By Michael Cain
I always love this time of year. The promise of spring becomes ever more real with the disappearing snow, budding and blooming plants and cleansing rains. Keep in mind I write this as nearby Boyne Mountain just had its first weekend of the year without any skiing. It was the same weekend where my wife and I traveled down to East Lansing where it was in the 80s and conversations on the listserv were looking forward to Miggy’s 3,000th hit, becoming part of the Tigers’ and MLB’s history. Even so, they are predicting that now four-letter word—snow—to return here before week’s end.
You may wonder, what the heck is Cain rambling on about? It is perspective. As president of our state association, I am situated a little two-thirds up the state on a north/south axis. For a lot of you south of here, spring has been a well-established fact for weeks. But for me and others further north it is just becoming real. While the date on the calendar may be the same for all of us, where we are in the journey of this year’s seasons may be completely different. As MME President, it is my job to see things for our entire organization as the manager of Boyne City, who is closer to the end of this career than the beginning. Plus, it’s also my role to try and see things from the perspectives of all the members of this organization and their communities, no matter what season they are in.
It is gratifying for me to see the MME begin to re-awaken after its annual late winter period of transition and take on new momentum. We do this as the Board, its committees, and its whole membership, as we more fully assume our roles and take on the tasks at hand—both the challenges and opportunities.
On April 14 the Board had its first meeting since the Winter Institute and discussed a number of important topics. One key consideration involves the potential additional staff support the organization might need to further our mission and strategic plan. We reviewed updated information from the task force that looked into that issue last year and felt now is time for the Board to work out the next steps and details on what such staffing could look like.
Closely related were two other topics. One is our ongoing relationship with the Michigan Municipal League and the other is our budgeting and finances. With 38-some years in this profession here in Michigan, including organizing a couple of our conferences, serving on our board, and now serving as your president, I have seen up close and appreciate the quality of service we have received from the MML team. Those services have evolved over the years, and it is more than appropriate that we revisit our over two-decades-old understanding between our two independent but interrelated organizations. I have seen first-hand—and now get to experience—just how much time it takes to run our organization and serve as MME President. It makes me appreciate all the more, the work the MML team does on our behalf. But I also can see how our organization could better accomplish our goals if we had some additional dedicated staff time to help lighten those loads and move us further down the road.
But as professionals in this business, we realize that in addition to a vision or goal of where we want to go, we must have the resources to help us get there. That is where improving our organization’s budgeting process and considering raising additional revenues to meet our needs come into play. And yes, that will most likely mean, at least in part, dues increases.
These are all big issues, and it has taken us years and lots of discussions to get to this point. Taking the next steps will require more time, dialogue, and ultimately the agreement of the majority of our members. We know from our experiences in our own communities that change is not always easy nor without its challenges. But, as discussed at recent city commission meetings here in Boyne City, as well as at MME Board meetings, we should not let our quest for perfection get in the way of improving what we can. We will never have all the answers. But we can always learn from our experiences and continue to improve and refine going forward.
Can I tell you today exactly what all these pieces will look like? No. Can I tell you when they will be ready for your further review and input? No. But I can say these are exciting times and topics for our organization. I also can say with confidence that I am excited to move ahead with you—the MME membership—as we work together on springing forward.
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 being 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.