The League adopted an initiative in 2024 to give back to the local community organizations where our conferences are held. After evaluating several worthy options, the Conference Planning Committee chose The Dove Center located in Oakland, Maryland to be part of MML's 2025 Fall Conference.

The Dove Center provides safety, advocacy, and counseling to individuals whose lives have been shattered by domestic violence and/or sexual assault, and strives to expand public awareness of those issues.

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]. 

Check out our MD Municipal Careers Job Board featured employment opportunity from University Park.

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:

Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources has opened two grant programs that municipalities can use to strengthen greenspace, engage residents, and advance environmental goals.

The Greenspace Equity Program Appraisal Funding Grants cover the costs of property appraisals in underserved and overburdened communities, helping towns and cities take the first step toward acquiring land for new parks, trails, and green spaces. A total of $120,000 is available, with applications due by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 8, 2025.

The Maryland Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will hold a virtual meeting for local governments on Wednesday, September 17, at 11:00 a.m. to provide an update on the Purdue and Secondary Manufacturers opioid settlements. These agreements are currently in the sign-on phase, so timely participation is critical.

OAG will review:

The Cybersecurity Operational Methods and Education Training (COMET) program - delivered by BCR Cyber in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Information Technology (DoIT) and funded by the Employment Advancement Right Now (EARN) Maryland grant - is now accepting applicants for its FREE Fall 2025 training tracks.

Two Training Tracks Available (Sept 29 – Nov 3, 2025):

Governor Wes Moore has signed an executive order to increase housing production across the state. The order improves the use of state-owned land to create more efficient development, reduce state permitting timelines, and bring more homes to market faster in an effort to tackle housing affordability and promote the Moore-Miller Administration’s commitment to addressing Maryland's 96,000 unit housing shortage across the state.

The “Housing Starts Here” executive order:

Do you have a wall mural or street art from your city or town that you want to display? A sculpture in your city or town that you think deserves more recognition? Consider submitting a photo of your city or town's public art to be showcased at the Excellence in Leadership Fall Conference.

MML is proud to have Community Partners that not only forge relationships with members but also take their concerns and insight into consideration when shaping future work. We ask that you take a few moments to assist the Schaefer Center for Public Policy at The University of Baltimore, by completing the survey below.

The Maryland Department of Planning (MDP) is presenting a webinar, Building Local Resilience, on Wednesday, August 27 between noon and 1:30 p.m. Panelists will discuss methods for constructing resilient communities through guidance, resources, and planning best practices. The webinar will address the foundations of resilience at the local level, highlighting strategies such as Resilience Hubs and other capital projects that deliver the needs of the public and protect infrastructure. MDP will be joined by resilience partners from the Maryland Energy Administration (MEA), the City of Baltimore, and Groundswell. Groundswell is a nonprofit that builds community power through community solar projects and resilience centers, clean energy programs that reduce energy burdens, and research initiatives that support clean energy futures for all.

Since June 2024, the Maryland Cannabis Administration (MCA) has issued approximately 191 grower, processor, and dispensary conditional licenses in its first licensing round. Conditional licensees are now in various stages of becoming operational, which includes obtaining local zoning approval for a business location. A conditional licensee must obtain local zoning approval before MCA can issue a final license.

State law delegates authority to Maryland’s counties and municipalities to adopt reasonable zoning requirements for cannabis businesses within the parameters established in Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article §36-410. The MCA is not authorized to make zoning determinations on behalf of political subdivisions and defers to them to make determinations for their communities, provided they are not unduly burdensome, e.g., more restrictive than the parameters in Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis Article §36-410. 

The Maryland Community Investment Corporation (MCIC) is a new entity created by Governor Moore’s administration to bring equitable, community-driven investment to Maryland. It aims to connect grassroots organizations, developers, and anchor institutions to funding opportunities and technical assistance - especially through tools like the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program. 

MCIC's goal is to bridge the gap for organizations that have historically been left out of complex funding programs, with a focus on:

Dear Members,

From vibrant scenery to rich history, don't miss the chance to experience what the Western region of Maryland has to offer during the Excellence in Leadership Fall Conference in October.

New to registering for a MML Conference? Need a refresher on how to register someone on their behalf? 

Our final virtual Event Registration Office Hours meeting will be August 15 from Noon until 1 p.m. You can jump onto the call during that time if you need assistance or have questions as you are registering for the Fall Conference.

As part of the process to determine the MML legislative priorities for the 2026 General Assembly session, the Legislative Committee discussed 19 Legislative Action Requests (LARs). Over the course of two meetings, MML staff presented the background and history on each LAR at which point the Committee asked questions and debated the merits of the proposals. At the conclusion of the second meeting the Committee voted to recommend one priority: Modernizing Municipal Revenue Streams. As legislation in 2026, this priority could manifest in several different forms, the details of which will be ironed out in the coming months as MML staff meets with stakeholders and policymakers. 

The Committee also voted to adopt a strategic initiative involving the incorporation of new municipalities. This issue has been debated in the General Assembly the past few years and adopting it as a strategic initiative will allow MML to highlight its importance with policymakers.

Still need to register for FallCon25? Be sure to lock in your registration during the early bird period while there's still time. The early bird rate ends on August 20, and you wouldn't want to miss the opportunity to join us in Western Maryland for the first time in over 20 years.