By Michael Cain
Where did our summer go? They say as you get older time seems to go by faster. That rings true for me. It seems like yesterday that it was mid-July and that we were gathering in Holland for our summer workshop. I had a great, albeit brief, time in Tulip Town. It was good to see so many of us there and get in some good in-person networking and educational sessions. Kudos to Chairperson Frances McMullan, the entire Professional Development Committee, and everyone else who made the workshop the success that it was. A shout out to the City of Holland, Mayor Bocks and City Manager Keith Van Beek for being such great hosts and providing such a wonderful venue.
While we were in Holland your MME Board met twice and made progress on some significant issues. First, after reviewing the Financial Report from our independent accountants at Plante Moran, the Board reviewed the MME’s draft budget for our fiscal year which begins on January 1, 2023. We’re way ahead of where we’ve been in the process in recent years, by design. There are some big topics on the table. One of those is a significant dues increase to overcome reoccurring deficits we have had in recent years. The last couple of years have been challenging ones for us all. The MME is no exception. COVID has affected both our revenues and our expenditures in negative ways. The Board is determined to stay ahead of this matter and insure, with your support, the long-term viability of the MME. The Board is also committed to making sure we use our resources wisely and not just because that’s what we’ve done in the past. To that end we will be reviewing more performance data on items that we fund.
Prior to finalizing next year’s budget, the MME Board will be reviewing proposals we received at the end of August for possible staffing support. This would be for hiring a person or firm to provide the MME direct support in addition to that we receive from the MML. We are also having ongoing discussions with the MML on what a new agreement of services between our two organizations should look like and what that would cost. Where we end up with on those two items could have significant implications for next year’s, and future, MME budgets. As such, while we’re well ahead of recent budget processes, there are still significant outstanding items to be addressed. You will be hearing more about these and our budget specifics as we work through them this fall.
If that wasn’t enough, your MME Board tackled possible revisions to our Board nomination process and approved placing a constitutional amendment before those members eligible to vote on such matters. The Board felt that the proposed amendments encourage more eligible members the opportunity to vote, and will provide greater choice while still encouraging broad representation from across all aspects of our membership. That vote closed on September 12th and the results are noted elsewhere in this newsletter. Thanks to all that helped with this process and then voted on it.
I’m looking forward to seeing a good number of you at the upcoming ICMA annual conference in Columbus starting on September 17th. I’ve always thought our MME educational events compare very well to those that the ICMA puts on. We’ll see how this year compares. I’ll be bringing plenty of green and white to wear while I’m down there. I’m pleased to report that Ludington City Manager Mitch Foster has agreed to serve as our representative to the 2023 ICMA conference planning committee. That conference will be held in Austin/Travis County, Texas.
Keep in mind that the MML Convention will be held in Muskegon October 19-21. I’m looking forward to seeing all the changes that have taken place there since the last time I’ve been to a convention there. It doesn’t hurt that Muskegon is a commission–manager form of government either.
And before we know it, we’ll be into 2023 and have the opportunity to be together in another great commission–manager community, Grand Rapids, for our annual Winter Institute, January 31-February 3.
Hope to see you soon.
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, 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.