Last month, Carroll officials joined 1,500 municipal officials from throughout the state in Ocean City for the 75th annual Maryland Municipal League leadership conference, featuring four days of workshops, seminars, presentations, networking, and training.
According to a history of the league’s first 50 years (1936-1986) published in the Maryland Municipal News in September 1986, the MML held its first June conference in 1949. Fifty-four municipal officials attended.
Cities and towns in Maryland have a history of getting together to advocate for citizens fortunate enough to live in an organized incorporated community. The MML was founded in 1936 by Annapolis Mayor Louis N. Phelps to help Maryland municipalities obtain funds from the Work Progress Administration under President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal.
The MML represents 160 Maryland local governments. This year officials from 123 municipalities attended more than 50 presentations and training sessions that highlighted the ever-increasing complexity of local governance. In addition to the classes, municipal officials were able to visit with more than 300 exhibitors and vendors that provide supportive goods and services for local citizens.
On June 24, the second day of the conference, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore was the keynote speaker. In a news release, MML spokesperson Justin Fiore reported, “Moore kicked off the opening general session building on his theme of ‘leave no one behind,’ and focusing on the full state benefits of childcare, education, housing, and healthcare, often repeating: ‘When they win, we win.’ He also spoke about the importance of municipal work and the power of partnership.
“‘Progress means bringing everyone around the table, and that every decision that is being made is by those closest to the challenges,” said Moore. “It’s not just about working harder. It’s not just about working smarter, but working together, because partnership produces progress.’”
The highlight of the conference Monday afternoon was a far-ranging interview with outgoing U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin. My colleague and former Baltimore Sun reporter Bryan Sears interviewed Cardin at length about “his career, Maryland politics, and several issues of importance to municipal officials,” according to Fiore.
According to Fiore’s account of the event, “Once a Maryland delegate and Speaker of the House, Senator Cardin spoke about how municipalities have matured over the course of his career, and how they work in concert with other governments to support a shared constituency versus in silos. ‘We need to work as a team, we cannot work in isolation,’ said Cardin. ‘Counties and the State need to plan with their municipalities … we have shared goals, so let’s share the revenue. Let’s share the credit.’
“Senator Cardin informed the membership that there is bipartisan interest in making sure local governments are protected from liability concerns related to the EPA’s recent PFAS ruling. He also shared his confidence that Congress will act to ensure 100% of the Francis Scott Key Bridge replacement will be covered by federal funds,” Fiore reported.
“Just prior to the interview, Senator Ben Cardin was awarded an Honorary Lifetime Membership with MML by [outgoing MML] President John Carroll for his consistent and effective efforts on behalf of Maryland’s cities and towns, not only in Congress but throughout his tenure.”
One of the most important responsibilities of the MML is to be an advocate for municipalities in the annual session of the Maryland General Assembly.
According to Fiore, on June 24, “Members spent the rest of the day in courses focused on today’s pressing issues and networking with one another. Many of the classes and presentations on Monday’s agenda included an overview of recently passed MML priority legislation in the recent session of the Maryland General Assembly on tourism zones; ‘AI and local government;’ police recruitment and retention; and addressing environmental health and justice.”
One of the featured presentations on June 25 was a discussion on water reuse led by state Sen. Justin Ready, Westminster City Administrator Sara Imhulse, and Les Knapp director, Office of Government Relations, Department of the Environment. The title of the session was “Securing Sustainable Water for the Future.” According to the class description, “The City of Westminster, like other communities across the United States, has experienced increased, recurring drought conditions.
“To ensure local water reliability now and for the future, Westminster is developing PUREWater Westminster to purify reclaimed water, providing a safe, sustainable, and drought-resistant drinking water supply. In addition to addressing sustainable solutions to address water scarcity, the discussion will focus on solutions-oriented problem solving and the partnerships, collaboration, and innovation needed to tackle any tricky, seemingly unsurmountable problem.” The session was well-attended and very successful. An increasing number of municipalities throughout the state (and the nation) are interested in exploring the environmental and systematic benefits of water reuse and Westminster is leading in the process.
In full disclosure I served on the statewide elected MML board of directors from June 2000 to May 2005. In the last 25 years I have written about the MML a number of times. Some of the content in this discussion has been published before. The MML contributed to this article.
Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. His Time Flies column appears every Sunday. Email him at kevindayhoff@gmail.com.