Executive Board Meeting Highlights
The ICMA Executive Board met in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, May 29 – June 1, 2014, and took these actions:
- Selected Pat Martel, city manager, Daly City, California as ICMA’s 2014–2015 President-elect. Ms. Martel will be installed as ICMA President at the conclusion of the 2015 annual conference. She has served in local government for 34 years in California. She was an ICMA Regional Vice President, 2009-2012.
Ms. Martel will become a member of the ICMA Executive Board along with the incoming vice presidents at the Celebration of Service session on Wednesday at the 2014 annual conference. At that time, Jim Bennett, city manager, Presque Isle, Maine will be inducted as ICMA’s 101st President.
- Adopted a $30,454,375 FY2015 Budget (July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2015) that will use $200,000 from net assets to cover expenses of $30,654,375.
Even as the economy experienced a financial crisis, ICMA has enjoyed financial success over the past decade, which allowed the building of net assets with steadfast fiscal discipline. In the 10-year period from FY 2004 to FY 2013, ICMA contributed approximately $5M to net assets after funding programs, such as the debit card program, investments to jump-start the Life, Well Run campaign, and other priorities. Net assets balance at the end of FY 2013 was $6.3M, exceeding the target of $5.3M by approximately $1M.
In FY 2014 and FY 2015, ICMA faces a transition period as ICMA revitalizes business lines that are no longer sustainable in their current models, such as publishing, performance measurement and public safety management. ICMA is shifting from print publishing to a focus on producing e-pubs so that ICMA can continue to be a thought leader and provide information to members. An enhanced performance management and analytics product will be offered this year in partnership with SAS, the leading developer of performance analytics software. ICMA has also entered into a new partnership with the Center for Public Safety Management to provide direct public safety technical assistance services.
The future of a post-Afghanistan funding stream as part of ICMA’s International Programs is also part of this transition. For ten years, ICMA has received funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development for a variety of municipal capacity- building programs in Afghanistan. It was expected that this funding would decline, but FY2014 saw the abrupt termination of a newly awarded $15M project in Afghanistan; consequently, the projected use of net assets for FY 2014 is approximately $400,000. The FY2015 Budget assumes revenues from international programs in the range of $11M – $13M instead of the $17M – $19M over the past few years.
During this transition, ICMA will take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to generate excitement among ICMA members in celebrating the 100th anniversary of the profession and the organization. Member services and programs will also remain strong. The additions to net assets made in FY 2003 – FY 2013 allow ICMA to make the necessary investments in FY 2014 and FY 2015, which in turn can position ICMA to return to profitability. It is anticipated that ICMA will return to a more steady state in FY 2016 with the goal of rebuilding net assets to $6.3M at the end of FY 2018.
- Debriefed on the second regional nominating committee process for the selection of nominees for ICMA Regional Vice Presidents. The board agreed that the Regional Nominating Committees again handled their interview and selection responsibilities well and selected a nominee for each region that appeared on the May 22, 2014 ballot which will be canvassed June 27th. The board agreed on a few clarifications to the process that will be added to the guidelines.
In addition, the board reviewed the make-up of the 2014-2015 board, assuming the election of the nominees who are unopposed. The board’s nominations and elections schedule states that “the board will review the diversity in the make-up of the upcoming board at the June board meeting. The results of this review will then be shared with state and affiliate organizations as well as with the membership.” The board will have members from communities in all population ranges (from under 10,000 to over 100,000), three members from counties, six women and two Hispanics. There will be no African-American members on the2014-2015 board.
The board re-emphasized its commitment to diversity and the need for ICMA and state and affiliate organizations to work together to identify diverse candidates. There are challenges for the selection process based on the lack of gender, race and ethnic diversity in the membership. The board will continue its dialogue with state and affiliate leaders on working together to increase diversity in membership and leadership at both the state and national level. The board stressed that greater diversity in the membership is vital to the sustainability of the profession.
- Reviewed progress on membership recruitment and retention. As of April 2014, ICMA had 259 new Full members in –service to local government since July 2013 and 264 new Affiliate in-service members including 163 early career Affiliates. In addition, the overall U.S. in-service retention rate for the first of two dues cycles was 91.5%. For U.S. Full members in service to local government, it was 95.8%. Dues revenue for FY2014 is projected to exceed budget and will likely set the ICMA record for highest dues revenues. The board complemented staff on continuing to develop and implement long-term recruitment and retention strategies specifically tailored for states and for national and international affiliates/partners. The strategies recognize the unique challenges and opportunities in each state, leverage the affiliation agreements, and tap on-the-ground resources to complement the work of ICMA headquarters staff.
- Reviewed progress to date on engaging members in a review of Tenet 12 of the ICMA Code of Ethics. The Tenet covers a broad range of issues that are both common and significant to professionals working in local government: gifts, conflicts of interest, personal relationships, use of confidential information, outside employment, and endorsements. In 2012, the board approved conducting an ongoing review of the Code focused on one or more Tenets and associated guidelines each year. Last year a review of Tenet 7 resulted in retaining the language of the Tenet itself, but amending the guidelines for greater clarity.
The Tenet 12 review launched in March with opportunities for members to comment in an online discussion board (165 members participated); at the five U.S. regional summits; and at various state and affiliate association meetings. In reviewing a summary of responses, the Committee on Professional Conduct (CPC) noted an interest in clarifications to the Tenet and some of the guidelines. The CPC plans to draft proposed revisions for review with the membership via a survey prior to their being presented to the Board for consideration.
- Selected Columbus, Ohio as the site for ICMA’s 2022 Annual Conference and selected the Mountain Plains region for the 2023 Annual Conference.
- Selected Robert L. Herchert, Fort Worth, Texas; Roger Jordan, Newberg, Oregon; Thomas Muehlenbeck, Plano, Texas; and Orville W. Powell, Bloomington, Indiana as Distinguished Service Award recipients. The awards will be formally presented at the 2014 Annual Conference.
- Selected Robert F. Blair, PhD., Associate Professor of Public Administration and Director of Urban Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Nebraska and John R. Nolon, Director, Land Use Law Center, Pace University School of Law, White Plains, New York as nominees for Honorary Member. The membership will be asked to approve these nominations at the Annual Business Meeting at the 2014 Annual Conference.
- Confirmed the schedule and process for conducting the board’s and executive director’s evaluation at the September 2014 board meeting.
- Participated in a tour of local government projects in Edmonton conducted by City Manager Simon Farbrother.
