The lively chatter of more than 400 municipal officials filled the West Bay Dome of Traverse City’s Park Place Hotel. As League president Dick Bolen – self-described as Mr. Casual – grabbed the mike, the voices vanished and the 2015 League Convention was officially underway.

Bolen first summoned Matt Zone to the stage. In addition to his duties as a Cleveland councilperson, Zone is also the second vice president of the National League of Cities. He shared the National League’s emphasis on tackling the problems of communities with the U.S. Congress. Issues such as transportation infrastructure, improving local economies, and e-fairness are their top priorities.  NLC will soon be launching a campaign to promote Congressional support of those issues.

Next up was Daniel Gilmartin, executive director and CEO of the Michigan Municipal League, with a lightning round review of the League’s accomplishments over the past year.  First, we refreshed our brand to show our four-pronged approached for serving our members: innovating, connecting, serving, and inspiring.

At the direction of the Board of Trustees, we also took a fresh look at all of our educational offerings. This Convention is a reflection of some of those changes. We’re very pleased that 160 attendees are first-timers. We also recognize that communities need the assistance of their business and civic leaders, so we offered some free Convention registrations to those leaders. We’re thrilled that 25 of them took advantage of our offer and have joined our fold this week.

Gilmartin summarized a number of League programs this past year, including PlacePlans, case studies, our new Economics of Place book, civic engagement strategies, crowdfunding initiatives, and new governance models.

Along with those programs, in the coming year the League will be pursuing a Blueprint for Thriving Communities. The cornerstone of the blueprint is advocating for municipal finance reform. Through a variety of means, the League will be conducting research and studying ways to address local government costs, diversify revenue options, and promote structural reforms. It’s the League’s goal to create some real change with a platform of fiscal responsibility.