By Michael Cain
Where does the time go? I hope you had a great 4th of July. Ready or not the summer season is now officially upon us. Not only does the calendar tell us that the summer season is here, but so do all the visitors who come to visit us in Michigan. In some ways it seems like just yesterday that the newsletter article I was writing included words about the ending snows. In other ways that seems so long ago now.
No matter what the season, the MME continues to go full bore. Since the last newsletter came out in May, the results of the petition-initiated MME Constitutional Amendment regarding our Board’s nomination process were finalized with it failing to be approved. The Board is discussing whether there are any lessons learned and/or alternate changes to our process that we may want to consider going forward. From the comments I heard at our Winter Institute and since then, it is apparent that the nominating process for our most recent elections—as implemented by then-Nominating Committee Chair and MME Immediate Past President John Shay and the rest of the Nominating Committee—was well received, and respected, by a vast majority of our members. Incoming Nominating Committee Chair and MME Immediate Past President Rebecca Fleury has indicated that she will be using John’s playbook for the upcoming cycle.
The MME has begun initial discussions with the MML on updating the agreement between the two parties which was last updated in 2001. A lot has changed over the last 21+ years, and I’m not just talking about our names. The MME receives a ton of support from the MML at a highly subsidized rate and pretty much always has. Personally, I believe it is a mutually beneficial relationship. I also believe that it is important that both parties understand what is realistically expected from the other and have clear and effective lines of communications. We will be working on that in the months ahead.
Work has also been proceeding seeking applications/proposals from individuals and/or firms to provide the MME its own direct staff support to work on efforts as determined by the Board. This would be staff support above and beyond what we receive from the MML. Stay tuned for more on that shortly.
Of course, to maintain what we have and consider expanding it further takes money. The MME’s budget work group and the Board have begun considering our budget for next year (on a schedule much more advanced than used in the past). Part of the draft budget is looking at a significant increase in our dues level where our current Professional Member dues level would increase from the current $145 per year to $425. Ultimately, our membership and Board will need to determine the appropriate level of services we want and what we are willing to pay for them, which are obviously closely interrelated issues.
A couple weekends ago while Kathe and I were enjoying a nice quiet Sunday dinner, The Simpsons were on and they did a nice little shout out for Holland, Michigan, and their tulip festival. While I won’t probably be wearing wooden shoes like Marge was, I do look forward to seeing many of you there for our upcoming Summer Conference later this month. If you haven’t registered yet, please do so—the online registration deadline is July 8. The Professional Development Committee and host Holland City Manager Keith Van Beek have a wonderful conference arranged for us to take advantage of and learn from. Until then…
Yours in service,
Mike
Michael Cain
President, Michigan Municipal Executives
City Manager, Boyne City
Michael Cain has served as city manager of Boyne City since 2002 and has more than 38 years of municipal management experience having previously worked for Grand Traverse County, Traverse City, Fenton, Wolverine Lake, Troy, and St. Johns. Cain is a member of the ICMA and has been active with MME for many years serving as a member of its board and several committees. He’s also been very active with the Michigan Municipal League serving on several committees and is a past member of its Board of Trustees. He is currently on the board of Networks Northwest and served as the chairperson of the Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet County 911 Authority for several years. Mike is a native Michigander being born in Dearborn then transplanted to Traverse City in 7th grade where he met his wife, Katherine. Together they have four daughters and a cat. You may reach him at mcain@boynecity.com.