News Release – Municipal Leadership Summit in Pittsburgh brings together elected and appointed officials from the Pennsylvania Municipal League, Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners and the Pennsylvania Career Fire Chiefs Association

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 Leadership Summit in Pittsburgh brings together elected and appointed officials from the Pennsylvania Municipal League, Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners and the Pennsylvania Career Fire Chiefs Association

Officials Focus on Programs, Best Practices, and Solutions to Meet Today’s Challenges and to Move Pennsylvania Communities Forward

Pittsburgh, PA (October 6, 2022) – League President Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace is presiding over the Municipal Leadership Summit, a conference of the Pennsylvania Municipal League (The League), the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners (PSATC) and the Pennsylvania Career Fire Chiefs Association, which started today and runs through Sunday at the Omni William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh.

“Local government officials from cities, boroughs and townships have come together for the Municipal Leadership Summit in Pittsburgh. We meet just before the general election, while managing local services like public safety, public works and community development as we all strive to move forward and wrestle with post pandemic challenges,” said League Executive Director John Brenner. “During the Summit state officials will address timely topics impacting local communities. Industry experts will offer insights into sustainability, public financial management, new technology, cyber security and health equity. The League is honored to partner with the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Commissioners and the Pennsylvania Career Fire Chiefs Association for this great event.” 

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. 

“The annual Municipal Leadership Summit is a great opportunity to connect, learn, and share both the challenges and successes in our communities,” said League President Lancaster Mayor Danene Sorace. “As leaders across this state come together, there is much work to do to address issues that are long running – blight remediation, stormwater and fiscal solvency – along with new issues post-pandemic including hiring, inflation and more.”

The Summit kicked off this week with a playground build at West Penn Park, October 3-5, where The League partnered with KABOOM!, The City of Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), The Grable Foundation, Duquesne Light, Highmark Health and Allegheny Health Network to create a kid-inspired, state-of-the-art new playground for hundreds of neighborhood children at West Penn Park – Polish Hill in Pittsburgh to enjoy. This is the 13th playground project The League has organized for Pennsylvania communities since 2010.

This morning started with Pennsylvania Career Fire Chiefs Association training sessions and The League’s Board meeting as well as a special session on Implementing Climate Action Plans & Modernizing Infrastructure and the PSATC Executive Committee Meeting, followed by the Opening Ceremony where League President Danene Sorace and PSATC President Sam Valenza welcomed and addressed Summit delegates along with our honored guest, Auditor General Timothy DeFoor. We were also pleased to hear from Attorney General Josh Shapiro in an afternoon General Session.

In addition to networking opportunities, sessions today included Road to Sustainable Transportation; Equity, Inclusion, and 21st Century Public Service; The Perfect Storm – When Will It End?; and a Level 4 Autonomous Vehicle Demonstration.

At tomorrow morning’s Awards Breakfast, we will have Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa; DCED Deputy Secretary of Community Affairs & Development Rick Vilello; Gina Johnson, Director of Programs, Sustainable Pittsburgh; and Toni Murphy, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Comcast Central Division, join us to address delegates. During the ceremony, our 2022 Community Partnership Award will be presented to one of our Business Leaders Network members and the winners of the John A. Garner, Jr. Civic Engagement Essay Scholarship Contest will be announced as well as the Distinguished Service Award recipient and the Easton Voting Award winner.

Also on tomorrow’s agenda, we have the PA Career Fire Chiefs Association Business Meeting, The League’s Resolutions Committee Meeting, and the PSATC Annual Business Meeting, as well as additional sessions including: Cyber Security; Difficult Management Issues (No One Wants to Discuss); Healthy Communities – Leading the Charge on Health Equity; Pennsylvania Fire Service of the Future Panel Discussion; and Top 10 Labor & Employment Lessons Learned from the Pandemic, Inflation & Police “Reform.”

Members of The League’s Business Leaders Network will also present sessions including: Leveraging GIS for Asset Management; Comcast – Digital Equity in Your Community; The Municipal Utility Alliance Energy Program: Energy & Sustainability Solutions for your Community; Update on First Net National Public Safety Broadband Network; The Impact of Inflation on Health Care Costs; and HomeServe Water Infrastructure Solutions for Municipalities & Residents. 

On Saturday at breakfast, delegates will hear from Governor Tom Wolf, State Treasurer Stacy Garrity and National League of Cities CEO and Executive Director Clarence Anthony via video. The League’s Annual Business Meeting will take place where Legislative priorities will be established for the coming year and officers will be elected to serve on the League Board of Directors. Sessions will include: Sustainable Program and Equity Sprint; Expect Your Best with Charlie Batch, former NFL Quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Detroit Lions; a Legislative Update; and Police De-Escalation Training Using Virtual Reality.

The Summit will wrap up on Sunday with a farewell breakfast.

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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 on Twitter @PAMunicipalLeag and facebook.com/PaMunicipalLeague – #MunicipalLeadershipSummit2022, #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.