Climate Justice Community Change Grants (currently open for applications), the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program (currently open for applications), and the Safe Streets and Roads for All Program (now closed for applications).

Getting a broad cross section of residents engaged on important issues in our communities is as challenging as its ever been.  The Academy for Excellence in Local Governance graduate class at this year's MML Excellence in Leadership Fall Conference will provide participants with insights and skill building to help you better tackle these community engagement challenges.  

Seats are going fast, so be sure to select the Community Engagement Academy graduate class when you register for the conference.  And remember, graduate classes are open to Academy for Excellence in Local Governance graduates only and pre-registration is required.

With the second half of the 2024 calendar year upon us, MML encourages recipients of ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) to be mindful of the December 31, 2024 fund obligation deadline. Here are some resources from the U.S. Treasury to help your municipality meet the obligation requirement:

Maryland’s communities are faced with a future of higher intensity storms, increased populations and development, changing sea levels and flooding, and a growing demand for healthy places for tourism and recreation. These trends make the already challenging task of restoring the Chesapeake Bay, safeguarding people and infrastructure and managing natural resources even more complex.

To assist Maryland’s communities, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is providing a single point of entry through the Grants Gateway for organizations seeking technical and financial assistance to restore local waterways, increase their resilience to climate impacts, strengthen local economies and develop the next generation of environmental stewards.

For 15 years the Maryland Municipal League has partnered with Technology Net to provide an online compensation info-sharing/survey system for Maryland cities and towns. In the past year, Technology Net has made various system upgrades and now members can engage directly with TechNet in accessing the system. Any municipalities that have been recent participants in the compensation survey will be contacted directly by TechNet to inquire about your continued interest in utilizing the system. 

If your municipality has not been a recent comp survey participant but is interested in learning more about the online system, its functionality, and cost, you may contact TechNet directly at [email protected].

The State of Maryland’s Department of Budget and Management's Municipal Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) has exciting updates to make its Fund Mapping Service more readily accessible. The goal of the service is to help Maryland municipalities match their priority projects with competitive federal funding opportunities available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).  To get started with the Fund Mapping Service, all you have to do is submit a Fund Mapping Request Form.

On behalf of the Department of Budget and Management, the MTAP program will be hosting a webinar on Strategies for Capacity Building and Partnership Development for Federal Funding Success on Thursday, June 20, 2024 from 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. EST.

This webinar will provide comprehensive guidance on internal capacity building and partnership development for local governments seeking to optimize grant opportunities.

Do you have a newly elected town council trying to get off on the right foot? Would you benefit from having a professional facilitator assist with teambuilding, goal setting, or an introduction to municipal roles and responsibilities based on your municipal charter?

Sustainable Maryland, in partnership with Pepco, will offer Sustainable Communities Grant awards to eligible organizations. This program will provide $75,000 support to fund environmental stewardship projects and $50,000 for community resilience projects across the Pepco service area in Montgomery County, Prince George's County, and Washington, DC. Application deadline: July 12.

Environmental Stewardship Grants (awards up to $10,000 – up to 8 awards expected)

The EPA Mid-Atlantic Summit is a one-day virtual event geared towards addressing environmental health topics relevant to the Mid-Atlantic Region. The summit is held annually and features an opening plenary with state environmental secretaries and concurrent sessions focused on various topics, including equity, environmental justice, sustainability, grant opportunities, and more. This year's Summit will be held on Thursday, May 16, 2024, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

The Summit is free and open to the public.  Additional information, including how to registration is available here. The Summit will convene representatives from communities; non-profit organizations; Tribes; professional associations and advocacy groups; businesses; academia; and federal, state, and local government in the Mid-Atlantic Region (Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia).

The Chesapeake Bay Program is conducting a survey of local elected and appointed officials involved in policy making. Results will be used to improve and enhance training and information for local leaders. Please take 10 minutes to share your opinion. The survey is being conducted by an independent contractor (Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG)). Your feedback is confidential. If you have any questions, please contact the survey helpdesk at [email protected].

Survey Here

The State's Municipal Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) will be hosting a webinar on behalf of the Maryland Department of Budget and Management on ARPA Closeout & Obligation Best Practices. The webinar will take place on Thursday, April 18, 2024 from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m.

This webinar will focus on the obligation process for ARPA funding, including how to prepare for the 2024 obligation deadline and utilize new guidance on obligations.  The discussion will also include best practices for managing the closeout of federal program funding.

The American Rescue Plan Act State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) reporting deadline is April 30, 2024. All NEUs who have received ARPA funding are required to submit this annual report, which covers expenditures incurred between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024. For NEUs who report quarterly, the report will cover expenditures during the period of January 1, 2024, through March 31, 2024. Keep in mind that the Municipal Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) continues to support Maryland municipalities to inform them of their reporting responsibilities throughout the month, including through individual phone calls beginning this week.