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Research Areas - Civic Values and Institutions
Origins and Activities of MTCMA Numerous historical events have resulted in the formation of the MTCMA. Certainly, one of the most significant was the adoption of the Council-Manager Plan by the City of Auburn in 1917 and the City of Portland in 1923. The 1939 Enabling Act allowed Maine towns to adopt the manager plan and to hire municipal managers. These actions were the outcome of a progressive reform movement in local government directed toward making town government more "business-like" and toward fixing responsibility, authority and accountability in one key position - - the town/city manager. The role of the University of Maine in promoting and fostering the development of the manager plan cannot be overstated. In particular, pioneers such as Dr. Edward Dow and Gery Grady devoted considerable effort in promoting the manager plan as the "right way" to structure local government. In addition, the University's Department of Government and History and its successor departments (Political Science in 1966 and Public Administration in 1986) have played an important role in training and educating town and city managers since 1946. The Maine Town and City Manager's Association was formed in 1941 and held its first meeting in Bangor on July 19th of that year. At that meeting, a committee was formed to develop the Association's by-laws and to present them at the Association's first annual meeting. This meeting was held in Portland on October 3 and 4, 1941, and the proposed by-laws were enacted and officers were elected. Over the years the name of the Association has changed, with the word "managers" replaced with "management," which symbolically reveals more tolerance for diversity among members within the Association. The primary purpose of this change was to broaden the membership base of the association. As stated in the original by-laws, the purpose of the Association was to "Bring about better local government through the discussion and exchange of ideas relating to the problems of the Municipalities of the State of Maine." These original by-laws were amended in 1965 with the wording "to increase the proficiency of town and city managers and to aid in the improvement of municipal administration in general." The purposes of the Association were last changed in 1974 and are listed below.
Although there have been some wording changes to reflect clarification of the purposes of MTCMA over the past fifty years, the overall function of the association has not changed substantially. As stated by Harold B. Gilbert, Camden Town Manager in 1956, "Since 1941, the Association has shown this purpose to be not just a statement but a guide." Over the past fifty years, MTCMA has instituted several major activities to fulfill its stated purposes. These activities will be outlined in the following sections. Membership Membership in MTCMA currently is open to any person who is the full-time administrative head of a municipality, county, or council of governments. Several classes of MTCMA members exist including junior member, cooperating member, associate member, full member and honorary member. Originally, membership in MTCMA was limited to town and city managers from Maine municipalities that operated under a manager charter or under the state's town manager statute. In an effort to continue to achieve its purpose of strengthening the quality of local government through professional management, membership requirements have been modified. As the forms of local government have changed over the years, MTCMA has changed its requirements to include all those who hold chief administrative positions in Maine municipalities, counties, and councils of governments. Professional Development One of the most important functions of MTCMA is to provide appropriate professional development opportunities for municipal administrators. Since its inception, MTCMA has worked to provide such opportunities. The 1960s and 1970s were a time of rapid growth in the size and complexity of local government in Maine. During that time, MTCMA worked closely with the University of Maine to enhance the availability of professional development opportunities for Maine managers. In 1965, the Bureau of Public Administration at the University of Maine conducted a Municipal Services Career Development Survey. Results of that study were used by MTCMA and the University in preparing appropriate training programs. In 1977, the Maine Local Government Development Program laid the cornerstone for improving and strengthening the education process for municipal management in Maine. The program was the result of joint efforts of managers and nine educators representing six higher education institutions in the state. As a result of that effort, not only were solutions to immediate needs solved, but a model for formally linking academics and practitioners was prepared. In addition to the New England Management Institute (described below), MTCMA sponsors annual professional development opportunities through the Maine Municipal
Association's Convention and the Manager's Interchange. Throughout the year, MTCMA sponsors and co-sponsors with other organizations workshops and seminars of
special interest to local government administrators. These learning opportunities cover a wide range of issues including substantive, general management, and personal
topics. MTCMA will continue to pursue its long standing tradition of appropriate development opportunities for local government administrators. New England Management Institute The idea of a training program for managers, something more highly organized than the Association's annual meetings, was discussed in meeting of managers in the early 1940s. In September 1946, the Association sponsored a six-day program of morning, afternoon and evening training programs for Maine managers at the University of Maine. Twenty-four Maine managers attended this first Manager's Institute and those in attendance agreed that it was a great success. The program gained national recognition when a review of the program was printed in the October 1946 edition of the International City Management Association's Public Management magazine entitled "First Training Institute for City Managers." Since the first Institute, the number of participants have increased to a high of 125 managers, assistants, and interns attending from Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Although the topics covered at the Institutes change, the program has addressed numerous issues of personal and professional development. The 20th Institute devoted its first day's activities to issues relating to both managers and local elected officials, thereby becoming the first annual conference of its type in New England. The New England Management Institute continues today with a three-day program and is still held at the University of Maine. During recent years, the first two days of the Institute have been devoted to topics directed at self improvement of the manager with the third day being devoted to "nuts and bolts" issues of municipal administration. Public Information Newsletter At its 1952 annual meeting, MTCMA unanimously agreed to sponsor a monthly newsletter containing items of interest to Maine municipal managers. It is believed that this is one of the first newsletters of its kind in the United States. Elden H. Shute, 1953 MTCMA President, described his expectations for the newsletter by stating, "This (the newsletter) should give us all many new thoughts, ways and means of improving the manager plan to a great degree." The Maine Managers' Newsletter was developed to bring about a closer relationship among Maine managers and promote a more professional approach toward
management. The original policies of the newsletter were to: 1) exchange information among managers, 2) report developments in the manager plan in Maine, and 3)
publish articles of special interest to Maine managers. The original newsletter was edited through the cooperation of the government staff of the University of Maine
with the editor being Gerald J. Grady, Assistant Professor of Government. An editorial board was selected by MTCMA to supervise publication of the newsletter and
public management students at the University of Maine assisted in the publication process. Managers in various parts of the state served as reporters of the news in their Editorial responsibilities for the newsletter were transferred to the Public Information Committee of MTCMA in 1956. The committee determines the major topics of each issue and is responsible for soliciting newsletter articles. Most newsletter articles are written by municipal administrators in Maine. The current editorial policy of the MTCMA Newsletter was adopted by the Executive Board of MTCMA on April 7, 1976 and is reproduced below.
The MTCMA Newsletter continues to serve an important purpose in informing municipal administrators in Maine. Currently published nine times per year, the newsletter is a vehicle for sharing insight, strategies and solutions to personal and professional issues facing managers across the state. As such, the Newsletter serves to improve the implementation of the manager plan in Maine. Recognition of Manager of the Year MTCMA has as one its primary goals the responsibility of promoting professional growth and development of its members. Although MTCMA has placed increasing emphasis on professional development in recent years, it has not developed a comprehensive mechanism for recognizing the professional excellence which exists among the association's membership. The one formal recognition of professionalism among Maine managers is the annual Manager of the Year Award approved in 1976 by the MTCMA Board of Directors. In 1977, the award was named the "Linc Stackpole Manager of the Year Award" after a deceased Maine manager who had always strived to better himself as well as others in the town and city management profession. To be named the Linc Stackpole Manager of the Year, a manager must be recognized as an above-average professional municipal manager, have displayed the characteristics of integrity and leadership, demonstrated a socially responsible approach toward his/her community and fellow human beings, demonstrated concern for the growth of other professional and aspiring managers, and contributed to the profession by serving on national, state and regional organizations. The Linc Stackpole Manager of the Year Award also recognizes the community which the recipient manages. The presentation of the award is made to the community in recognition of employing an excellent professional and for allowing the manager the time to make important contributions to the municipal management profession. Internships in Local Government During the summer months, individual members of the MTCMA have sponsored student internships with the University of Maine's public management and Master of Public Administration programs. For the last twenty years, each summer 10 - 15 student interns have worked in town offices and city halls under the supervision of Maine managers and Professor G. Thomas Taylor at the University of Maine, where they receive academic credit for their work experience. Dr. Edward Dow began the internship program in 1945 as an important part of the undergraduate program. Many students have been stimulated, as a result of these hands-on experiences, to pursue a career in local government. Scholarships The Dr. Edward F. Dow Scholarship began as a tuition waiver granted each year by the MTCMA to a public management student at the University of Maine. The award is made by a committee of three Maine managers and an academician. The criteria assessed in making the award include scholarship, financial need, character, and a sincere interest in the management profession. Since its inception in 1972, MTCMA has granted at least two scholarship awards each year. In 1982, the Association began to make 3 or 4 awards to summer interns in municipal government. All of the winners of the scholarship competition have benefitted from the financial assistance provided by MTCMA. The original idea of the scholarship was to assure that a good potential manager did not drop out of school for financial reasons. For some recipients, the award represents a turning point in their own professional development. For others, it is the beginning of a close relationship with the Maine managers. The Dow scholarship has provided a useful bridge between the university community and the management profession that should help guide the future direction of town and city management. Range Riders The Range Rider program was established originally by the International City Management Association in 1974 with the goal of making the counsel, guidance, and support of retired municipal managers available to practicing municipal managers. In 1977, MTCMA recognized the value and need of a range rider program in Maine and petitioned the Maine Municipal Association to develop a plan for such a program. Range Riders were available throughout Maine in 1986 with the charge to meet with practicing managers on request and to discuss the professional concerns of managers and administrators. Their role is to serve as confidential friend, colleague and counselor to the profession. Range Riders are not paid for their efforts. Their expenses are reimbursed jointly by ICMA and MTCMA. The program is intended to provide assistance with professional issues and not to solve substantive problems within the local government. Range Riders consult and counsel any MTCMA member on issues such as selectmen/manager relations, stress of public management, as well as the possibility of a job change. Support of the Range Rider program has become an important ingredient of ensuring the success of municipal managers in Maine. Norris W. Stilphen, one of the first Range Riders, made the following observations on the Range Rider program:
Regional Associations In addition to the Maine Town and City Management Association, there exist four county or regional managers' associations in Maine. Although they are not formally part of MTCMA, these regional associations are comprised primarily of MTCMA members. Often conducting several meetings per year, these associations also are of great value to the management profession in promoting inter-manager cooperation and communication among members. Regional association meetings vary in format. In some cases, the meeting may be an informal dinner in which managers and their spouses come together to enjoy each others' company and to discuss mutual personal and professional concerns. In other cases, the meeting may involve formal presentations from other governmental officials. Some regional associations recognize deserving members for their accomplishments and have taken positions on pending state legislation or other issues. Regardless of the membership or the format of meetings, these regional associations are important contributors to the quality of municipal management in Maine. Code of Ethics One of the purposes of MTCMA is to strengthen the quality of local government through professional management. To achieve that purpose, MTCMA has devoted considerable effort to ensure that its members exhibit ethical conduct as municipal administrators. For example, the ninth issue of the Managers Newsletter printed the latest revision of the ICMA code of ethics and was described by the Editor as "not only good reading; it is good policy." In 1957, an MTCMA committee recommended that the association's by-laws be amended to establish a procedure for investigating any action on the part of a Maine manager who brought discredit to the profession. Accordingly, a procedure was developed through which the President, after having received reports of unethical behavior of a member, could investigate such behavior and issue a statement of facts regarding the allegation. If the statement of facts proved to the Board of Directors that the action of the manager had brought undue discredit to the profession, the individual would be dropped as a member of MTCMA. In 1983, an Ethics Committee was formed to assist managers when they feel something is wrong in their community and that they could call on MTCMA and ICMA to investigate. The MTCMA Code of Ethics and Guidelines was adopted in 1984 and is the code adopted by the ICMA in 1972. Working as truly "public" administrators, MTCMA members are aware that even the appearance of impropriety or a conflict of interest can be nearly as damaging as an actual legal violation. Through adoption of its Code of Ethics, MTCMA has taken a leadership role in codifying appropriate behavior of municipal administrators. The July 1986 Newsletter was devoted to the topic of ethics with Ethics Committee Chairman John P. Bibber making the following astute observation:
MTCMA has placed great emphasis on its Code of Ethics and promoted regular discussion of ethics among its members. However, since the formation of the MTCMA Ethics Committee, no investigations have been conducted and no violations found. Clearly, some have viewed this achievement as a strong statement of the moral character of the members of the association and the quality of municipal management in Maine. Return to Manager Plan Table of Contents As Maine is a national leader in the application of the manager plan in small town government, the Maine Town and City Management Association is a national leader of state professional associations of municipal managers. Over the last fifty years, MTCMA activities have evolved to increase the proficiency of municipal administrators and to aid in the improvement of municipal administration. Promoting the highest level of ethical conduct, MTCMA members strive to set the standard for all public officials. As new forms of local government have developed in Maine, MTCMA has opened its membership to include all appointed municipal chief administrative officers. Constantly striving to achieve its purposes, MTCMA is proud to have contributed to the development and successful implementation of the manager plan in Maine and looks forward to further enhancing the future development of municipal management in Maine.
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