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Statewide Coalition Unveils Bold & Comprehensive Vision to Invest American Rescue Plan Funding Press Conference - October 14, 2021

Host: Herasanna Richards, Legislative Associate, Michigan Municipal League

A new statewide group, called The Coalition for a Strong and Prosperous Michigan, recently unveiled a bold and comprehensive vision to invest nearly $6 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to build our state’s future. A news conference took place on Oct. 14 to release the plan, called “From Rescue to Prosperity: A Roadmap to Michigan’s Future.”

What’s Happening Inside MDOT’s Local Agency Program Webinar -August 25, 2021

he Michigan Municipal League invites you to another installment of an ongoing webinar series with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). Get the latest updates on:

• Staffing/Covid Updates
• NEPA/SHPO Updates
• 2020 MDOT Standard Specifications for Construction
• New LAP Certification (Coming Soon)
• Construction Manual Update/Project Closeouts
• Upcoming Training
• And much more!

You'll also have an opportunity to ask questions or share concerns about issues affecting your community.

Speakers:
Kelly Crannell, Michigan Department of Transportation
Ryan Doyle, Michigan Department of Transportation

How Municipalities Can Support and Benefit from Expanded Access to Expungement Webinar - August 19, 2021

Safe & Just Michigan has been working in partnership with several organizations and municipalities to advocate for legislation that passes and implements automatic expungement in Michigan. Safe & Just Michigan's Executive Director John S. Cooper will be joined by Amanda O'Boyle, Assistant City Attorney of Lansing, and Frances Walters, Director of the Conviction Integrity and Expungement Unit of Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office (WCPO). They will discuss how municipalities can support and benefit from expanded access to expungement and how they are implementing these programs throughout the state.

Presenters:
John S. Cooper, Executive Director, Safe & Just Michigan
Frances Walters, Director of the Conviction Integrity and Expungement Unit, Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office (WCPO)
Amanda O'Boyle, Assistant City Attorney, City of Lansing

Accept your American Rescue Plan Funds BY TUESDAY, July 27

Join us for a Facebook Live chat where we talk with communities about their experience filling out the application.

11:30 am, July 22, 2021

American Rescue Plan funding is on the way: Learn how to access it and maximize it

New possibility is coming to town and you are one of the first to greet it. Maximizing the benefits of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding requires more than a little planning. Greeting these new dollars with good government practices, some strategic blue-sky thinking, and broad community engagement can help you grow possibility into real, long lasting benefits for your community and its people.

Join us for an information-packed webinar where you’ll hear from experts on:
-Strategies for coordination activities between different units of government
-Leveraging state, private and philanthropic dollars to maximize your ARP funding
-Navigating the Michigan Department of Treasury ARP application portal
-Reporting and auditing requirements

-How to access assistance in seeking, planning for, and utilizing your ARP dollars

Presenters: Plante Moran, Michigan Municipal League, and the Michigan Association of Counties

Building Community Wealth and Economic Resilience

Join the National Coalition for Community Capital (NC3) as they explore the use of Community Investment Funds (CIFs) as a way to strengthen local economies. The webinar, on July 14th from 12pm-1pm EST, will feature attorney Brian Beckon from Cutting Edge Capital; Janice Shade – founder of The Initiative for Local Capital; Deborah Frieze from the Boston Impact Initiative; and Helen Johnson – President of the Michigan Municipal League Foundation.

Moderator Chris Miller, a founding board member of NC3, Michigan State University Economic Innovation Fellow, and initiator of MILE, Michigan’s Investment Crowdfunding law, will lead the panel through a discussion of the existing CIF structures as well as a look at NC3’s proposed 21st Century CIF. NC3’s proposed CIF eliminates some of the challenges of the existing structures and opens up opportunities for consequential individual and community wealth-building through investment and ownership of community businesses, real estate, green energy and more.

Short-term rentals press conference - June 14, 2021

Learn more about current state legislation that aims to restrict the power of our local communities and citizens to make decisions on short-term rentals. The League's Dan Gilmartin will be joined by guests including property owners, and local leaders to discuss the negative impact of these bills, resolutions and what you can do to keep local power local.

Stop big government from taking away local control - May 24, 2021

Stop big government from taking away local control from your communities!

Listen to the MML's virtual news conference about our opposition to the short-term rental bills pending in the state Legislature. https://bit.ly/3fzA8I9

Send a letter opposed to the bills using our Action Center! https://bit.ly/2T1cufW

Contact your state lawmakers today and tell them to oppose HB 4722 and SB 446.

Go to https://blogs.mml.org/wp/inside208/ for details.

Michigan's Lead and Copper Rule: Making Hard-to-Understand Issues Understandable

Presenters:
Rich Donley, President, Mort Crim Communications, Inc.
Michelle Franzen Martin, Account Director, Mort Crim Communications, Inc.

With:
Tiffany Jones and Bryan Peckinpaugh, Detroit Water & Sewerage Department
Trisha Bruzek, Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner's Office

Michigan’s revised Lead and Copper Rule has renewed public interest in the dangers of lead -- and with it, it has raised questions from residents about water safety, lead line replacement and test results. But making a complicated issue such as the Lead and Copper Rule understandable requires proactive messaging and a solid communications plan. Michelle Franzen Martin and Rich Donley of Mort Crim Communications Inc. (MCCI), with their partners from the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department and Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner's Office, will provide you with the steps necessary for communicating complicated issues to residents -- and, most importantly, making sure you use clear, consistent messaging to make sure they understand.

Creating Equity Through Opportunity: CEO Workforce Development

Presenters:
Ashley Blake, Regional Director, Mid-West, Center for Employment Opportunities
Pamela Lachman, Director, Strategic State Initiatives, Center for Employment Opportunities
Michelle Rafferty, Chief Strategy & Operating Officer, Detroit at Work

Equity in our community relies on access to opportunity. Too often, our justice-involved neighbors experience immediate barriers to employment, housing, and the resources to assist them as they transition to a stable, safe, and consistent lifestyle. Leading the way for over four decades in employment-centered reentry is the Center for Employment Opportunities.

CEO partners with localities to help the government meet its labor needs while increasing employment opportunities for individuals returning from incarceration to the community. This brings a two-fold economic and public safety impact - increasing employment prospects and reducing recidivism.

Join the Michigan Municipal League for a conversation with the Center for Employment Opportunities on how their partnership assists those with the most significant barriers to employment and the highest risk of returning to the criminal justice system. You'll learn how CEO's program helps participants reduce their likelihood of returning to jail and prison, successfully reconnecting them to the workforce and community. Also, you'll hear from the City of Detroit on how the partnership has supported the city's needs and created meaningful employment and value for residents across Wayne County.