By John Shay
Life in municipal management is full of debates. As a new decade begins, I had planned to start my first article by expressing my appreciation and gratitude for having the privilege of serving as the president of an incredible organization. While there may or may not be a debate about my selection as president (I hope not!), there seems to be a debate raging about whether 2020 is the start of a new decade or if we have to wait until 2021. We can either say it’s the “twenties” or it’s the “203rd decade.” It’s all about the words we choose and, as municipal executives, we must choose them carefully in today’s polarized society.
As the twenties begin, I sense that MME is in a state of transformation. Our organization is diverse in some ways – such as the types of governments we serve (cities, villages, townships, counties), size of governments (from the small village in the UP to the large cities in metro Detroit), managers’ level of experience (from the newcomer in the profession to the 30-year veteran) – and not so diverse in other ways (lack of women and minorities in local government management).
There is definitely a diversity of opinions on how our great organization should proceed forward at the start of this decade. All of these factors played in a role in the MME Board’s decision to update MME’s strategic plan. The Board wants to know what the MME is doing well, what areas it can provide better service to its members, and what overall direction the membership want to see the MME move towards. As we begin to evaluate the input from members in the surveys and focus groups that were held during the Winter Institute, a draft strategic plan will begin to emerge. The process will include substantial input from MME members throughout the year in order to ensure that the updated strategic plan accurately reflects the members’ direction. We will not sacrifice members’ input and participation for the sake of rushing this process.
I am grateful for the strong leadership from the Board members and the committee chairpersons. In the next year, some of the priorities that the committees will work on include:
- Advocacy: It will provide updated executive and community profiles. It will continue to provide support for managers in transition.
- Ethics: It will focus on education and coaching in order to proactively prevent possible ethical violations rather than merely responding to these potential violations.
- Experience: It will work on providing a comprehensive history of the MME (including MLGMA and MCMA) from the beginning of its existence, which will include some historical photos and information on large issues that our organization has faced in the past.
- NextGen: It will attend various university events that have an MPA presence in order to educate and recruit new people into our profession. The committee will also work to link first-time managers at the Winter Institute and Summer Workshop to veteran managers to learn more about the profession and help them navigate challenging issues.
- Professional Development: It will continue its great job of planning our conferences and look for ways to increase attendance even more.
Once again, I am honored to serve as your president this year and will work hard with the Board to move this organization forward in a way that reflects the members’ desire to keep the MME as one of the premier statewide municipal associations.
John Shay
President, Michigan Municipal Executives
Deputy Administrator, Ottawa County
John Shay’s career in municipal management began in 1998 when he became village manager in Almont, located in Lapeer County. He then spent over 15 years as Ludington city manager before becoming deputy county administrator in Ottawa County in 2018. He’s been very involved with MME throughout his career by serving on various committees and is also a member of ICMA (International City/County Management Association).
Shay has a master’s degree in public administration from Oakland University and a bachelor’s degree from Boston College.