Of the 5 years that I have been involved in Emmitsburg
Town Government, this is the first year that I attended the
Maryland Municipal League conference in Ocean City. I was
happily surprised and impressed with the amount of
information made available to the participants.
In previous years the Town Manager was asked to represent
Emmitsburg at the convention. The convention was held from
Sun., June 22, through Wed., June 25, 2003. Commissioner
Rosensteel also attended the convention. The convention
hosted numerous seminars where elected officials and
municipal staff employees could learn new and proven
techniques from each other. Seminars were instructed by
experienced individuals who were able to assist participants
with concerns and problems back home in their own
municipalities.
I attended 6 seminars:
- Municipal Official Orientation;
- Municipal Ordinances & Resolutions;
- Parliamentary Procedure & Effective Council Meetings;
- Basics of City and Town Planning & Zoning;
- Web-enabling; and,
- Local Government Employment Issues.
All of the seminars were very informative; however, I
feel that the seminar, Basics of City and Town Planning &
Zoning, was the most important one I attended. This seminar
emphasized the importance of a Town having a good up-to-date
Comprehensive Plan, Planning and Zoning regulations, and
experienced staff (full-time, part-time, or contractual) in
place before a developer comes to town wishing to develop
rural land.
When a developer comes to a town, he/she is motivated by
profit, which is their job. It is the town's job to plan
ahead and put regulations in place that will prevent a
developer from cutting too many corners to increase his/her
profit. When weak regulations are in place, or when the
Comprehensive Plan is not consistent to zoning regulations,
or if you have inexperienced staff, a developer may develop
land in a matter not satisfactory to the town's desire.
Another great seminar was the Municipal Official
Orientation. This was attended by elected officials who had
less than 30 days experience and as much as 30 years
experience. With so many experienced and inexperienced
officials in the same room together, there certainly was a
lot to learn and share with one another. In this seminar we
were split in two groups to discuss scenarios related to
council members' performance in meetings, conflicts of
interest, resolving difficult issues, and abstaining from
voting.
Overall, I think the convention was of great assistance
to the Town of Emmitsburg as well as other municipalities in
Maryland. I hope that I am able encourage more participation
next year from Emmitsburg. The convention provides a wealth
of knowledge that can be shared with both staff and elected
officials. Next year I intend to recommend several staff
members attend some of the seminars.
Valuable
information acquired at Municipal League conference
