"Monthly news and updates from the Maine Municipal Association."

Contents:
* Technology Conference: Register Soon!
* Tax Collectors & Treasurers Manual Updated
* Citizen Initiatives 2009
* LD 1 in Year 4 Report Released
* General Assistance Ordinance Changes
* COBRA and ARRA
* American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
* Emergency Management Training
* 2009 Awards for Municipal Excellence
* Upcoming Workshops and Training

Technology Conference - Register Soon!

The Conference is almost 2 weeks away! You won't want
to miss out - there is still room!

Great Speakers | Interesting Program | New Ideas |
One-on-One Time with our Conference Sponsors | Networking Opportunities | Much more . . .

       Registration & Program Listing. . .

PS - 6 Credit Hours for Certified Maine Assessors

Tax Collectors & Treasurers Manual Updated

The Legal Department has just completed an updating of the
Tax Collectors & Treasurers Manual.

Supplement #1 is available at no cost online for printing
or can be purchased online in print format.

The updated manual, chapters and appendices are all
available in the members area of MMA's website.

       Go to the online manual . . .

Citizen Initiatives 2009

Follow the initiatives impacting Maine's municipalities through
MMA's Citizen Initiatives 2009 site. Tracked will be the Motor
Vehicle Excise Tax, TABOR II, and the School Consolidation
Law Repeal.

There is a convenient link on the left site of MMA's homepage,
under "Legislative | Advocacy" and there are other links on
the Legislative | Advocacy homepage as well.

     Go to directly to the Citizen Initiatives homepage. . .

LD 1 in Year 4 Report Released

       Go to the report . . .

General Assistance Ordinance Changes

Changes have been made to Appendix B of the GA Ordinance
Maximums by DHHS. If you use these for General Assistance,
please update your information.

Appendix B
Updated Ordinance with Appendix B included

COBRA and ARRA

The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of
1985 provides for a temporary extension of employer-
provided group health coverage, commonly called COBRA
continuation coverage, to certain individuals who have lost
their health coverage.

The recently enacted federal stimulus package, known as
ARRA, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,
re-opens eligibility for COBRA continuation coverage and
provides a premium reduction to certain qualified individuals
who have been involuntarily terminated by their employers.

       for more information from MMEHT . . .

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

MMA has started an area for informational resources about
the ARRA (Stimulus Package) linked from the homepage
of the website.

If you have other resources that should be listed, please
submit them to the ResourceCenter@memun.org

NLC Offers Emergency Management Training to Local Officials

Washington, DC – In the wake of recent disasters, such as
Hurricanes Rita and Katrina and the Minneapolis bridge
collapse, the National League of Cities (NLC) has created
the NLC-Emergency Management Training Program
to provide in-depth emergency management training to local
officials. The International City/County Management
Association (ICMA) is collaborating with NLC on the project,
with support from the Department of Homeland Security.

A series of pilot seminars will begin March 14-15 in
Washington, DC, in conjunction with NLC’s annual
Congressional City Conference. Subsequent pilot
seminars are scheduled for May 8-9 in Chicago; July
13-14 in Mobile, Ala.; and September 21-22 in Bismarck,
ND. The program is expected to offer several more seminars
in 2010, focusing on metropolitan, rural and collaborative
leadership.

2009 Awards for Municipal Excellence

The Awards for Municipal Excellence honor innovative programs
in cities across the country that improve the quality of life for
residents. Eight winning programs will receive awards of $1,000
or $2,000 and have the honor of being publicly recognized for
their outstanding achievements at a ceremony at NLC's
Congress of Cities Conference and Exposition in San Antonio,
Texas, in November. The deadline for all submissions is
May 1st, 2009.

     for more information and nomination packet . . .