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The Arkansas Municipal League is a voluntary, non-partisan organization of the incorporated cities and towns of Arkansas. The League is an instrumentality of Arkansas' cities and towns and is governed by them. It is financed by the municipalities primarily through an annual service charge. An Executive Committee determines overall policy for the League and develops the service program of the organization. Officers and members of the Committee serve one-year terms. Click here to see the present officers and members of the Executive Committee.
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| Arkansas State
Capitol, Little Rock |
The day-to-day program of the League is administered
by an Executive Director and staff who
conduct the League service program. The major elements
of this program are described briefly below.
Charged with the responsibility to act as spokesman for Arkansas' cities and towns during the Legislative Sessions, the League, in accordance with the Legislative Policy set forth in the Policy Statement, assists in developing legislation of interest to all municipal governments and in following other legislation that affects cities and towns.
An important activity during the Legislative Session is providing information to municipal officials regarding pending legislation through special reports and publication of a Legislative Bulletin, designed to keep local officials informed on a regular basis of events taking place in the Legislature. Please visit our Legislative Action Center to access the League's Legislative Bulletin.
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| Annual Convention |
Each year the League sponsors a Convention for elected and appointed municipal officials from across
the state. The Convention is designed to provide these officials with the opportunity to discuss problems
of common interest and to learn of new developments and techniques in local government and public administration.
An important part of the Convention is the Annual Business Meeting at which time the new officers are elected. The Municipal Policy Statement is also developed and adopted by local officials at the Annual Business Meeting. Each city or town is entitled to vote at the Business Meeting, making the Policy Statement broadly reflective of the needs and desires of communities throughout the state.
A significant portion of the League's overall program is devoted to the development of publications in all areas of local government concern. Special reports or magazine articles are written when a substantial number of questions have been received on subjects which are of special concern to municipal officials. Generally, if the problem is a recurring one, a manual dealing with the subject in detail is prepared. Annual publications of the League include a Directory of Arkansas Municipal Officials, the Salary Survey, as well as updating of publications dealing with rapidly changing subjects. The Handbook for Arkansas Municipal Officials is widely used by municipal officials and in demand by many other sources. The Fiscal Management Records is a system which was devised by the League to assist smaller municipalities with their record keeping responsibilities. It is being used by many towns and cities to meet the requirements of the Fiscal Management Act of 1973.
The League publishes a magazine called City & Town which is designed to provide a forum for municipal officials to exchange ideas and compare notes on accomplishments and problems in Arkansas cities and towns. This magazine has a distribution of 7,000 copies. In addition to the elected officials, city administrators and managers, the magazine is sent to police chiefs, fire chiefs and other department heads. Also included on the mailing list are state officials, local newspapers, chambers of commerce and other offices and persons who are interested in municipal affairs.
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| Hot Springs , Arkansas |
An inquiry answering service is provided for local officials on any subject involving municipal government. These questions are handled by the League staff who provide answers to municipal officials' questions by telephone, memorandum, referral, special survey or, when appropriate, on-site consultation.
As the relationship between levels of government becomes more complex, more of the League's efforts have become devoted to intergovernmental relations. The role of the League as a representative for cities and towns in dealing with the various agencies of county, state and federal government has become increasingly significant in recent years and is expected to play a major part in the organization's future activities.
A program of providing assistance to cities and towns in the development of municipal codes of ordinances is a significant aspect of the League's service program. This service involves a thorough study of all the ordinances of an individual city or town and the drafting of a code based on the ordinances. In addition, sample ordinances are available to League members on most subjects of municipal concern.
The Loss Control/Emergency Response Program provides members with individual loss control assistance and assistance in establishing an Emergency Preparedness Plan. The Loss Control portion of the program offers safety inspections and on-site consultation for Workers' Compensation, Vehicle program, and Property program participants. In addition, the Loss Control program offers safety-training in various categories such as: Personal Protective Equipment, Trench Safety, Confined Space Safety, Bloodborne Pathogens, Safety Awareness, Back Safety, and Lockout/Tagout Programs. These programs are taught on location in your municipality. The Emergency Response portion of the program provides cities with information on how to be prepared for emergencies such as bomb threats, Cyber-Terrorism, tornadoes, and chemical and biological threats.
The Loss Control Video Library allows members of the Arkansas Municipal League to select training videos by submitting requests online utilizing the video e-cart. A maximum of three (3) videos per order, please. Also, please note that this is a service for members of the League only. The Arkansas Municipal League will not honor non-member requests.
Don't forget the value of training your workforce. If you or someone affiliated with your municipality would like to attend free training sessions on subjects such as, Traffic Signal Maintenance; Trenching and Shoring; Heavy Equipment Operating; and Work Zone Traffic Safety, contact Danny Moore of the Technology Transfer Program. This program is sponsored by the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. (501) 569-2380 or (800) 344-1285.
The Grant Book Company-
A grant locator service is provided for municipalities in an effort to simplify the process of locating and obtaining grants. The League has partnered with The Grant Book Company to provide this service for its members through Grant Search Central, the on-line web site for The Grant Book Company. Grant Search Central provides up-to-date information about the availability and requirements for literally hundreds of types of government and non-profit grants. Also available are grant-writing tools, access to message boards, e-mail alerts, and other types of valuable information for registered users.
To register your municipality for Grant Search Central e-mail contact information to ksmith@thegrantbook.com. For additional information on Grant Search Central, go to www.thegrantbook.com.
Legacy Consulting-
This grant service provides members with assessment and evaluation services, the development of a community blueprint and assistance in grant procurement methods. Specific training in garnering needed funds for individual projects, as well as various tools monitoring and evaluating the grant process are available as well. The services offered by Legacy Consulting will seamlessly integrate with other programs and resources currently provided to members of the Arkansas Municipal League.
To contact Legacy Consulting, e-mail Chad Gallagher at chad.gallagher@legacyincorporated.com
or access their Web site, www.legacyincorporated.com.
Individual consultation is available to League members on municipal engineering projects or when they encounter engineering problems. The League staff civil engineer offers that technical consultation. The first visit each year by the staff engineer to a city or town for advice and consultation is a League complimentary service. The engineer also writes a monthly column in City & Town. To contact Al Johnson, Staff Engineer, please call (501) 374-7492 or email emtec@aristotle.net.
The Arkansas Municipal League offers as a service to its member cities a registered city planner for teaching at seminars and for technical consultation with member cities and towns. The first visit each year by the planner to a city for advice, information and consultation is a League complimentary service. The League staff city planner reaches every member city monthly through his City & Town column. To contact Jim VonTungeln, Staff Planner, please call (501) 372-3232 or e-mail uplan@swbell.net.
These areas of assistance to municipalities have developed in response to specific needs of Arkansas' cities and towns. It is expected that as needs change, the type of service program the League provides will change to meet those needs. In this way, the League service program can be of maximum benefit to the cities and towns of Arkansas.
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