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Welcome to August with Live with the League! This week’s show begins with a conversation with Luke Forrest of the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity,  discussing the new Community Growth Academy and how it can help communities navigate economic transitions. 

Moving into what's happening (or not happening) in Lansing, we discussed the current state of the ever-ongoing budget process. We finished with some updates from the road (MME, BLAC, MAM, and more), and how these face-to-face, on-the-ground, mano-a-mano conversations with members shape the League’s advocacy priorities going forward. 

In our series on the 2025 Community Excellence Award applicants, we profile two Michigan communities that linked up with private entities to the immense benefit of their residents. Through public–private partnerships, the Village of Sparta doubled its childcare capacity, and the City of Ypsilanti is unveiling its first new housing development in over half a century.

In our series on the 2025 Community Excellence Award applicants, learn more about a Michigan community’s innovative example of adaptive reuse. With City employees crammed into closets and sharing rooms, the City of Douglas repurposed a disused hospital building as spacious and accessible municipal offices, all while freeing up valuable space downtown.  

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.”

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

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

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

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

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.

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.