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What is the Mississippi Municipal League?
The Mississippi Municipal League (MML) is a private, non-pro t, non-partisan association representing 292 cities and towns in Mississippi. The mission of the MML is helping cities and towns excel by:
• Providinganatmosphereofopportunityand inclusion for members
• Maintainingastrongresourcebase
• Advocatingaggressivelyformunicipal-friendly
legislation
• Providingexceptionaltrainingformunicipal
elected of cials and leaders
• Servingasacommunicationandnetworking
base for municipal elected of cials
• Representingmunicipalitieswithfederal,state,
and private entities
The Mississippi Municipal League is governed by its Board of Directors which is led by the president, rst vice president and second vice president. Board members represent cities and towns from each of the three MS Supreme Court Districts and are appointed each year by the MML of cer from that district. The MML Board meets three times during the year to review recommendations from the MML Executive Committee.
The MML employs an six-member staff headed by the executive director. The staff performs their assigned duties under the direction of the executive director who is the chief operating of cer of the League and implements the decisions of the Board of Directors.
LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY
The League advocates aggressively for municipal- friendly legislation with the help of a professional lobbyist. The MML Legislative Committee, along with the League staff, meets with legislators to ensure that they are informed and up-to-date on the interests of our cities and towns. Legislation of municipal concern is closely monitored and tracked. Each week of the Legislative Session, MML sends out a Legislative Update via email that details the current status of all tracked legislation, as well as provides the member- ship with calls-to-action when needed. The MML Legislative Committee meets regularly during the session to provide guidance to the MML staff regarding any legislation of municipal interest.
EDUCATION AND TRAINING
In recent years, the League has greatly enhanced andimprovededucationeffortswiththeimplementation of the Certi ed Municipal Of cials program, which provides specialized training for municipal elected of cials. There are three levels of the CMO program: Basic, Advanced and Professional Development.
In addition to the CMO program, the League hosts regional trainings, annual education conferences, and other training opportunities for local of cials. The League also works with the guidance of the MML Education Committee to develop training agendas that are relevant and that address current municipalissues.
PUBLICATIONS
The MML distributes timely information and news to its members through the publication of its quarterly magazine Mississippi Municipalities, weekly email updates, social media posts, and regular news announcements on its website. The League provides research and technical assistance in the form of published reports, technical briefs, surveys and grant updates through the City Hall Center. The MML Membership Directory is updated after each municipal election year.
MISSISSIPPI MUNICIPAL FOUNDATION
The Mississippi Municipal League formed the Mississippi Municipal Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-pro t organization, to administer funds received for charitable and educational purposes in the following programs:
• TheLeagueEducationalTrainingScholarship (L.E.T.S.) gives cities and towns with a population of 5,000 or under the opportunity to apply for assistance in attending the Small Town Conference, the Mid-Winter Conference or the Annual Conference.
Each year the League and the Mississippi
Association of Clerks and Collectors fund scholarships to pay registration fees for these conferences. Applicants must meet speci c criteria to be considered.
•
TheMMLAnnualHighSchoolScholarship program awards three scholarships to high school students with an interest in pursuing a career in municipal government. The program is sponsored by Mississippi Power Company, Phelps Dunbar LLP and the Mississippi Municipal Service Company.
18 • Mississippi Municipalities
Volume 66 • Number 4
2016 | 2017 ANNUAL REPORT