July 2020 VLGMA eNews

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July 2020 eNews

Mester's Message

As I noted during the June 12 th business meeting, I am both humbled and honored to become your VLGMA President. VLMGA is such a vital resource to our local government members. I am grateful to pay forward all that I have gained from being a member!   Our organization’s vision of “supporting local government managers building great communities through inclusion, innovation and leadership through our strengthening of professional management” is more important than ever.   We are again in challenging social times, given the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the social injustice crisis, but these are new situations for local governments. We have been thru ups and downs before. Local Governments must remain at the core of building community… it is our RESPONSIBILITY. During this upcoming year I want to ensure that VLGMA continues to serve as a vital resource and support to each of you.   We will deliver on VLGMA vision and mission by: V = leading with our Vision, Values L = delivering strong community-based and collaborative Leadership G = insisting on strong Governance, equity, equality and ethics in all public safety, public health and public services M = enhance our Management capabilities within our Council-Manager structure A = most important we must take Action , in collaboration with our community and elected governing bodies, to change our culture to one of true equity and equality.   To deliver the above, as your President, I will focus on all with emphasis on Action to enhance our existing core benefits for membership outreach and support, professional development and leadership succession. Also of critical importance, we plan to collect and share resources for facilitating critical community conversations especially around addressing our difficult histories.   As part of this monthly article I plan to review our Code of Ethics tenets. Without this foundational underpinning we cannot successfully achieve the above VLGMA outcomes. So as we begin a new year let’s recall the ethic codes' common themes: 1) Personal integrity, honesty, and accountability; 2) Openness and transparency; 3) Impartiality and evidence-based decision making; 4) Respect for the democratic process; 5) Neutrality in partisan political matters; 6) Reporting ethical violations; and 7) Stewardship of public and community resources. ( adapted from ICMA Public Management April 2020 , p. 3)   Together I know VLMGA members will come through these challenges with stronger resilient communities. I look forward to continuing our work together. Feel free to reach out to me at cmester@fallschurchva.gov   Stay safe, healthy and remain strong, Cindy   Contact Cindy Mester

Tedd's Take (De)Valuing Our Elderly              Why is the United States struggling more with COVID-19 than many other countries around the world? Often-mentioned reasons include a lack of timely responses, depending on states to take the lead rather than imposing a national strategy, inadequate supplies in the national repository, and Americans’ individualism and skepticism of authority. I believe there is a notable explanation that has not received much attention—a fundamental lack of respect for our elders. Contact Tedd Povar   Read More

Institute of Government Update The calls for social justice and the associated civil unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd, caused by the actions of a Minneapolis police officer, have weighed heavily on local government leaders throughout the country. This tragic event has served as a catalyst for protests, vigils, community discussions, and policy changes for both state and local governments. Several long overdue conversations and actions regarding race and our country's history are now happening.    Contact Charles Hartgrove   Read More

Certificate News The Graduate Certificate in Local Government Management will be holding two information sessions via Zoom in July; Monday, July 13 th , 2020 at 11:00 am and Monday, July 20 th , 2020 at 11:00 am. The session will review the program, costs, instructors and benefits. Please note that all certificate courses will be offered by Zoom in the Fall and this delivery method provides a convenient method for employees to join the classes. In addition, we have financial assistance available for employees in Virginia local government. The Zoom connection information is below: https://virginiatech.zoom.us/j/99316511899   Read More

Alliance for Innovation       Don’t miss out on Alliance for Innovation’s TLG 2020 Virtual Conference (starting July 28!)   The Alliance for Innovation’s annual TLG conference is just around the corner (July 28-30)!! Check out the sampling of TLG Experience sessions that will address how Local Government has pivoted in response to COVID-19  www.transformgov.org/tlg2020/covid-19   When registering, don’t forget to enter code “ASSOC” to receive a $50 discount!     For all TLG-related info, and to register, you can to go  https://www.transformgov.org/tlg2020/  or email  conferences@transformgov.org  .

A DAO in the Life Bookends of my life thus far: 1968-2020 by Richard Caywood, Roanoke Assistant County Administrator   I was born on December 30, 1968. From my early childhood, I can clearly remember my parents and other adults talking about how 1968 was a very bad year for the country. Many historians consider 1968 to be America’s most difficult year in the second half of the 20 th century and there are certainly no shortage of facts to support that argument. Smithsonian Magazine describes 1968 as “The year that shattered America.”    Read More

Civic Engagement - Albemarle County Coming Together While Staying (6’) Apart Emily Kilroy, Albemarle County, Director of Communications & Public Engagement   COVID-19 has had an enormous impact on how local governments provide services to our communities, most visibly among our public safety and human services functions. As Governor Northam began to announce gathering restrictions to reduce the spread of COVID-19, local governments found themselves quickly planning for how to address another pressing need - how do you design a civic engagement process – how we come together as a community, safely, to tackle a pressing issue – when we have to remain apart?   Read More

VLGMA Membership New fiscal year begins – time to renew your VLGMA membership!   VLGMA membership is more important than ever during this time of challenges to local governments. This is the month to renew your VLGMA membership for the year because VLGMA’s membership year runs from July 1 – June 30, concurrent with the fiscal year.     A new membership dues page launched this month with more streamlined information and forms:  https://vlgma.vml.org/vlgma-membership-information/      Read More

VLGMA Virtual Summer Conference Presentations The VLGMA Virtual Summer Conference Presentations are online at: https://icma.org/vlgma/past-conference-presentations

Fall DAO Meeting Fall DAO Meeting Save the date for the Fall DAO Meeting on October 9th . The City of Lynchburg is planning and hosting the meeting. More info will be coming out in the next few months. VLGMA membership is not required to participate in this professional development opportunity. We do however strongly encourage our CAOs to support leadership development and succession planning through VLGMA membership for all DAOs.

Mel's Poetry Corner Color Me Red, yellow, blue from three colors, the infinite ensues. Through blending, combining, mixing anew, an endless palette of beauty to choose.   Expressions of Light in limitless shade and hue individualized as a rock, a flower, a star, you. Chartreuse, mauve, magenta, gray, the energy we choose to express today.   Vivid, soft, subdued, bright, we pulsate as the colors of Light. Whatever color you choose uniting with others enriches the hue.   Contact Mel Gillies

Position Changes And Other Events

June 2020 Ed Daley, former city manager of Hopewell and Winchester, will receive the ICMA Distinguished Service Award. The ICMA Distinguished Service Award is given to a manager retired for at least two years and who has made an outstanding contribution to the management profession and local government. He previously served as President of ICMA. He currently serves as an ICMA senior advisor and provides support and mentoring for active members in the profession.  Ned Smither has been appointed Powhatan County administrator effective August 1. Has has served as the Henrico County director of finance for the last 3 years and has over 16 years of local government experience.   Donna Krauss has been appointed to the position of Stafford deputy county administrator effective July 1. She has served over 20 years with the county, most recently serving as director of community engagement and human services.   Darlene Burcham, town manager of Clifton Forge since 2010, has joined The Berkley Group's Executive Transition Assistance team and will serve as the interim town manager of Pulaski effective July 1. She previously served as the city manager of Roanoke and as the deputy city manager of Norfolk.  Bryan David has been hired as the program director of GO Virgionia Region 3 through a partnership with the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service. Bryan has over 30 years of experience leading local governments highlighted by previous service as the Orange County administrator and the Virginia Region 2000 Partnership-Economic Development Alliance executive director.   Patrick Duhaney has been appointed as city manager of Virginia Beach effective July 20. He has served as the city manager of Cincinnati since 2018. He previously served as the assistant city manager and the chief procurement officer for Cincinnati.   Shawn Utt, Pulaski town manager since 2013, has been appointed as the Smyth County administrator effective July 13. He previously served in several community and economic development roles for Pulaski County, Radford, and the New River Valley Regional Commission.  Nichole Hair, deputy town manager of Pulaski since 2015, resigned her position effective July 5. She recently accepted an offer to serve as the economic development manager of Virginia's Industrial Advancement Alliance. She previously served as the planning director and zoning administrator of the town of Christiansburg. Sarah Snead, Chesterfield deputy county administrator for human services since 2010, announced her retirement effective October 1. She has been with the county for 25 years. She previously served as the director of the Chesterfield-Colonial Heights department of social services and the director of social services for King George County.

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