The 18-member Governance Task Force is making progress toward its goal of reviewing ICMA’s current governance structure and providing recommendations on how ICMA can become a more diverse, inclusive, and global organization.

“Our initial discussions have been focused on gaining a deeper understanding of the rich history of ICMA’s governance and associated complexities, as well as ICMA’s new global engagement strategy and DEI initiatives,” said task force chair Andy Pederson, village manager, Bayside, Wisconsin. "We have also taken a look at current membership data and historical ICMA Executive Board composition trends.” Mike Grebosz, assistant city manager, Deland, Florida, serves as co-chair.

In order to generate ideas on what might work best for ICMA, the task force in the coming months will explore best practices in association governance, studying examples of how other global associations structure their boards.

“There are a number of dimensions from best practice in association governance that the task force will consider,” Grebosz said. “We will discuss each one, exploring the pros and cons of different approaches and engaging in a strategic envisioning exercise followed by an examination of barriers and challenges.” 

Here are the current dimensions of the best practice framework for association governance that the Governance Task Force will discuss in detail:

• Executive board member term length
• Representational and competency-based board seat selection
  • Members of the task force will consider whether executive board candidates should be designated by geographical location and/or selected based on certain skills they possess that add value to the work of the executive board.
• Elected and non-elected and appointed seats
  • Members of the task force will consider if seats should be elected, appointed, or a combination of elected and appointed.
• Election process
• DEI criteria involved in executive board selection
• Advisory boards or other committees that prepare members for executive board service
• At-large seats and designated seats
• Voting rights of executive board members
• Eligibility for executive board service

“This will position ICMA to advance our global mission of excellence in local government while meeting the needs of our core membership,” said ICMA Executive Board President Lon Pluckhahn, deputy city manager, Vancouver, Washington. “We’re looking forward to reviewing the recommendations and working with ICMA’s CEO and staff to develop an implementation plan.” Current processes will remain in place until a full implementation plan is determined.  

ICMA has recently held regional meetings with state association board members to gather feedback on their relationship with ICMA and their role in the governance process. The Governance Task Force will continue to provide updates throughout the process as the discussions move forward and may solicit additional feedback from the membership. “We welcome any questions or feedback members might have,” Pederson added. Contact ICMA staff at governancetaskforce@icma.org.