Mark your calendar for February 29th-March 1st for the 2024 MMA Winter Conference. This year, Mayors will hold the two-day event at the beautiful downtown Governor Calvert House. While the preliminary program is forthcoming, please note that our advocacy day will take place on February 29th, with continued learning through March 1st. New this year, we are opening advocacy day up to all MML members and staff! While MMA members will stand apart in gold scarves, we know that there is strength in numbers. Please have your elected and appointed staff members mark their calendars for February 29th to join you as you make your way down to the State House. An additional email will be sent out regarding Advocacy Day registration.
MML is delighted to offer discounted room rates, thanks to our ongoing partnership with the Governor Calvert House. MMA members are advised to book their hotel room asap. As the legislative season gears up, we want to ensure that our members have secured their rooms. We strongly encourage you to use the link below, if you do not, we are unable to continue to offer discounts and maintain registration costs unless we fill the room block.
Please note: The MMA Winter Conference is only open to dues paying MMA members. Guests will not be permitted, unless prior authorization has been granted by the MMA Executive Committee. For questions relating to the event, please reach out to Felicia Banuelos, Manager, Executive Operations and Board Government at 410.295.9118 or [email protected]. Click here to register and book your hotel room. 

Federal RAISE Grants Available

As a component of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, grants are available through the U.S. Department of Transportation for investments in surface transportation that will have significant local and regional impact.

MML’s Banner City/Town Program

MML's Banner City/Town Program bestows formal recognition each year to cities and towns that have demonstrated an outstanding commitment to MML programs and activities.  The program serves as a guidepost on how to make the most of your MML membership.

The Department of Budget and Management's Municipal Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) will be hosting a webinar on Water Infrastructure Funding in ARPA and IIJA on December 7, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. in partnership with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 3 WaterTA Program at the University of Maryland (UMD) Environmental Finance Center.

The Department of Budget and Management's Municipal Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) will be hosting a webinar on Water Infrastructure Funding in ARPA and IIJA on December 7, 2023 at 1:00 p.m. in partnership with the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) and the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Region 3 WaterTA Program at the University of Maryland (UMD) Environmental Finance Center. This webinar will include presentations from representatives from MDE and the EPA WaterTA Program at UMD on applying for water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure funding and relevant technical assistance.

The Maryland Municipal League wants to know how your municipality is using State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) received through the American Rescue Plan Act.  This exercise will be immensely helpful as the League begins communications with State legislators interested in knowing how Maryland’s cities and towns are using these funds.  In short, the more effectively we use SLFRF funds to lift our communities, the more receptive State legislators will be to assisting municipalities during the upcoming General Assembly session.   

Please share how your municipality is using SLFRF funds on the MDCommunities Discussion page.  Doing so will also help other cities and towns still determining best uses in light of the December 2024 deadline for obligating SLFRF funding. 

Join the largest gathering of city leaders at Smart Cities Connect Conference & Expo on Nov 28-30, in D.C. Where you can network with industry leaders, innovators, federal government, nonprofits, and municipalities. Cities attend for FREE! 

A photo album of Fall Conference 2023 photos is now available.

Our photographer, Steve Ridzon, has provided direct access to the photos in the album. Please do not delete anything in the album. You can scroll through the various selection of photos and download them as you please. We ask that you provide photo credit to Steve Ridzon if you use them on a public platform or on any social media platform.

Municipal Government Works (MGW) month has arrived. Each November, Maryland's towns and cities make an effort to bring more awareness and generate further interest in the local government that serves its citizens and communities. The goal of celebrating MGW is to publicly educate what municipalities bring to Marylander's quality of life through their services and programs.

The beauty of celebrating MGW month is that you can celebrate any way you please.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced a $100m Notice of Funding Opportunity, utilizing a 10% set-aside from the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) formula program, for the Electric Vehicle Charger Reliability and Accessibility Accelerator. The funding can be utilized to repair and replace existing, but non-operational, EV charging infrastructure. Non-functional or broken EV charger sites will be limited to those listed in the Alternative Fuels Station Locator and are at publicly accessible locations. Before releasing the NOFO, FHWA identified 6,200 chargers that met its standards of being temporarily unavailable and eligible for this program. Approximately 130 charging sites in Maryland meet this definition as of today (see afdc.energy.gov).

Local governments are directly eligible to apply. A single applicant may receive multiple awards from this program and USDOT expects to fund the vast majority of eligible projects submitted. FHWA strongly encourages applicants to streamline submissions and include as many eligible locations in a single application as possible.

Nearly every Maryland municipality received State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in 2021. Roughly a year from now every municipal recipient will need to have obligated those funds or risk having to return that funding to the U.S. Treasury.

A recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) shows that nearly 50% of local governments had not obligated SLFRF funds as of March 31, 2023. The Maryland Municipal League cannot stress enough the urgency to obligate and spend these funds, especially with the need to pass FY2025 budgets by June 30, 2024. 

Smart Cities Connect Conference and Expo offers the most comprehensive conference, exposition and accelerator of smart city innovation in North America. We deliver premium networking and educational opportunities with a keen focus on city leaders and their priorities. 

Join the largest gathering of city leaders at Smart Cities Connect Conference & Expo on Nov 28-30, in D.C. Where you can network with industry leaders, innovators, federal government, military, nonprofits, and municipalities. Cities attend for FREE! For non-city leaders use "23MML25" for 25% off!

The State of Maryland Department of Budget and Management’s Municipal Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) has unveiled a new federal fund mapping service. Maryland municipalities can submit infrastructure projects or priorities to the fund mapping service through the Project Intake Form and receive tailored information on relevant Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) programs. If your municipality has additional questions, or would like to learn more, please contact the MTAP team at [email protected].

The following bills with municipal impact went into effect on October 1, 2023. Please contact any member of the MML Advocacy team with any questions. 

SB 310 / HB 378 - Natural Resources - Black Bear Damage Prevention and Reimbursement Fund – Uses 

•     A possible new standard for employment liability under Title VII;
•     Whether a public official’s social media account can constitute state action for the purposes of the First Amendment;
•     Whether the Supreme Court should overrule Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which relates to deference that courts should provide administrative agencies; and
•     Whether firearm regulations prohibiting individuals subject to domestic violence restraining orders violate the Second Amendment

Full details

Our offices may have moved but our phone numbers remain the same. Reaching an MML team member is as easy as calling 410-295-9100. And our new automated system helps connect you to anyone on our team.

If you're still getting used to the new names of our departments, here's a little cheat sheet

Cyberthreats are not only real, they are constant. Local governments are targeted over 1,600 times a week by potential cyber threats. As local government leaders, you are entrusted with sensitive data and a limited budget for IT and preventing cyberthreats.

Meet with MML exclusive cybersecurity partner, VC3, to assess your vulnerabilities and learn how to protect your community.

If you've been curious about the League's new member portal, MD CommUnity, no better time than the present to get all the information you need to dive in. Two resources available to get you started:

• Our video tutorial highlights the portal's main features

• Our FAQ explains some of the nuances of signing in and why MD CommUnity is a tool you need to add to your resources to make the most of your League membership

For assistance logging into MD CommUnity, contact Sharon Easton, Manager, Member Experience.

The deadline for submitting workshop proposals for the Maryland Municipal League Summer Conference has been extended to October 10, 2023. Proposals can be submitted via the Workshop Proposal Form .

MML’s Conference Planning Committee will begin reviewing workshop proposals for the 2024 Summer Conference beginning October 15 and is focused on generating a program that covers the diverse array of opportunities and challenges facing the state’s municipal leaders. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Stacie Spragins or Tom Reynolds.

In response to the upcoming implementation of the State's Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance program, also known as the Time to Care Act, MML is elated to negotiate and bring an alternative option to our members. We have partnered with other local government entities to present an alternative to the State plan for municipalities with 15 or more employees. This local government collaborative insurance plan can reduce your staff’s administrative burden and decrease the impact on your budget and your staff’s paycheck. A draft memorandum of agreement explains the operation of the collaborative.   

 Potential benefits of joining the collaborative:

•     Increased market power in securing a vendor to administer benefits for the broad co-op membership
•     Lower premiums than the State plan saves the employer and employee money
•     Avoid 15 months of pre-paying premiums before benefits become available (under the State program)
•     Reduced/shared administrative overhead costs in overseeing and managing the program
•     Security/simplicity of having one coordinated approval of plan structure and benefits for all participants

MML hosted a webinar with Bolton, the company that will administer the collaborative, on September 8. If you missed it or want to learn more, both the PowerPoint slides and a recording are available.  

The next step is time sensitive. If your municipality would like to participate in the collaborative, a letter of intent must be completed and returned to Bill Jorch, [email protected] no later than September 29. If meeting that deadline will be a problem, please contact Bill for more information.

Please note that there is a membership fee to join the collaborative, which is required to be paid by October 15, if you submit a letter of intent. Once a third-party insurance carrier is selected, a municipality may opt to not sign if the terms and rates are not acceptable, but the membership fee will not be refunded. The membership fee is an annual fee and will be in addition to the premium rate paid to the insurance carrier.

 Membership fees are as follows (payment details will be made available once the letter of intent has been received):

The League wishes to thank and bid a fond farewell to MML’s Director of Publications and Events, Patricia Foss-Bennie. Patty will be departing MML later this month to join the world of the retired. During her tenure, the League has seen record conference attendance and record exhibit numbers, earned several international awards, and revamped the member magazine. While we will miss a great colleague and dear friend, we wish Patty all the best in her new ventures ahead.