By Rebecca Fleury
As summer winds down I find myself reflecting on the many things we have to be thankful for and the many lessons COVID-19 is teaching us. Thinking differently about service delivery, communicating to employees and residents in a variety of ways, finding ways to be innovative, and being strategic with CARES Act and ARPA funds are just a few highlights.
It was wonderful to see so many of you in person at the Summer Workshop in Rochester and Auburn Hills! A big thank you to the Professional Development Committee for all their hard work putting together an in-person event. I personally took away many nuggets of knowledge. For example, I am thinking differently now about ways to fill the gaps in affordable housing development as housing is such a big issue in Michigan.
For those of you who could not attend, I want to share a couple of important items. First, the board and I want to reiterate our stance on harassing behavior. Harassing behavior by members or vendors is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. If you are the victim of this behavior or witness this behavior, please speak up. You can reach out directly to those involved, reach out to Nathan Henne, chair of the Ethics Committee, or any member of the MME Board, including me. The board will be working through a Meetings & Conference Code of Conduct, which includes a complaint process and reporting unacceptable behavior that will make it easier to report concerns.
Second item is the work of our three task forces. Each task force chair reported out on their progress to date. The Listserv Task Force has completed their work and submitted recommendations for consideration. We ask each member to look that over (view it here) and send any questions to Alan Levy of the Nonprofit Spot at goaltrac@gmail.com. The task force will then consider all feedback before making a final recommendation to the board.
The Regional Groups Task Force shared their work and are asking for member feedback before they formalize a recommendation. Please find their information on the MME website here and share your thoughts.
A big thank you to Mark Washington and colleagues for convening a dialogue on Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. I look forward to joining this discussion with many of you in September during the MML Convention in Grand Rapids. Details pending.
I am thankful for the work each one of you do on a daily basis. You give your time and energy to your communities and you make a tremendous difference. Now more than ever communities need professional managers to guide the work of municipal government.
Rebecca Fleury
President, Michigan Municipal Executives
City Manager, Battle Creek
Rebecca Fleury has served in local government management for 21 years, specializing in the areas of public finance, community development, and public safety. She has served as the city manager for Battle Creek since October 2014, and also served in the City of Kalamazoo, the City of Hastings, and the Village of Middleville. She is a member of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) and is a Credentialed Manager through ICMA, as well as an active member of the Michigan Municipal Executives serving on several committees, and chair of the Professional Development Committee. You may reach her at rlfleury@battlecreekmi.gov.