12/06/2004

12/06/2004 Executive News

Executive News
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12/06/2004
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MMA classes - We recently presented the 100th Municipal Management Academy class! Jim and I served cake to the participants in Sevierville. Here are some other interesting MMA statistics:
  • In addition to the 100 classes presented, we have scheduled over 40 MMA classes in the future.
  • We have either used or have scheduled 15 different MTAS consultants as facilitators
  • We have either used or have scheduled 19 different contract instructors as facilitators
  • To date, MMA classes have brought MTAS $56,700 in fees
  • To date, we have paid contract instructors $16,450
  • Net revenue to date (not including expenses such as printing and supplies) is $40,250
  • When all currently scheduled classes are completed, MMA classes will have brought MTAS $86,800 in fees
  • When all currently scheduled classes are completed, we will have paid contract instructors $27,250
  • When all currently scheduled classes are completed, Net Revenue for MMA classes will be $59,550

    AND - we've trained a lot of city officials. THANKS to everyone who is helping with MMA. It's a huge effort and it's working well.

    Press Policy - It's not a bad idea to remind everyone of our press policy. Please note item 5. Thanks.

    MTAS press policy for consultants – March 2003

    We have a good working relationship with a lot of reporters and we don’t want to hurt our reputation by spinning an answer for a city. But we never want a city to learn about our conversation with a reporter by reading the paper. And we are, after all, funded by cities. We need to:

    (1) Ask the reporter what city is generating the call. Ask the reporter who he or she has talked to at the city and what they said.
    (2) If it is a general question i.e. do most cities collect garbage at the curb, yes they do, then answer it and don't worry about it.
    (3) If it pertains to a specific law or regulation and the city's compliance, defer the question until you can research the issue and call the reporter back. While researching the issue, check with the city and get the background. This gives the city a heads up.
    (4) If the question pertains to a specific law i.e. can cities deal with issues in a called meeting that were not listed in the call, no they cannot. After answering the question, immediately contact the city and give them a heads up.
    (5) It’s perfectly acceptable to respond with a "No Comment." We don’t have to render a judgment on everything the city is doing.
    (6) Requests for documents should be referred to the city in question. If the reporter is unable to get the documents from the city and calls back, refer the request to either the Executive Director or the Assistant Director who will comply with the University’s Open Records Policy, i.e. the request will end up with the University public relations office (John Clark).

    NLC - Warren and I attended the NLC Congress of Cities last week (through Saturday) in Indianapolis. Here are a few things I learned or heard:

  • Referring to the recent election - the NLC President said that cities were not "red" or "blue"; cities are "red, white, and blue".
  • NLC and PTI have both made major upgrades to their web sites. (NLC.org and PTI.org)
  • The incoming NLC President (Mayor Anthony Williams of Washington, DC) stated that today 40% of the citizens trust government. Forty years ago the number who trusted government was 70%.
  • One program highlighted several critical court cases coming up in the Supreme Court or in District courts. I've sent copies of the summaries to the MTAS attorneys.
  • One speaker had some interesting comic relief to his presentation (it's at trunkmonkey.com - look at the video download.).


    • Date
    Document Author
    B. Schwartz