09/15/2000

OK, so where's your cheese?

Did you know? - We have two design teams working. The GIS Design Team (John, Roy, Debbie, and Steve) will make recommendations about how MTAS should use GIS systems to help cities. The Library Design Team (Frances, Jeff, Don, Warren, and Rick) is conducting a thorough study and review of the library. If you have any suggestions in either case, please contact a member of the design team.

Travel Reimbursements (T-3) - Most consultants submit their travel reimbursements on a monthly basis. If some of the staff could adjust to submitting during the middle or the last half of month, it would help us push the paperwork at an even rate. Thanks.

Changes in Legal Services - We have rescheduled our changes in legal services (you know, no one may talk to an attorney?) to start Wednesday, November 1 instead of Monday, October 2. We need the additional time to send information about the changes to all our customers.

Recruitments - We are recruiting for:

a municipal management consultant in Nashville to replace Kirk Bednar

a senior secretary in Knoxville to replace Laura Smith

an administrative services assistant to replace Sharon Merryman

LGLP - The Local Government Leadership Program (LGLP) offered by CGT will be held in Knoxville November 1-3, 2000. As you know, this is by invitation only and Tom Ballard will send letters and special invitations to each invitee. CGT would like some more nominees.

Here's a note from Ron Gibson of CGT: "We would appreciate any additional input from your staffs on elected and appointed policy makers who would benefit from attending LGLP. Our target audience are Mayors, County Executives, Councilmembers, Alderman, Commissioners, and City Managers. We have already received input from some of your staff; however, we are fast approaching our deadline for nominations and would appreciate any additional nominations. Please share this e-mail with your staff. They should e-mail Terri Kinloch with their nomination no later than September 25. If they have questions concerning LGLP, contact Terri Kinloch via e-mail or phone @ 340-0732. Thanks."

MRSC - The nearest thing to MTAS is actually pretty far away. The Municipal Research and Services Center serves Washington State from an office in Seattle. It was founded in the mid-1930s and when MTAS was created in 1949, we were, in part modeled after MRSC. I've asked Mike and Sharon to go to Seattle on a benchmarking trip. It will help us to know how MRSC operates. They will go the end of September.

Training benchmarking - Sally, Suzette Denslow, Ron Gibson and Kurt Frederick from CGT and I are going to make a short benchmarking visit to observe municipal training at the University of Georgia and the University of North Carolina at the end of October. We hope to learn ways to improve the training we offer to cities in Tennessee.