The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is now accepting applications for the Fiscal Year 2027 Greenspace Equity Program grant round. This is a competitive grant program and only proposals that meet program requirements submitted by eligible applicants may be considered for funding.  A complete Greenspace Equity Program FY 2027 Application and Project Agreement with all the necessary accompanying documents must be emailed to [email protected].​  

If you attended a session at last week's MML Excellence in Leadership Conference and were unable to access PowerPoints and other workshop materials, you can now find them in the MDCommunity file gallery. 

Looking for strategies to resuscitate vacant storefronts in your community? Recast Cities can help. 

You see the potential everywhere: talented entrepreneurs working from home, creative businesses ready to scale, and a downtown that could be the beating heart of your local economy. Recast Leaders provides a roadmap, expert coaching, and peer support to transform your downtown or neighborhood main street into a thriving destination in just 10 months. Communities that complete Recast Leaders get direct help figuring out what to do and implementing their top projects. For more information, visit https://www.recastcity.com/recastleaders.

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General (OAG) recently issued a memorandum clarifying how state and local law enforcement officers must operate when working alongside federal agencies. The OAG’s “Maryland Law Enforcement Standards When Working with Federal Agents” (October 2025) establishes clear expectations that Maryland officers remain fully bound by state law—even during joint operations or federal task forces. The guidance is intended to help departments avoid conflicts between state and federal standards and maintain community trust. Among other things, the OAG memo outlines what officers must do, may do, and must not do when participating in joint operations, covering areas such as:

• Use-of-force and de-escalation standards;

Applications are now open for National League of Cities (NLC) Federal Advocacy Committees and Member Councils. Join a Federal Advocacy Committee to bring your voice to the national conversation or join a Member Council and connect with municipalities like yours. Applicants must be from an NLC member city, town or village – deadline Tuesday, December 2.

Visit the NLC membership webpage to apply or for additional information. Email the NLC Member Services and Engagement team at [email protected] with questions.

Feeling a little bit of post-conference blues? Reminisce on moments from LeadershipCon25 by browsing our Photo Gallery for an overview of highlights from the event.

To see the full gallery, head over to MML's Flickr and download some of your favorite moments from the conference!

The Maryland Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in partnership with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center (EFC) and the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD), will be hosting a webinar on Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater Funding and Technical Assistance on October 16, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. EST. Panelists will include Adriana Caldarelli from MDE, Michelle Kokolis from EFC, and Lisa Fitzgerald from USDA Rural Development.

This collaborative webinar will deliver in-depth presentations from agency experts on securing water infrastructure funding, accessing relevant technical assistance, and reviewing essential guidance for enhancing water infrastructure for resilience, sustainability, and efficiency. Attendees will also be introduced to each organization and gain valuable insights to align their projects with rural eligibility criteria, ensure strategic use of resources, and optimize project outcomes.

The 2025 Small Business Anti-Displacement Network Conference: Fostering Resilience is convening November 12-14 at The Hotel at the University of Maryland. Come strategize with us about how to foster resilient small businesses and remain resilient in our anti-displacement work. Early-bird registration closes October 15.

You’ll hear how organizations and cities are supporting diverse communities and small businesses in this new economic and political landscape. Our keynotes, panels, and workshops will offer practical tools and timely approaches to supporting BIPOC and immigrant communities and entrepreneurs. Informal networking opportunities will help us reenergize.

Have a vacancy to fill?

Gain access to Local, County, and State government job seekers.

Sustainable Maryland is excited to announce the second year of funding for the Sustainable Maryland Action Grants for incorporated municipalities, furthering our commitment to enhance livability for all Marylanders by supporting a wide range of community-scale sustainability efforts.

Funding for this grant program has been made possible by the State of Maryland when it created the Sustainable Maryland Program fund in 2022. 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.

Sustainable Maryland’s mission is to provide opportunities for Maryland municipalities to continue to thrive and build a better tomorrow. With this grants program, Sustainable Maryland strongly encourages applications from municipalities across the state that seek to protect their natural assets, reduce their carbon footprint, and revitalize and improve the long-term quality of life for current and future generations.

Application due date: November 10, 2025 11:59pm

Awardees announced: early December

Timeline: Projects may begin January 2026 and are expected to be completed January 2027

Details

The League adopted an initiative in 2024 to give back to the local community organizations where our conferences are held. After evaluating several worthy options, the Conference Planning Committee chose The Dove Center located in Oakland, Maryland to be part of MML's 2025 Fall Conference.

The Dove Center provides safety, advocacy, and counseling to individuals whose lives have been shattered by domestic violence and/or sexual assault, and strives to expand public awareness of those issues.

The Maryland Municipal League and the Academy for Excellence in Local Governance would like your feedback on the educational programming provided to Maryland’s local government officials. To that end, we ask that you please take 5-6 minutes to complete a survey to help us better understand how well existing training meets the needs of MML members and what will help prepare Maryland’s city and town officials to lead our communities today and into the future: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AELG2025

Thank you in advance for your insights.  We look forward to using these results to improve the future training opportunities for city and town officials throughout Maryland.  If you have questions or need more information, please contact MML’s Senior Director of Leadership Development Tom Reynolds at [email protected]. 

Check out our MD Municipal Careers Job Board featured employment opportunity from University Park.

The Maryland Municipal League's Municipal Achievement Awards are awarded annually to cities and towns that have successfully implemented policies and programs that advance good governance and the well-being of our communities. The Awards will be presented at the 2025 Excellence in Leadership Fall Conference, which will be held October 12-14 at the Wisp Resort in McHenry, Maryland.

Municipalities will be recognized in four areas of governing excellence:

Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources has opened two grant programs that municipalities can use to strengthen greenspace, engage residents, and advance environmental goals.

The Greenspace Equity Program Appraisal Funding Grants cover the costs of property appraisals in underserved and overburdened communities, helping towns and cities take the first step toward acquiring land for new parks, trails, and green spaces. A total of $120,000 is available, with applications due by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 8, 2025.

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will hold a virtual meeting for local governments on Wednesday, September 17, at 11:00 a.m. to provide an update on the Purdue and Secondary Manufacturers opioid settlements. These agreements are currently in the sign-on phase, so timely participation is critical.

OAG will review:

Governor Wes Moore has signed an executive order to increase housing production across the state. The order improves the use of state-owned land to create more efficient development, reduce state permitting timelines, and bring more homes to market faster in an effort to tackle housing affordability and promote the Moore-Miller Administration’s commitment to addressing Maryland's 96,000 unit housing shortage across the state.

The “Housing Starts Here” executive order:

The Cybersecurity Operational Methods and Education Training (COMET) program - delivered by BCR Cyber in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT) and funded by the Employment Advancement Right Now (EARN) Maryland grant - is now accepting applicants for its FREE Fall 2025 training tracks.

Two Training Tracks Available (Sept 29 – Nov 3, 2025):

Do you have a wall mural or street art from your city or town that you want to display? A sculpture in your city or town that you think deserves more recognition? Consider submitting a photo of your city or town's public art to be showcased at the Excellence in Leadership Fall Conference.