EXECUTIVE BOARD METING
February 25-28, 2010
San Diego, California
Present:
President: Darnell Earley, Saginaw, MI
Vice-Presidents: Andrea Arnold, Decatur, Georgia; Mike Baker, Downers Grove, Illinois; Jim Bennett, Damascus, Oregon;Jim Bennett, Presque Isle, Maine; Rick Cortes, Seguin, Texas; Noelene Duff, Whitehorse Council, VIC, Australia; Simon Farbrother, Edmonton, Canada; Matt Fulton, Coon Rapids, Minnesota; Scott Hancock, Maryland Municipal League; Heather Harper, Falmouth, Massachusetts; Cheryl Hilvert, Montgomery, Ohio; Pat Martel, Daly City, California; Bruce Moore, Little Rock, Arkansas; Tom Muehlenbeck, Plano, Texas; Charles Penny, Rocky Mount, North Carolina; Karen Pinkos, El Cerrito, California; Mike Walker, Brentwood, Tennessee.
Past President: David Limardi, Highland Park, Illinois
President-elect: Dave Childs, Washoe County, Nevada
Ex-Officio: Bob O’Neill, Executive Director
Staff: Betsy Sherman,Martha Perego,Uma Ramesh, Dave Mora, Regina Anderson-Ford
Guestsfrom California:
Frank Benest, Palo Alto
Laura Biery, Cal-ICMA President, Santa Clarita
Mike Garvey, Senior Advisor
Murray Levison, Sacramento
Kevin O’Rourke, Stockton
Rod Wood, Beverly Hills
MANAGEMENT REPORTS
- Staff Affirmative Action Report
- Voluntary Credentialing Program
- Next Generation Strategies
- Advisory Board on Graduate Education
- Center for State and Local Government Excellence
- Alliance for Innovation
- Performance Management Commission
- Sustainability activities
- Update on state affiliation agreements
- Formation of limited liability company for International Programs
CONSENT CALENDAR: NO. 2850: NOVEMBER 6-7, 2009 MINUTES; NO. 2851: RECOGNITIONS
It was moved by Mr. Limardi, seconded byMr. Bennett of Maine, to approve the Consent Calendar.
The motion passed.
FINANCE AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS COMMITTEE
NO. 2852: DECEMBER 31, 2009 FINANCIALS AND SEMI-ANNUAL DISCUSSION OF FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Finance Director Uma Rameshprovided a detailed review of the six-month financials through December 31, 2009. A comprehensive review of the second quarter financials showed that all business lines, with the exception of membership dues, were projected to fall short of their FY10 revenue projections. Committee and other board members who could join a conference call had received a briefing in January.
Ms. Ramesh noted that ICMA had avoided significant impact from the recession until now because of ICMA’s diversity of revenue sources. As with so many local governments, ICMA was faced with difficult choices regarding service delivery and staffing. As a result, required expense reductions included the elimination of nine positions effective February 1, 2010 and the reduction of six additional positions to 80%. She also explained that staff anticipated using up to $400,000 from reserves as opposed to meeting the budgeted contribution of $162,000in FY 2010 which ends June 30, 2010.
Mr. Muehlenbeck reported that the January conference call had continued a discussion started at the November board meeting about having the board assess its expenses in recognition of the difficult economic conditions.Some reductions had been recommended starting with the February board meeting including limiting reimbursements for meals for Thursday night. At this meeting, the Committee believed that further action was needed.
It was moved by Mr. Muehlenbeck, seconded by Ms. Pinkos, to return to the policy of not reimbursing Thursday dinner expenses and for staff to work with the President-elect to identify a site that reduces costs for the February 2011 board meeting.
The motion passed.
NO. 2853: REGISTRATION FEES AND BUDGET FOR 2010 CONFERENCE
Mr. Muehlenbeck reported that the Committee supported staff’s proposed fees for the 2010 Annual Conference that held registration fees at the same level as 2008 and 2009. The board agreed with staff’s recommendation to maintain the fees in recognition of the current economic conditions even though some fixed costs continue to increase.
The member registration fee would be $625 which includes a base registration of $590 and the Sunday evening reception ticket of $35. Members who register online would receive a $25 discount and pay $600. The registration fee for partners would be $90, also including the Sunday ticket. The non-member registration fee of $1,025 continued the practice of a significant spread between member and non-member fees in order to reinforce the value of belonging to ICMA.
The complimentary student member base registration fee would continue at $25 and the special $300 discount for Affiliate members in local government who are in their first three years of ICMA membership would be retained from 2009. The board also continued the $200 registration discount for first time attendees in the conference region (West Coast). In addition, there would be a discount for members of the two California assistants organizations (MMANC and MMASC) if they attended both the 2-day MMANC conference and the ICMA conference.
It was moved by Mr. Muehlenbeck, seconded by Mr. Limardi, to accept the proposed registration fees and budget for the 2010 conference.
The motion passed.
NO. 2854: SELECTION OF CITIES FOR 2018 CONFERENCE SITE VISITS
Mr. Muehlenbeck reported that the Committee supported two site visits for staff and believed that the strongest sites were Baltimore and Philadelphia.
*It was moved by Mr. Muehlenbeck, seconded by Mr. Penny, to select Baltimore City/County, Maryland and Philadelphia City/County, Pennsylvania as the sites to visit for the 2018 Annual Conference.
The motion passed.
NO. 2855: ANNUAL REVIEW OF FINANCIAL POLICIES
Mr. Muehlenbeck reported that no changes were recommended for the financial policies so no action was necessary.
NO. 2856: SALARY CAP ON DUES
Mr. Muehlenbeck reported that the Committee had discussed the salary cap in a joint meeting with the Membership Committee and agreed that in light of the continuing economic situation, it was not wise to make any changes now. They also agreed that at some time in the future, adding some inflationary adjustment to the cap should be considered.
*It was moved by Mr. Muehlenbeck, seconded by Mr. Limardi, that since the $175,000 cap only affects ten percent of members at this time, there is no need to consider change until the staff comes back with a recommendation.
The motion passed.
MEMBERSHIP AND EXTERNAL OUTREACH COMMITTEE
NO. 2857: PROGRESS ON MEMBERSHIP RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION
Mr. Farbrother reported that the Committee had reviewed recruitment and retention results which show a net loss since September. He noted the continued importance of ensuring that member managers are succeeded by managers who belong to ICMA or who become members as well as the need to build the future of the profession by attracting young professionals. The Committee agreed that retention efforts deserved extra attention now and that personal outreach from board members needed to continue.
NO. 2858: TASK FORCE ON ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE RECOMMENDATIONS
Mr. Farbrother reported that since the November meeting, the Committee had met by conference call as well as at this meeting in order to develop recommendations on how to proceed. The Committee recommended support for the goals as stated by the 2009 board-appointed Task Forceon Organizational Structure and Governance:
For Organizational Structure:
- A relationship structure with state/affiliate organizations that:
- adequately supports progress under the new strategic plan
- fosters connectedness, diversification, economic vitality, next generation outreach, and a worldwide ethical platform
- provides services to the profession in a complementary way without competing
For Governance:
- A governance structure and election process that adequately represents ICMA’s membership; serves the mutual interests of ICMA and state associations; and of ICMA and its international and domestic affiliates (NFBPA, IHN, NACA)
The Committee had then discussed whether the Task Force recommendations for addressing the goals had merit and agreed that they did. They also believed that it was important to have some proposals on the table in order to solicit feedback from members and leaders. At the same time, they recognized that there would be a significant communications challenge in providing background information that would generate good feedback. To assist with that, the Committee recommended that the membership discussion focus on concepts first as opposed to getting into issues of implementation/the how-to. Mr. O’Neill proposed that staff draft a background piece and frame a series of questions for member discussion. This would be used to engage members at the upcoming Regional Summits
*It was moved by Mr. Farbrother, seconded by Mr. Hancock, to approve the goals as stated by the Task Force.
The motion passed.
*It was moved by Mr. Farbrother, seconded by Ms. Pinkos, to agree that the Task Force recommendations to address the goals had merit and should be used to solicit feedback from the membership.
Some board members had lingering concerns about the proposed linkage between affiliation/partnership agreements and more direct involvement for state and affiliate organizations in the nomination process for the election of ICMA Vice Presidents. There was broader concern about soliciting feedback on the Advisory Council concept at this time. A friendly amendment to the motion to exclude discussion of the Advisory Council was proposed by Mr. Walker and accepted by Mr. Farbrother and Ms. Pinkos.
The motion passed with board members Penny, Muehlenbeck, Hancock, Moore, and Cortes voting no.
The Membership Committee was asked to continue their exploration of an Advisory Council.It was also agreed that the timeframe for soliciting feedback on the goals and recommendations could be extended through the annual conference. Mr. Farbrother also noted that talking points on the proposed addition of the 3rd International Vice President had been developed and would be shared with the board.
NO.2859: PROCESS FOR SOLICITING NOMINATIONS FOR DISTINUGISHED SERVICE AWARD
Mr. Farbrother reported that the Committee supported the proposed addition to the current practice of relying only on individual members to identify candidates for ICMA’s Distinguished Service Award. The goal was to establish a more systematic review process using past presidents to ensure that deserving members were considered for recognition. To assist the board in reviewing submissions, ICMA’s Annual Awards Evaluation Panel could also be asked to provide recommendations for board consideration.
*It was moved by Mr. Farbrother, seconded by Mr. Bennett of Oregon, to approve asking recent past presidents to assist with identifying potential DSA recipients in addition to the general member solicitation.
The motion passed.
NO. 2860: MEMBERSHIP OBJECTION
This item was discussed in executive session.
AUDIT AND EVALUATION COMMITTEE
NO. 2861: PRESIDENTIAL SELECTION PROCESS
Mr. Limardireported that the Committee had reviewed the remaining schedule and policy for this year’s selection process and recommended reaffirmation of last year’s practice.
*It was moved by Mr. Limardi, seconded by Mr. Muehlenbeck to continue the same process for the upcoming president-elect selection process.
The motion passed.
COMMITTEE ON PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
NO. 2862: PUBLIC CENSURE/MEMBERSHIP BAR
This item was discussed in executive session in accordance with the ICMA Code of Ethics Rules of Procedure for Enforcement.
VALUE OF THE PROFESSION CAMPAIGN
Mr. O’Neill reviewed the status of the Value of the Profession campaign to raise the awareness of the value of professional local government management and the contributions professional managers make to improve the quality of life in communities. He reported that although the board,in November, supported using $500,000 to $1 million from ICMA reserves to fund the development of the campaign infrastructure, he recommended that ICMA defer the investment of reserves until staff can develop a clearer picture of the organization’s overall financial situation. Fundraising efforts for the campaign, however, would move forward. The board agreed.
Mr. O’Neill reinforced the importance of the board’s personal commitment to the effort by sharing information about it with the membership, encouraging others to offer their support, and helping staff identify potential foundation or private sector funders.
UPDATE ON CAL-ICMA
Laura Biery, 2010 Cal-ICMA President, provided an update including recommendations on a Senior/Encore Managers initiative to assist members who are considering or beginning retirement with planning for the next phase of their careers. The board was supportive of this pilot initiative.
BOARD ACTIONS VIA EMAIL
APPOINTMENT OF MEMBER TO FILL MIDWEST VICE PRESIDENT VACANCY
An email ballot was sent to the board on March 12, 2010 seeking approval to appoint Michelle Crandall, administrative services director, Dublin, Ohio to fill a Midwest vice president vacancy.
Background: Pam Antil, assistant city manager, Novi, MI, who was elected to the board last month, accepted a new opportunity as the assistant city manager in Palo Alto, California. Since she was shifting to a different region before induction, she withdrew from taking her seat on the board.
The ICMA Constitution states that the board is responsible for filling any vacancies on the board. Following past tradition, 2009 Nominating Committee chair Ed Daley consulted with President Earley and the Midwest Vice Presidents on what process to follow. Since there was a second candidate who had been endorsed by the MW screening panel last year and was seen as a strong candidate by the ICMA Nominating Committee, the group agreed to see if Michelle Crandall, administrative services director, Dublin, Ohio, would be interested in being considered by the board to fill the vacancy. Michelle was honored to be considered.
President Earley and the MW VPS recommended that the board approve Michelle for incoming Midwest Vice President. So that she could join the other incoming vice presidents in starting the orientation process, the board was asked to approve this recommendation in March instead of waiting until the June board meeting.
As of March 22, 2010, all twenty board members had responded with a vote of approval providing the necessary vote for passage.
APPROVAL OF CREDENTIALED MANAGERS AND CREDENTIALED MANAGER CANDIDATES
An email ballot was sent to the board on March 25, 2010 seeking approval of Credentialed Managers and Candidates.
In December 2005, the board supported a recommendation from the Credentialing Advisory Board to approve credentials between board meetings in order to establish consistent annual dates for applications and to reduce approval timeafter newsletter listing.
BACKGROUND:ICMA received 29applications by the January 1, 2010 deadline. The Credentialing Advisory Board is recommending21 for ICMA Credentialed Manager and 7 for ICMA Credentialed Manager Candidate. One application was denied due to a lack of applicable experience.
The following list was posted in the ICMA Newsletter and on the Web site on March 1 to allow any member to file an objection. No objections were received:
ICMA Credentialed Managers
Chad M. Adams, Medina, CA; Robb W. Corbett, Sutherlin, OR; Stewart Fairburn, Gardner, KS; Carl S. Goldsmith, Lombard, IL; Gabriel A. Gonzalez, Mendota, CA; Harry Harker, High River, Alberta; William Harrell, Chesapeake, VA; Todd C. Hoffman, Chevy Chase, MD; George K. Jones, Drumright, OK; Brent D. Mareck, Winsted, MN; Tamara L. Mayzik, South Milwaukee, WI; Paul McKitrick, Daytona Beach, FL; Gregory B. Murray, Washington County, MD; James Neubauer, Mandan, ND; David J. Niemeyer, Oak Brook, IL; Jason R. Nunemaker, Fellsmere, FL; Michael D. O’Leary, Shelton, WA; Stacy Alberts Sigman, Northfield, IL; Keith A. Van Beek, Ottawa County, MI; Bryon D. Vana, Darien, IL; Gregory A. Young, Ferndale, WA
ICMA Credentialed Manager Candidates
James I. Booth, Capitol Heights, MD; Shawn J. Brown, Middletown, RI; Matthew J. Dixon, South Weber, UT; Michael D. Jackson, Spokane Valley, WA; Edward F. Lavallee, Newport, RI; Wanda Page, Durham, NC; Jonathan D. Sweet, Grayson County, VA
As of April 2, 2010, fifteenboard members had responded with a vote of approval providing the necessary vote for passage.
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