Arizona City/County Management Association 2011 Summer Conference

Last week was a pretty big week. I attended the 2011 summer conference for the Arizona City/County Management Association. It was a 2 and a half day event held at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, and consisted of networking opportunities and speaker sessions on various topics. Here is an outline of the sessions:

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Connected Communities:
This was an interesting discussion on how local governments can increase community connections and engage residents in problem solving.

"No More Excuses"

Acclaimed motivational speaker and author Sam Silverstein of Sam Silverstein Enterprises came to speak of ways for individuals to become more effective leaders. He spoke of accountability- holding yourself, and others accountable. This was an engaging presentation, and involved some fun interactive activities with determing your own core values.

Economic Update
This was probably one of my favorite speakers, particularly since I have a background and interest in economics. Wayne Stutzer, Financial Consultant, came to talk about the effect of the economy and long-term recovery. He was very entertaining and interesting, and I thought he brought up some thought-provoking ideas.

Ask the Experts
Discussion led by Dick Bowers and Pam Kavanaugh, ACMA life members, on the latest trends and issues faced in our communities.

Not Just Another Sustainability Session

Leslie Ethen from Tucson and Jonce Walker from Maricopa County discussed ways to enhance sustainability of your organization by collaborating with other Arizona governments. Leslie Ethen talked about Tucson's latest movement toward replacing current parking lot and street lighting with LED lighting that is more sustainable. I think this is a great thing to do, especially since having lived around the university area, the streets are dark!

Ethics and Leadership
No stranger to ethics discussions having been through several ethic-central courses at the U of A, it was interesting seeing it from the perspective of the working professional. Martha Perego, Ethics Advisor from the International City/County Management Association, led a discussion using several real-life case studies to see how different people would react in given situations. To see the ICMA's code of ethics, click here.

Government Retirement Plans
Paul Matson, Director of the Arizona State Retirement System, discussed concerns about public pension plans. I just came fresh from a debt and investment management class in my last semester of school, so it was interesting hearing about the Arizona pension plan just after learning how to calculate pensions in class.

Redistricting
Ray Bladine from the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission came to talk about Arizona's redistricting process. The tak focused more on the process of redistricting, rather than the actual new plans. I'm curious now to see what they will be.

There's an Ap for That

This was an interesting discussion that focused on the large role mobile media plays on local government. As more and more people are buying smart phones and using applications to do every day things (shop, directions, entertainment, etc), it is useful to learn how to harness this technical culture in a way that is beneficial to the organization.

Legislative Impacts
This was a panel discussion on legislative issues coming up in the state that will effect local governments. A prominent observation is the anti-local government sentiment the state is currently giving off, as some of their proposed legislations reduce and restrict local government control.

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Overall, it was a very interesting and educational week. In between sessions, I had a chance to network with local government leaders from all over the state and learn about what they were currently doing and challenges they were facing.