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Maryland Municipal League to Host City, Town Leaders from Around State for Fall Conference at Solomons Island, Oct. 17-19

Md. Senate President Miller to Address Municipal Leaders on 2014 General Assembly;

MML Members to Approve 2014 Legislative Agenda, Attend Educational Workshops

Mayors, city and town council members, and other municipal government leaders from all across Maryland will gather in Solomons Island, October 17-19, for the annual fall conference of The Maryland Municipal League (MML), which represents the state’s 157 cities and towns, and two special taxing districts.

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Speakers include Maryland Senate President Thomas V. “Mike” Miller, the nation’s longest-serving state senate president, will address the conference attendees during a luncheon on Friday, Oct. 18, as he provides his insights on the upcoming General Assembly session and the 2014 Maryland election. Also, Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler and Maryland Transportation Secretary Jim Smith will make remarks on Friday, Oct. 18 at 3:45 p.m., just prior to the League’s adoption of its 2014 Legislative Agenda, which will drive the direction of the municipalities’ advocacy efforts in the Maryland General Assembly.

“We are thrilled to be bringing the Maryland Municipal League’s annual fall conference back to Solomon’s Island, for the first time since 1997,” said Carl Anderton, the 2013-14 MML President and Mayor of Delmar, Md. “We know it’s going to be an exciting and productive couple of days for our members, as we come together for valuable educational and networking opportunities, to approve our 2014 state legislative agenda, and to work together on key issues that are facing all of us, as municipal leaders in the state of Maryland.”

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A push for full restoration of highway user revenues for municipalities – which have been slashed severely in the state budget over the past five years – will once again top MML’s state legislative agenda, based on a recent recommendation of the league’s Legislative Committee. The State of Maryland’s diversion of funds for Highway User Revenues in recent years, to help balance the state’s general fund budget through several years of economic challenges, has left many cities and towns unable to support their most essential transportation projects. Maryland taxpayers and motorists fund Highway User Revenues through the state’s Transportation Trust Fund. A portion of these revenues is intended to support municipal transportation projects, such as road repairs, street maintenance and snow removal. Without the state funding, many municipalities have been forced to reallocate local funding for critical transportation projects from other areas and, in many cases, have been forced to raise local property taxes in order to maintain basic services.

The 2013 MML Fall Conference will feature an array of workshops on issues of importance to municipal leaders, including economic development, long-term fiscal planning, speed camera use, open meetings, ethics laws, risk management, and solid waste management, among others. Many of the workshops are part of core and elective classes that are offered as part of The Academy for Excellence in Local Governance. The Academy is a voluntary certificate training program – administered through the University of Maryland, in partnership with MML – that is designed to help local government officials, especially newly elected officials, meet the challenges of their roles.

The conference will be held at the Solomons Island Holiday Inn and Conference Center, 155 Holiday Drive, Solomons Island, Md. 20688. Event sponsors include: Institute for Governmental Service and Research (IGSR), National League of Cities (NLC), Novak Consulting Group, Musco Lighting, Local Government Insurance Trust (LGIT), Healthy Eating Active Living, Maryland Environmental Service (MES), Benecon, Sustainable Maryland Certified, Southern Maryland Electrical Cooperative (SMECO), University of Baltimore, Law Office of Thomas Yeager, American Fidelity, and the Towns of Chesapeake Beach, Indian Head, La Plata, Leonardtown, and North Beach.

For more information, including a complete agenda and registration details, visit http://www.mdmunicipal.org.

About The Maryland Municipal League:

Located at the Phipps Municipal Center in the state capital of Annapolis, The Maryland Municipal League (MML) was founded in 1936 and represents 157 municipal governments and 2 special taxing districts throughout the state of Maryland.

A voluntary, non-profit, nonpartisan association controlled and maintained by city and town governments, MML works to strengthen and support municipal government through advocacy and the development of effective leadership. Through its membership in the National League of Cities MML offers legislative representation in Washington, urban research programs, and a national municipal government information exchange.

MML is the only statewide organization in Maryland composed solely of municipal officials and devoted to the promotion of all branches of municipal administration.

(NOTE TO EDITORS/REPORTERS: Media interested in attending and covering the 2013 MML Fall Conference are asked to contact Steve Simon in advance at 301-836-1516 or 240-461-0333 (cell), or ssimon@veandco.com).

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