The Value of Being Together
By Lynn Tipton, Executive Director

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Proposed Slate of Officers and Directors
Program Year 2012/2013

Bold/Italics indicates positions being elected and/or assuming office on Friday, June 1, 2012 At the Annual Business Meeting
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point, Bonita Springs

President
Joyce Shanahan, City Manager, Ormond Beach

President-Elect
Russ Blackburn, City Manager, Gainesville

Secretary/Treasurer
Jill Silverboard, Assistant City Manager, Clearwater

Past President
Jonathan Lewis, City Manager, North Port

District I Director
Jeffrey Brown, Assistant City Manager, Panama City

District II Director
Michael Pleus, City Manager, DeLand

District III Director
Desiree Matthews, Assistant City Manager, Kissimmee

District IV Director
Richard Reade, Sustainability & Public Information Officer, Delray Beach

District V Director*
John Flint, City Manager, Weston

District VI Director
Judith Zimomra, City Manager, Sanibel

District VII Director*
Robert LaSala, County Administrator, Pinellas County

District VIII Director
Andy Stewart, Town Manager, Dundee

At-Large Director
Bobby Green, City Manager, Auburndale
Horace McHugh, Assistant City Manager Oakland Park
Faye Outlaw, County Administrator, St. Lucie County

*These seats will become vacant on June 1 at the business meeting. Both districts have been canvassed for self-nominations from those willing to serve. Ms. Hannah-Spurlock has resigned her District V seat due to a change in her position. Ms. Silverboard has one year remaining in the District VII position. Upon her election to the Secretary/Treasurer position, the District VII seat becomes vacant and per the By-Laws, the vacancy is a Board appointment. The Board is appointing Robert LaSala to fill the anticipated vacancy.

Even numbered districts held elections this year; their newly-elected representative is listed and will begin serving his/her term effective June 1. The names of the appointees are listed.

The Do's and Don'ts with Elected Officials - City Commissioners 

By Gene Strickland

Random thoughts in no particular order from a retired City Manager. Gene Strickland retired from the City of Lakeland. He served his 34+-year public administrative career in Lakeland.

• Live inside the city limits (City Managers)

• Respond timely to City Commission requests no matter how trivial

• Make your City Commissioners look good

• Understand clearly your role and their role

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FCCMA Annual Conference
Send in your conference registration today! Conference registration must be paid before you will receive your housing information. Housing availability is on a first-come, first-served basis and the cut-off date is May 9. You won't want to miss this great conference that the committee has designed for you. The theme this year is "Local Government Matters" Our New Future.” It will be held May 30 – June 2 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point in Bonita Springs.

Futurist Glen Hiemstra will open this year's conference exploring future trends as they impact our communities and governance. Friday morning Rob Walker will explore how a good story changes the perceived value of its subject matter, and at the closing breakfast on Saturday Scott Burrows will talk to you about how his life’s experiences have taught him how to stand up to the challenges.

Dave Ivan, State Specialist with the Greening Michigan Institute at Michigan State University will teach a pre-conference workshop on Best Practice Approaches in the New Economy. This requires a separate registration fee of $80 and registration is limited to the first 40 people.

Some concurrent Sessions include: Building the City of 2032, New Rules for Economic Development, Ethics: Is There an App for That?, Reinforcing Confidence in Government, To Infinity… and Beyond in Economic Development, Do You Have to be Nuts to be a City Manager. Check the website for the full program schedule and updates as they become available.

Two professional recruiters will be onsite to do resume reviews and the ICMA-RC financial planning consultants will be providing individual financial planning sessions.

If you have any questions, contact Lynn Lovallo at (850) 222-9684 or llovallo@flcities.com.

May 18 Webinar

The last webinar for this program year will be held on May 18 from 2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. and the topic is Pension Changes for Local Government.

"Local pension plans have been one of the biggest challenges facing Florida's cities in recent years and is clearly an unsustainable financial burden for many cities. Last month, FCCMA members listen to a webinar by Paul Shamoun that explained this issue in detail. This May 18th webinar is the perfect follow-up to Paul's presentation. It will provide valuable information on what three Florida cities have actually done to address this issue. Attendees will learn what obstacles had to be overcome and the process that was followed in each city to gain support for "real pension change" in their cities. This is a must session for city representatives who are wrangling with pension costs and benefits. Panelists include: Florida League of Cities Paul Shamoun, St Pete Beach City Manager Mike Bonfield, Naples City manager Bill Moss, and Hollywood Finance Director Matt Lalla.

All webinars are free. To access the webinars, go to http://florida.acrobat.com/coaching. Select the radio button next to the “Enter as a Guest.” Dial-in: 1-877-685-5350 and the passcode is 461944.

ICMA University Full-Day Workshop

This workshop will be held on May 14 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.  The topic is:

Get the Right Measures to Cut Costs and Improve Public Safety Services: Asking Your Police and Fire Chief the Right Questions to Get the Right Answers. 

The real key to great management is asking the right questions. Policy decisions involving your police and fire departments could have huge public safety implications, but these departments are the toughest from which to get accurate, measurable information. Join us for a full day ICMA University Workshop, Asking Your Police and Fire Chief the Right Questions to Get the Right Answers, to learn how to understand the needs of your jurisdiction's public safety agencies and employ methods to evaluate their performance; reduce costs and improve services. The workshop will include an expanded presentation about workload analysis and EMS sections and include a discussion of mergers and consolidations including public safety departments. Go to www.icma.org  for details and to register. 

Mid Career Manager Institute
ICMA-University is launching a new “Mid-Career Manager’s Institute”, which is designed for ICMA members who are either:

•  credentialed and want to engage in a focused course of study and connection with others who are mid career

• not yet credentialed or have management experience in fields other than local government AND want to build strong ties with the profession and strengthen management skills with the goal of becoming credentialed managers

A brief outline of the program is attached. Please note, that attendance at the 2012 Regional Summits is not mandatory. Persons interested in the program who have missed or cannot attend their Regional Summit, may set up 1:1 meetings with Felicia Logan, ICMA Director of Leadership Development and Executive Coach. MCM has a flexible timeline so those not attending this year may attend the 2013 Regional Summit.

The program provides for focused personal professional development of each participant, while allowing them the opportunity to connect with other mid career managers and ICMA Leadership at the ICMA Annual Conference and in their regions. Each participant will also work with a Credentialed Manager Mentor throughout the program.

Questions on the program should be sent to Felicia Littky, Program Manager, Membership & Professional Development at flittky@icma.org or via phone at 202-962-3656.

ICMA Annual Conference

This year’s ICMA Annual Conference, October 7-10, in Phoenix/Maricopa County, Arizona, combines a cost-effective, high-quality professional development opportunity; networking; and information sharing—now when you need them most—with a unique and vibrant location in the heart of the Southwest, America's sixth-largest city, and the gateway to the Grand Canyon. Go to www.icma.org/conference2012 for more details.

FCCMA Members-In-Transition

New Members

The following membership applications have been received. If no current member comes forth with a reason why this applicant should not be approved as a member, they will be invoiced for dues. James Barnes, District IV, Director of Operations/ACM, Village of Wellington, Full Member; Kathryn Breazeale, District III, City Manager, City of Oviedo, Full Member; Amy W. Elliott, District III, Deputy City Manager, City of Melbourne, Full Member; Energy Systems Group, District VII, Jackie Griese-Contact, Corporate Member; Deric C. Feacher, District VIII, Assistant City Manager, City of Winter Haven, Full Member; Ronald Gorland, District V, City Manager, City of Miami Springs, Full Member; Richard Lemack, District V, Town Administrator, Town of Davie, Full Member; James McCroskey, District II, City Manager, City of Holly Hill, Full Member; J. Steve Morris, District V, Retired City Manager, Retired Member; Francine Ramaglia, District IV, Assistant City Manager, Village of Wellington, Full Member; Larry W. Strickland, District VII, Master’s of Public Administration, University of South Florida, Student Member; and Stephanie Waters, District VII, Grant Administrator, City of Largo, Affiliate Member.

Positions