Collins Center Announces Scholarship for Municipal Employees  

Center Holds Second Biennial Seminar for Newly Elected Massachusetts Mayors  

Senior Municipal Leaders Pass on Lessons Learned to Mayors-elect 

Eight new Massachusetts Mayors gathered from around  

the Commonwealth this past Saturday for the second biennial Seminar on Mayoral Leadership at UMass Boston, sponsored by the  Collins Center.  The Seminar featured panels composed of experienced municipal leaders discussing strategies for surviving the first 100 days of a new administration, managing in a time of unprecedented fiscal challenges and balancing family and work.

Incumbent Mayors Robert Dolan of Melrose, Thatcher Kezer, III of Amesbury, Daniel Knapik of Westfield and Joseph Sullivan of Braintree shared their wit and wisdom with the newly elected Mayors. Daniel Rizzo of Revere, Gary Christenson of Malden, Arthur Vigeant of Marlborough, Ted Bettencourt of Peabody, Gregory Neffinger of West Springfield, Joseph Petty of Worcester and Steve Zanni of Methuen attended the Seminar as part of their preparation for taking office in January. Steve Crosby, Dean of the McCormack Graduate School, and a former Commonwealth Secretary of Administration and Finance, welcomed the new municipal chief executives and stressed the importance of sharing experiences and learning from each other over the coming year.

Discussions at the Seminar ranged from the value of keeping a pile of thank you notes on the Mayor's desk to collective bargaining strategies. All four incumbent Mayors stressed the importance of retaining competent and reliable chief financial officers and city solicitors, among other key municipal positions. And they also agreed that, particularly in the first year of their term, new Mayors need to balance the never-ending demands on their time with home and family life.

Among his many pieces of advice, Mayor Robert Dolan gave the Mayors-elect two principles to remember during the chaotic period ahead: "Your word is your word', and "Use the telephone before the microphone."

During lunch and breaks between seminar sessions, the panelists and attendees had the opportunity to talk informally with each other.  Mayors Dolan, Kezer, Knapik and Sullivan urged the new chief executives to call them and each other during the next year for advice and consultation.

Voters in Everett and Newburyport Approve New Municipal Charters

Wicked local photo by Rosemary Herbert

The cities of Everett and Newburyport will operate under new municipal charters approved by the voters in the November 8, 2011 elections. Stephen McGoldrick, Deputy Director of the Center, worked closely with the members of the Charter Commissions in both cities to craft these new municipal constitutions.

Everett's existing charter is 119 years old and reflects the state and federal systems of upper and lower legislative houses. Everett will abolish its bicameral legislative body, composed of an eighteen member Common Council and a seven member Board of Aldermen, the last such local legislative body left in the country. Voters endorsed the recommendation of the Charter Commission for a streamlined, single legislative branch of 11 members. The new Council will consist of six ward councilors and five at-large councilors. Voters also increased the term of the mayor from two to four years. Other provisions of the new charter, which was approved by a decisive 3,702 to 2,349 vote include requiring a public hearing for the municipal budget process and the opportunity for public comment at City Council meetings.

Newburyport voters overwhelmingly approved a new charter. The most significant change will be the lengthening of the Mayor's term from two to four years. Much of Newburyport's charter dates to 1851; a 1919 reform extended the Mayor's term from one to two years. The new charter contains reforms to the City's fiscal and human resources functions and contains rigorous posting requirements for public documents.

Voters in both cities will elect officials under the new system in the preliminary election of September 2013 and the changes will go into effect in January 2014.

Voters in Holyoke and Methuen rejected charter commission proposals. The Collins Center was involved in the drafting of the Holyoke proposal.

The Center recently completed its work with the Hubbardston Town Charter Committee and is also currently advising Chicopee, Northampton, Southborough and Sterling on the modernization of their municipal charters.

For more information on the Center's municipal charter work, please contact Deputy Director Stephen McGoldrick at 617.287.4824 or stephen.mcgoldrick@umb.edu.  

New England StatNet Fall Meeting Held  

Attended by Officials from 17 Municipalities in 4 States  

New England StatNet (StatNet) hosted its fall meeting at Worcester City Hall on Friday, October 28. The meeting's topic was CitiStat and performance management generally. Approximately 50 people attended the meeting, including municipal officials from 17 different communities in four different states, as well as representatives from four academic/research institutions and one state agency. Three municipalities were first-time StatNet attendees.

The meeting's agenda included case studies from StatNet communities on how their StatNet programs have helped with improving municipal efficiency and effectiveness, as well as discussions about improving the operations of a CitiStat program, obstacles to starting a CitiStat program, and alternative performance management models in use by participating municipalities.

StatNet is a network of municipalities in New England using CitiStat or other data-driven performance management approaches. The group is coordinated by the Collins Center and gathers three times a year for in-depth discussion of municipal governance issues and works on other collaborative efforts.

Formerly known as MassStat, StatNet is now into its third year of existence. Prior meeting topics have included public works, human resources, inspections, customer service/constituent relations, and police. In May, StatNet hosted its first all-day performance management training, drawing a standing room only crowd. More than 120 representatives from New England municipalities, state agencies and non-profit organizations attended the event, held at UMass Boston's Healey Library conference center. With the exception of Vermont, StatNet has now seen municipalities from every state in New England attend its regular meetings.

StatNet's winter meeting will focus on police and fire dispatch operations. It will be held on Friday, February 3 in Worcester City Hall.

If you are interested in learning more about StatNet or any of its initiatives, please contact Michael Ward at 617.287.4876 or michael.ward@umb.edu.

Lowell Employees Endorse the Collins Center Municipal Management Program

Twenty-five employees of the City of Lowell recently completed the Collins Center Municipal Management Program. Their comments below speak to the value of the program.

"Being a young professional at Lowell there is so much more I needed to know about municipal government and this six week program did just that."

"I greatly appreciated this program and learned a great deal about municipal government/management in general and colleagues in the other departments."

"I thought the program did a great job of covering all important aspects of city government and relating it to Lowell."

"I particularly enjoyed exploring aspects of municipal government I would not necessarily be exposed to or work with on a daily basis."

The Center's Municipal Management Program is a six-session course. Each session covers an important area of management, finance, or personnel issues using real life examples presented by seasoned municipal professionals. All participants received a Certificate of Completion from the Collins Center at the end of the program. The program was also endorsed by Bernard Lynch, the Lowell City Manager, who commented, "We were very pleased with the Collins Center's Municipal Management program. Feedback from our employee participants was overwhelmingly positive. Not only did City employees learn more about how Lowell works, they also made valuable contact with each other that will result in better services to our citizens. The program was a win-win and I highly recommend it to other cities and towns."

To find out more about this program and how to bring it to your municipality, contact Sandy Blanchette at 617.287.5534 or Sandra.blanchette@umb.edu.

Online Performance Management Course to Be Offered in January

As you are getting ready to make your new year's resolutions, think about scheduling time to take our Performance Management in Government and Non-Profits online course. This 6 week online course in Performance Management is designed for the working professional who values learning new and relevant skills. You can participate in the course from anywhere you have computer internet access. If you're not sure how it works or would like more information, please contact  Sandra.Blanchette@umb.edu or call 617.287.5534.

The course is being offered from January 29, 2012 to March 10, 2012. Please try to register by January 23, 2012, so we can provide you with the best service.

Start the New Year off right by investing in yourself. Happy holidays and hope to see you online.

Visit:www.uc.umb.edu/corporate/government-performance/ to read the course description and register.

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