The Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability (PALS) program at the University of Maryland pairs faculty expertise with student ingenuity to tackle sustainability issues facing Maryland communities. Partnering with local, county, and statewide Maryland agencies and jurisdictions, PALS creates customized coursework to target specific economic, environmental and social sustainability challenges identified by the partner community. The collaborative university-community partnership delivers recommendations, strategies and tools to address a community’s most pressing challenges, providing a road map for creating sustainable, thriving places to live, work and play. 

Total Funding Available: $10,000

The Maryland Municipal League Emergency Management Officials Department's (EMOD) latest quarterly newsletter is here.  The latest issue includes valuable content for anyone interested in better understanding and serving your community's emergency preparedness needs.

The Maryland Municipal League is excited to have launched its newest member initiative designed to build more one-to-one engagement with member municipalities. Field service representatives have been reaching out to cities and towns across the state and are actively scheduling meetings to gather your feedback and connect membership to League services and other resources.

The Maryland Municipal League is launching a new Field Services program this summer where MML field service representatives work with local governments across five regions gathering feedback and connecting membership to League services and other resources.  MML is seeking a motivated and service-oriented individual to serve as a part-time Field Services Representative to serve the Lower Eastern Shore. This position supports approximately 35 local governments, contributing 8–10 hours per week year-round as a part-time contractor.  The full job announcement is available here.

Interested candidates should send a resume and cover letter to MML Field Services Manager Tom Reynolds at [email protected].  

Is your city or town anticipating a sizable turnover in elected officials? Would they benefit from engaging in a facilitated team-building dialogue, discussion of roles and responsibilities, as well as a goal-setting exercise to get everyone on the same page?  The Maryland Municipal League has helped more than a dozen member municipalities get their newly elected officials’ terms off to a productive and collaborative start. Standard retreats are five hours long with a facilitation fee of $2,500 for members with populations of 10,000 or less and $4,000 for those with more than 10,000 residents. For more information, contact MML Director of Leadership Development and retreat facilitator Tom Reynolds at [email protected].

The Maryland Open Meetings Act requires that every public body, including municipalities, have at least one person complete Open Meetings Act training to meet the requirements of the state's Open Meetings Act law. That training requirement can be met by either taking the Academy for Excellence in Local Governance in-person core class training or completing an online training module, which can now be found exclusively on the Maryland Attorney General's website.  This training is no longer available through the University of Maryland's Institute for Governmental Service.  For more information, contact Tom Reynolds at [email protected].

Call for proposals! The 2026 Small Business Anti-Displacement Network Summit on Preventing Climate Displacement is looking for panels or individual presentations about equitable climate resilience and recovery strategies that keep small businesses in place. The online summit will be held November 12-13, 2026.

Co-hosted by the Gentrification & Urban Displacement Lab at the Boston University Initiative on Cities, the summit will examine how climate displacement is increasingly affecting vulnerable communities and small businesses across the U.S. and globally. Climate disasters, the long-term effects of climate change, and climate adaptation or mitigation strategies can kickstart or compound gentrification. New public and private climate-related investments can significantly change communities, displacing small businesses and the residents whom they serve. BIPOC- and immigrant-owned small businesses in low-wealth neighborhoods are particularly vulnerable to climate displacement. 

The Maryland Municipal League's Emergency Management Officials Department (EMOD) is pleased to announce the inaugural issue of Emergency Management Officials Quarterly. The newsletter is designed to promote the mission and goals of EMOD by sharing best practices, real-world experiences, and training opportunities with all 161 MML member local governments. If you're a local government official interested in ensuring your town is prepared unforeseen crises and emergencies, this is a must-read publication.

You can access the first and current issue of the newsletter here.

Housed within the University of Maryland's National Center for Smart Growth, the Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability Program (PALS) pairs faculty expertise with student ingenuity to tackle sustainability issues facing Maryland communities. Partnering with local, county, and statewide Maryland agencies, PALS creates customized coursework to target specific economic, environmental and social sustainability challenges identified by the partner community. The collaborative university-community partnership delivers recommendations, strategies and tools to address a community’s most pressing challenges, providing a road map for creating sustainable, thriving places to live, work and play. Since its inception in 2014, PALS has directed over 400 customized courses toward site-specific projects across the state, addressing issues of capacity building, economic and community development, environmental sustainability, health and wellness, and social resilience, engaging over 800 students along the way.

On May 8, PALS students from the Fall 25 and Spring 26 semesters will present their projects in a poster showcase and will be available to discuss their work and experiences. Not only is attending the showcase an important way to support UMD students and learn more about their work in the community, but it is also a great opportunity to learn more about how participating in the PALS program can benefit your community or organization.

Looking to secure the final core class credits you need to complete your Academy for Excellence in Local Governance certification? The 2026 MML Summer Conference will offer five core classes to help you reach that milestone:

• Ethics, Sunday, June 14, 1:15 - 3:00 p.m.
• Municipal Budgeting, Monday, June 15, 10:15 - 12:00 p.m.
• Structure of Municipal Government, Monday, June 15, 1:15 - 3:00 p.m.
• Basics of Risk Management, Tuesday, June 16, 10:15 - 12:00 p.m.
• Conducting Effective Meetings, Wednesday, June 17, 10:15 - 12:00 p.m.

Check out MML's website to see the latest summer conference preliminary schedule. For more information on the Academy for Excellence in Local Governance, contact MML Director of Leadership Development and Membership Experience Tom Reynolds at [email protected].

The Maryland Municipal League's educational partners at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy published a new article on Social Equity in Public Budgeting in the Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management.  John Ronquillo, Director of the University's Institute for Public Leadership, and Assistant Professor Juan Pablo Martinez Guzman's paper looks at how consideration of social equity is incorporated into developing public budgets, including how social equity considerations vary across different governments.

The City of Bowie is hosting Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) course MGT-312 – Senior Officials Workshop for All-Hazards Preparedness on March 10, 2026. The course is intended for elected officials and senior level staff.

If you attended a session at last week's MML Excellence in Leadership Conference and were unable to access PowerPoints and other workshop materials, you can now find them in the MDCommunity file gallery. 

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is now accepting applications for the Fiscal Year 2027 Greenspace Equity Program grant round. This is a competitive grant program and only proposals that meet program requirements submitted by eligible applicants may be considered for funding.  A complete Greenspace Equity Program FY 2027 Application and Project Agreement with all the necessary accompanying documents must be emailed to [email protected].​  

Looking for strategies to resuscitate vacant storefronts in your community? Recast Cities can help. 

You see the potential everywhere: talented entrepreneurs working from home, creative businesses ready to scale, and a downtown that could be the beating heart of your local economy. Recast Leaders provides a roadmap, expert coaching, and peer support to transform your downtown or neighborhood main street into a thriving destination in just 10 months. Communities that complete Recast Leaders get direct help figuring out what to do and implementing their top projects. For more information, visit https://www.recastcity.com/recastleaders.

The Maryland Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in partnership with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE), the University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center (EFC) and the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development (USDA RD), will be hosting a webinar on Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater Funding and Technical Assistance on October 16, 2025 at 1:00 p.m. EST. Panelists will include Adriana Caldarelli from MDE, Michelle Kokolis from EFC, and Lisa Fitzgerald from USDA Rural Development.

This collaborative webinar will deliver in-depth presentations from agency experts on securing water infrastructure funding, accessing relevant technical assistance, and reviewing essential guidance for enhancing water infrastructure for resilience, sustainability, and efficiency. Attendees will also be introduced to each organization and gain valuable insights to align their projects with rural eligibility criteria, ensure strategic use of resources, and optimize project outcomes.

The 2025 Small Business Anti-Displacement Network Conference: Fostering Resilience is convening November 12-14 at The Hotel at the University of Maryland. Come strategize with us about how to foster resilient small businesses and remain resilient in our anti-displacement work. Early-bird registration closes October 15.

You’ll hear how organizations and cities are supporting diverse communities and small businesses in this new economic and political landscape. Our keynotes, panels, and workshops will offer practical tools and timely approaches to supporting BIPOC and immigrant communities and entrepreneurs. Informal networking opportunities will help us reenergize.

The Maryland Municipal League and the Academy for Excellence in Local Governance would like your feedback on the educational programming provided to Maryland’s local government officials. To that end, we ask that you please take 5-6 minutes to complete a survey to help us better understand how well existing training meets the needs of MML members and what will help prepare Maryland’s city and town officials to lead our communities today and into the future: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/AELG2025

Thank you in advance for your insights.  We look forward to using these results to improve the future training opportunities for city and town officials throughout Maryland.  If you have questions or need more information, please contact MML’s Senior Director of Leadership Development Tom Reynolds at [email protected]. 

The Maryland Municipal League's Municipal Achievement Awards are awarded annually to cities and towns that have successfully implemented policies and programs that advance good governance and the well-being of our communities. The Awards will be presented at the 2025 Excellence in Leadership Fall Conference, which will be held October 12-14 at the Wisp Resort in McHenry, Maryland.

Municipalities will be recognized in four areas of governing excellence: