-Click here for just Local Elected Leaders Academy (LELA) offerings
ESSENTIALS OF MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
Essentials of Municipal Government is designed to help elected officials understand the basics of municipal government and identify strategies to address the challenges in governing North Carolina's municipalities. The course will be offered in six locations across the state following the 2009 municipal elections. For the first time, one session will be offered Friday-Saturday to accommodate the schedules of officials who find it difficult to take time off from work to attend (Concord session).
Attendees will receive two hours of ethics training that meets the newly legislated requirement (see below). Other topics will include making the transition from campaigning to governing, carrying out the responsibilities of an elected official, understanding key elements of municipal law, finance and administration, small town personnel, infrastructure and environment, planning, and development. Instructors include School of Government faculty, NC League of Municipalities staff, and local government officials. For more information and to register, go to http://www.sog.unc.edu/courses/0643/ . Registration begins October 19 and scholarships are available.
Essentials is offered through the Local Elected Leaders Academy. Officials who complete the course and other training are eligible for Academy recognition.
Dates and Locations of 2009-2010 Essentials of Municipal Government
Dec. 2-3, 2009 Sheraton Chapel Hill
Jan. 13-14, 2010 Wilmington Hilton Riverside
Jan. 29-30, 2010 Embassy Suites – Concord -CANCELLED; re-scheduleded for March 19-20 (see below)*
Feb. 17-18, 2010 Greenville Hilton
Feb. 24-25, 2010 Doubletree Biltmore, Asheville
Mar. 3-4, 2010 Hilton Garden Inn, Kitty Hawk
Mar. 19-20, 2010 Renaissance Suites, Charlotte*
*Those that registered for the cancelled Concord session will be transferred to the Charlotte session unless you request (or have already requested) other arrangements. Please send all such requests to registration@sog.unc.edu.
NOTE: For questions about the Essentials of Municipal Government program, please contact Cate Cunningham at the UNC School of Government (919-843-6518 or cunningham@sog.unc.edu). If you have difficulty registering online, please contact the School of Government Registration office at 919-843-6518.
Scholarship information: If you are interested in attending a session of Essentials of Municipal Government, remember that some scholarships are available to cover the registration costs. Those who are attending an Essentials course for the first time are eligible for the scholarships, and priority will be given to newly elected officials and those from small towns. Click here for the application (PDF).
ETHICS TRAINING
With a recently enacted law requiring that all municipal elected officials receive two hours of ethics training, the League has joined with the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Government and the N.C. Association of County Commissioners to offer training sessions across the state as well as a web-based seminar.
Additional training opportunities will be offered on a regular basis.
The 2009 session of the N.C. General Assembly enacted legislation requiring that governing boards of cities and counties, local boards of education, unified governments, sanitary districts, and consolidated city-counties adopt a resolution or policy containing a code of ethics and to receive two hours of ethics training by January 1, 2011 .
“We are committed to providing free or low-cost ethics training in locations accessible to city and county officials,” said NCLM Executive Director S. Ellis Hankins. “We began that effort at the League's 2009 Annual Conference where any elected officials who registered for the conference could attend an ethics training session at no additional cost.”
2010 ethics training opportunities
Participants in the School of Government's Essentials of Municipal Government and Regional LeaderShops will be offered a two-hour ethics segment at no extra cost. Sessions will be held in February and March, and training already has been done at Essentials courses held in December and January. There is a registration fee for the Essentials/Regional LeaderShops.
In April, the League and Association will offer the ethics training prior to some of the 2010 NCLM Regional District Legislative Meetings and the NCACC's District meetings. Training will be available in several locations: Waynesville; Whiteville; Trinity; Smithfield; and two locations TBA. All sessions are open to municipal and county elected officials and there is no registration fee. Pre-registration is required.
The League and the Association will pay the cost of the facilities and expenses for instructors, and instruction will be provided by School of Government faculty members.
For those who cannot attend one of the April meetings, a web-based seminar will be offered on March 25 from 4-6 p.m. on the School's website, www.sog.unc.edu/courses/1641 and after the webinar is held, it will be archived for those who want to receive the training this way.
Additional training plans call for ethics training to be a regularly scheduled part of the League's annual conference, and for the School of Government to develop modules for online training.
The League will mail and email registration information on the April ethics training seminars to all municipal clerks, as well as post the information at www.nclm.org .
Feb. 17 Greenville Ethics Training / Essentials of Municipal Government / Regional LeaderShop
To register: www.sog.unc.edu/courses/1641
Feb. 24 Asheville Ethics Training / Essentials of Municipal Government / Regional LeaderShop
To register: www.sog.unc.edu/courses/1641
March 3 Kitty Hawk Ethics Training / Essentials of Municipal Government / Regional LeaderShop
To register: www.sog.unc.edu/courses/1641
Mar. 25 Ethics for Local Officials Webinar
Time: 4:00–6:00 p.m.
To register: www.sog.unc.edu/courses/1641
CHARGE: $95 for entity
April 13 Waynesville, Haywood County, Waynesville Inn, Held prior to NCACC District Meeting
Time: 1:15-3:30 p.m.
To register: www.ncacc.org/ethicstraining_2010.html
FREE OF CHARGE
April 14 Shelby, Cleveland County, Don Gibson Theater , Held prior to NCACC District Meeting
Time: 1:15-3:30 p.m .
To register: www.ncacc.org/ethicstraining_2010.html
FREE OF CHARGE
April 15 Whiteville , The Depot, Held in conjunction with NCLM District Meeting
Time: 1:15-3:30 p.m.
To register: Click here
FREE OF CHARGE
April 15 Trinity , Trinity City Hall, Held in conjunction with NCLM District Meeting
Time: 1:15–3:30 p.m.
To register: Click here
FREE OF CHARGE
April 20 Smithfield , Smithfield Recreation and Aquatics Center, Held in conjunction with NCLM District Meeting
Time: 1:15–3:30 p.m.
To register: Click here
FREE OF CHARGE
April 21 Beaufort County, Beaufort Co. Community College, Multipurpose Room, Building 10 , Held prior to NCACC District Meeting
Time: 1:15-3:30 p.m.
To register: www.ncacc.org/ethicstraining_2010.html
FREE OF CHARGE
Advanced registration required. Class space is limited. On-site registration available contingent on space availability and therefore not guaranteed. Those who register onsite may be seated after participants who have registered in advanced, if space is available.
Model codes of ethics
The School of Government is creating a template to guide units of local government in developing and adopting codes of ethics. Information will be available by early 2010. Contact Fleming Bell at bell@sog.unc.edu if you have questions.
It's not too early to plan to attend a 2010 NCLM Regional Legislative Meeting
The schedule has been set and the League will be coming to you in April for a legislative update just before the 2010 session of the General Assembly begins. Twelve meetings will be held for convenience with all meetings in the late afternoon (4 p.m.). No registration fee will be charged.
Please put one of the NCLM regional meetings listed below on your 2010 calendar. The meetings will be an essential step in getting ready for the session and an opportunity to learn about League LINC – Legislative Information Network of Communities. League LINC is our grassroots network established for and powered by city and town municipal officials, leaders and professionals.
NCLM 2010 Regional Legislative Meetings schedule and location Deadline
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 Columbia Friday, April 2
Walter B. Jones Center-Auditorium, 305 Ludington Drive, Columbia
Tuesday, April 13, 2010 Lillington Friday, April 2
Harnett County Government Complex, Commons Area, 309 West Cornelius Harnett Blvd., Lillington
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 Emerald Isle Friday, April 2
Emerald Isle Board Meeting Room, 7500 Emerald Drive, Emerald Isle
Wednesday, April 14, 2010 Wadesboro Friday, April 2
Lockhart-Taylor Center, 514 N. Washington Street, Wadesboro
Thursday, April 15, 2010 Whiteville Friday, April 2
The Depot, 701 South Madison Street, Whiteville
Thursday, April 15, 2010 Trinity Friday, April 2
Trinity City Hall Annex, 6703 NC Hwy 62, Trinity
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Smithfield Friday, April 9
Smithfield Recreation & Aquatics Center, 600 Booker Dairy Road, Smithfield
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Asheville Friday, April 9
Asheville Civic Center-Banquet Hall, 87 Haywood Street, Asheville
Wednesday, April 21, 2010 Newton Friday, April 9
The Newton Expo, 525 West A Street, Newton, NC 28658
Wednesday, April 21, 2010 Rocky Mount Friday, April 9
Frederick E. Turnage Municipal Building, 331 South Franklin Street, Rocky Mount
Thursday, April 22, 2010 Haw River Friday, April 9
Haw River Civic Center, 110 Stone Street, Haw River
Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Lenoir Friday, April 16
American Legion Facility, 401 North Main Street, Lenoir
Grant Proposal Writing 101 (Webinar)
Will be presented by Kelley O'Brien, director of the North Carolina Civic Education Consortium on March 18. This webinar is designed for public professionals who are new to writing grant proposals but who want to take advantage of the increased availability of grant funding for local governments, thanks to the federal stimulus package. Registration will open soon; visit www.sog.unc.edu for details.
The dates have been set for the 2010 Risk Management Services spring meetings, which will be held throughout the state in March.
Dates & Locations
March 9 Fire Department, Kill Devil Hills
March 10 Hilton Greenville
March 11 New Hanover County Government Center, Wilmington
March 17 Waynesville Inn Golf Resort & Spa
March 18 City Hall Council Chambers, Morganton
March 23 Kiwanis Recreation Center, Fayetteville
March 25 City Hall Council Chambers, Salisbury
The
purpose of these one-day regional schools is to offer all clerks
in North Carolina the opportunity to learn in ways to improve their
effectiveness in carrying out their duties and responsibilities, while also
sharing knowledge and networking with other clerks. These schools are provided
in four locations to help keep travel time and costs down.
-April 9, Turkey
-April 16, Chapel Hill
-April 23, Lewisville
-April 30, Gastonia
OSFM hosts Grant Writing Workshops for local fire departments (PDF)
Insurance Commissioner and State Fire Marshal Wayne Goodwin announces that the Office of State Fire Marshal is partnering with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to offer four free workshops statewide that will help local fire departments understand and participate in the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. In 2009, 101 Assistance to Firefighters Grants totaling $8,533,096 were distributed to North Carolina fire departments. The workshops will take place at various locations March 16-19.
'The Compelling Case for Natural Gas Vehicles (NGV)'
Public and Private Fleet Workshop Tuesday, March 16, 2010 Raleigh Convention Center. Click here for the flyer; here for the agenda (both PDFs)
A course designed to help local governing boards effectively engage in processes that integrate community water quality protection goals with growth and redevelopment will be held May 6, 2010 at the Currituck County Cooperative Extension Facility in Barco, N.C.
The third annual one-day course, Leadership Training: Growth and Sustainability Strategies Course, aims to improve participants' understanding of land use and water quality linkages, highlight the benefits of stakeholder and public involvement in environmental decision making, and illustrate how to integrate environmental protection and restoration into public policies and programs. The majority of the course will focus on practical local public policies — programs and projects that have been implemented in North Carolina communities. Presentations will demonstrate how various planning and development techniques have been used to address water quality protection or restoration and provided cost savings.
Today's Economy & You: Financial Wellness Seminars presented by CIGNA
Is all the bad news and speculation about the economy leaving you feeling stressed out and helpless? Are you looking for appropriate ways to respond? Then it's time to learn more about what you can control, and how you can better manage your personal finances as well as preserve your emotional well-being and that of your family during this difficult time. CIGNA is offering a series of recorded financial wellness seminars to employees at your company, plus anyone in their household, to help them achieve or maintain financial wellness, personal balance, and peace of mind. These recorded seminars are available at no cost, 24 hours a day, throughout the year.
New Eldercare Training Program Option (PDF)
Last year, NCLM's Risk Management Services and Carolina Eldercare Inc. successfully partnered together to create for League members a free "Eldercare Education For Employees" training seminar to help employees to address the growing need for locating eldercare services for older adults in their families. This seminar was so well received by employees and employers that we plan to offer it again this year to members who may not have had an opportunity to participate.
Free Financial Wellness Seminars Expanded (PDF)
During the past few years, NCLM and Local Government Federal Credit Union successfully partnered together to offer League members a variety of free financial wellness seminars designed to address a number of personal finance issues . The response has been overwhelmingly positive. From basic budgeting and retirement planning issues to helping prevent identity theft and stretching a dollar in today's economy, these "user-friendly" programs provide helpful tools that directly impact your employee's personal finances and well-being. We're excited to tell you that we now can offer you 30 DIFFERENT seminars as noted!
Local
Elected Leaders Academy
Strategic leadership education for municipal and county elected
officials. The School of Government, in partnership with the League and the
N.C. Association of County Commissioners, announce the Local Elected Leaders
Academy. Through this educational program, municipal and county elected officials
will gain the knowledge and skills they need to lead and govern their communities
in the 21st century.
Safety Catch offers 14 training courses, each lasting from 30 minutes to two hours. These courses are available to employees of those towns or groups that are members of the W/C or P&L programs. The topics are user-friendly, easy to navigate and no additional computer training is required. (Users must have access to a computer with Windows 95 or higher operating system, among other conditions.) In addition, training coordinators can easily track courses completed by their staff.
