By Matt Baumgarten
How would you describe your job? Whether you are speaking to a friend, a resident, or a member of your governing board, you have probably had to answer this question. The Advocacy Committee is working on telling the complicated story of how the council-manager form of government makes communities across Michigan better. In addition to recruiting MME members to tell their personal story, we will be surveying members on the many hats they wear in their organization. We know that, in addition to MME, you may be a member of several other professional organizations as well.
We are also developing materials for elected officials who may not understand what makes you so valuable to the community, nor do they know how to explain it to their own residents. We hope to integrate this into the Elected Officials Academy and present at the Michigan Municipal League conferences in the future.
So please contact MBaumgarten@BerkleyMich.net with your ideas to these initiatives. As we said in our previous update, you know you are doing wonderful things, help us tell your story.
Speaking of telling the MME story, be sure to follow MME’s Twitter page – @MIMunicipalExec. And as you post about your fantastic community, feel free to tag MME so that we can all hear about and enjoy how great your community is doing. Check out our Twitter page.
Matt Baumgarten
Chair, Advocacy Committee
Berkley City Manager
Matt Baumgarten currently serves as the city manager of Berkley, Michigan and as chair of the MME Advocacy Committee. He considers himself a passionate advocate for the value of public service and the advancement of the council-manager form of government. He has spent nearly 20 years in local government since starting his career as a water & sewer laborer with Clinton Township in the early 2000s. He can be reached at mbaumgarten@berkleymich.net.