NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TO NEWS/CITY DESK EDITOR
CONTACT: Debbie Bitting, Pennsylvania Municipal League, 717-236-9469, ext. *223, dbitting@pml.org
Municipal Officials from Pennsylvania Municipal League and Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners Participate in Municipal Leadership Summit in Lancaster
Officials Focus on Programs, Best Practices, and Solutions to Meet Today’s Challenges and to Move Pennsylvania Communities Forward
Lancaster, PA (October 8, 2021) – League President Philadelphia Councilmember Derek Green is presiding over the Municipal Leadership Summit, a joint conference of the Pennsylvania Municipal League (The League) and the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners (PSATC), which started yesterday and runs through tomorrow at the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square.
“The Pennsylvania Municipal League and the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners are pleased to be hosting our Municipal Leadership Summit, offering both virtual and in-person formats,” said League Executive Director Richard J. Schuettler. “This is an historic event as our respective municipal groups come together and provide unprecedented professional development opportunities.”
Officials taking part in the Municipal Leadership Summit will share resources and innovative ideas, discuss issues of mutual concern, and participate in a wide-array of educational and professional development sessions designed to address the ways and means of meeting the pressing challenges of municipal management and good governance.
“It is an honor to preside over this, my final Municipal Leadership Summit, as League President,” said Philadelphia Councilmember Derek Green. “This has been an extraordinarily challenging time for all of us and through it all, we are persevering. The League’s collective efforts to prioritize and meet the needs of Pennsylvanians during this historical time are to be commended. That is why events like the Municipal Leadership Summit are so important – whether in a virtual or in-person format – to ensure like-minded leaders and individuals from every corner of the Commonwealth have an opportunity to engage with each other and work together on behalf of their constituencies.”
The Summit kicked off this week (October 4-6) with a playground build at Milburn Park where The League partnered with KABOOM!, The City of Lancaster, The GIANT Company, PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Highmark, Penn State Health, and The Lancaster County Community Foundation to create a kid-inspired, state-of-the-art new playground for hundreds of neighborhood children in southeast Lancaster city to enjoy. This is the 12th playground project The League has organized for Pennsylvania communities since 2010.
“I welcome all of our delegates to our 2nd Annual joint Summit, but more importantly, the first held in person,” said Nate Silcox, PSATC President and Hampden Township Commissioner. “This Summit affords us an invaluable opportunity to come together and learn from one another in order to better serve those that put us in these positions. And we can also join forces in advocating for changes at the state level, including the need for radar for local law enforcement and flexibility with unfunded mandates like Prevailing Wage.”
Thursday morning started with a meeting of the Pennsylvania Career Fire Chiefs Association and The League’s Board meeting as well as a special session on Why Equity Matters and How it Can be Achieved, followed by the Opening Ceremony where League President Derek Green and PSATC President Nate Silcox welcomed and addressed Summit delegates. We were also pleased to hear via live video from National League of Cities CEO and Executive Director Clarence Anthony regarding the strong partnership of The League and NLC and the advocacy success of The American Rescue Plan Act.
During the ceremony, retiring League Executive Director Rick Schuettler was honored and recognized for his leadership with the announcement of the establishment of the Richard J. Schuettler Center for Municipal Development.
In addition to networking opportunities, sessions on Thursday included Economic Outlook – 2021 and Beyond; Lessons Learned and Recommended Strategies for Emerging Out of the Pandemic and Post George Floyd; Efficiencies in Community Park Maintenance and Open Space Management; and Vision Zero Harrisburg.
At today’s Awards Breakfast we were honored to have Majority Leader of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Kerry Benninghoff and Deputy Secretary for Community Affairs and Development, Department of Community and Economic Development Rick Vilello join us to address delegates. During the ceremony, our 2021 Community Partnership Award was presented to Business Leaders Network member AT&T, and the winners of the John A. Garner, Jr. Civic Engagement Essay Scholarship Contest were announced as well as the Easton Voting Award winner, the City of Monongahela. We were also pleased to have DCNR Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn address delegates via video.
Also on today’s agenda were The League’s Resolutions Committee Meeting and PSATC’s Executive Committee Meeting and Annual Business Meeting, as well as additional sessions including: Overview of Deloitte’s 2021 Human Capital Trends and Adaptive Workplaces; Phone a Friend: How to Maximize the Council-Manager Relationship; GIS and Story Maps: Connecting with your Community; The Latest & Greatest on DEP’s Local Climate Action Program; Planning for Change: Local Government Succession Planning; and Planning for Adaptive Reuse in Chester County.
Members of The League’s Business Leaders Network presented sessions including: Broadband Deployment 101; HomeServe Water Infrastructure Solutions for Municipalities and Residents; MUA Energy Program; Updates on First Net: National Public Safety Broadband Network; American Rescue Plan Act Update; Cost Savings in Your Health Insurance Program; and Rates Go Up, Rates Go Down – You Just Need to Have A Plan.
At tomorrow morning’s General Session Breakfast, we will welcome Auditor General Tim DeFoor to our Summit and will hear, via video messages, from Pennsylvania Senate leaders Senator Jay Costa and Senator Jake Corman.
The League’s Annual Business Meeting will also take place tomorrow, where legislative priorities will be established for the coming year and officers will be elected to serve on the League Board of Directors.
The Summit will wrap up with a session on Emerging Issues in 21st Century Policing and a Legislative Update.
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About The Pennsylvania Municipal League
The mission of the Pennsylvania Municipal League is to strengthen, empower and advocate for effective local government. The League is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization established in 1900 as an advocate for Pennsylvania’s 3rd class cities. Today, The League represents Pennsylvania cities, boroughs, townships, home rule communities and towns that all share their municipal policy interests. The Board of Directors oversees the administration of a wide array of municipal services including legislative advocacy, publications, education/training, consulting-based programs, and group insurance trusts. For more information, please visit PML.org. Join the conversation at twitter.com/PAMunicipalLeag and facebook.com/PaMunicipalLeague – #MunicipalLeadershipSummit21, #StrengthThroughEngagement.
About The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners
The Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners (PSATC) represents Pennsylvania’s first class townships and their elected governing officials before the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the Commonwealth’s various agencies. PSATC was founded in 1925 to distinguish itself from the second class townships which are much larger in number. First class townships are generally regarded as the “urban ring” around Pennsylvania’s cities. Many of our first class townships face issues similar to those of our Commonwealth’s cities and urban boroughs, thereby making the association’s affiliation with the Pennsylvania Municipal League a natural fit. The League has been providing advocacy services to the PSATC for over 30 years. For more information, please visit PML.org/psatc.
The Virtual Municipal Leadership Summit program book can be accessed in the Resources section at www.pml.org/municipal-leadership-summit.