Judy Akers, Poland Town Clerk, received the prestigious 2022 Ethel N. Kelley Award during the Maine Municipal Association’s 86^th Annual Convention on Wednesday evening.

Akers, who has served as the community’s town clerk for 46 years, is believed to be one of the longest serving clerks in Maine. She is widely respected for her ability to bring Poland’s residents together to resolve difficult and contentious problems in a thoughtful and respectful manner. True to the traits of a longtime clerk, Akers is firm in her adherence to established municipal rules and procedures to ensure that everyone is treated fairly and respectfully.

Sutherland Weston, a Maine-based marketing agency, is hosting the Maine-Stay Conference which will be held at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor on Oct. 19 and 20, 2022.  The program is targeted at tourism and hospitality industry leaders seeking information on how to use marketing to transition their businesses into tourist-attracting/customer-retaining entities.  Interested municipal leaders, community economic development officials and planners are also welcomed to participate in the conversations.  Additionally, scholarships are available to help cover the cost of the program.  For more information, please click on this link.

The Maine Municipal Association (MMA) is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 Annual Report Competition. Earlier this month, a three-member review panel selected a “supreme” (first place), superior (second place) and excellence (third place) report from five population categories.  

The Finance Authority of Maine is implementing a forgivable loan program called Thrive Maine.  The purpose of the program is to help small Maine businesses recover from the financial impacts associated with the pandemic.  For more information about this opportunity, please visit this link.

The Maine Municipal Association (MMA) is pleased to announce the promotion of Rebecca McMahon to Director of Legal Services.  McMahon began her career at MMA in 2016 as a staff attorney.  In addition to providing legal advisory services to member municipalities, McMahon has developed expertise on a variety of legal issues, including medical and adult use cannabis, land use regulations, property tax law and municipal governance. Prior to her employment with MMA, McMahon served as general counsel for the Yurok Tribe in Klamath, CA.  

“I look forward to working with Rebecca as she develops and implements her vision for the Legal Services Department,” said Catherine Conlow, MMA Executive Director. “Based on her experience and dedication, there is no doubt that our members will continue to receive exceptional legal services under her leadership.” 

McMahon, a Kennebunkport native, graduated from the University of Maine School of Law and is licensed to practice law in Maine, Massachusetts, and California.  She currently resides in Hallowell with her husband and two sons, who all enjoy hiking and exploring the beautiful areas of the state.     

The Maine Department of Health & Human Services has issued new General Assistance (GA) “maximums” effective for the time period 10/1/22 – 9/30/23, which municipalities must use in the administration of local general assistance programs. All municipalities must annually adopt the most recent maximum assistance numbers issued by DHHS before October 1st. To update local maximum assistance limits, the municipal officers may, after notice and hearing, amend the municipality’s GA ordinance to replace existing appendices with updated versions. State law also requires that municipalities notify DHHS whenever local GA ordinances are updated.

MMA Legal Services has also updated MMA's Model General Assistance Ordinance to incorporate some definitional changes and to update the ordinance appendices. An updated Model Ordinance, a summary of the updates, the new DHHS maximums, and sample ordinance/appendix adoptions forms are available at the link below.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is hosting a webinar on Thursday, September 15 at 4 p.m. to describe its Climate Ready initiative, which will invest $1.49 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds to help coastal communities become more resilient to the impacts of climate change.

On Wednesday, September 7, the Governor's Energy Office has invited the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to present a public virtual meeting about the Request for Interest (RFI) on commercial offshore wind leasing in the Gulf of Maine and the Request for Competitive Interest (RFCI) on the offshore wind research array for Maine stakeholders. The meeting will be held on Zoom from 4:30 - 6:00 pm.

Please note this is not a formal comment opportunity. Comments may be submitted following the directions on the BOEM website. Please click here to register for the meeting.

This fall, the National League of Cities (NLC) and the Local Infrastructure Hub are hosting a series of free bootcamp trainings for small and mid-sized cities. The bootcamps are designed to help cities with populations under 150,000 develop strong applications for federal infrastructure grant opportunities.

To learn more about the bootcamps being offered and how your city, town, or village can participate, NLC is hosting an informational webinar on Thursday, August 25 from 3:00 – 3:45 p.m. ET.

Act fast! The first five bootcamp trainings start on September 12, with registration closing August 31.

MMA President James Bennett announces the results of the annual election for the Executive Committee of the Maine Municipal Association for 2023.

Efficiency Maine is encouraging rural communities in Maine’s 14 northern counties to apply for funds to facilitate the installation of publicly accessible Level 2 electric vehicle (EV) chargers.  The funding will be made available on a first-come, first-served basis.  Applications must be submitted by Nov. 17, 2022.

Maine’s Office of Cannabis Policy (OCP) recently issued communications to municipalities discussing two recent amendments to Maine’s adult use cannabis laws: (1) the launch of the state reimbursement program for opt-in municipalities and (2) the authorization of delivery of cannabis by store licensees. 

Although the new reimbursement program offers an incentive for municipalities to opt-in to allow adult use cannabis establishments within their municipality, the new program does not obligate municipalities to do so. Nor does it alter municipal home rule authority to regulate such establishments or alter the fundamental requirement that the municipality’s legislative body must first vote to opt-in to allow adult use establishments before any brick-and-mortar establishments can physically locate in that municipality.

The Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future is currently accepting applications for climate resiliency community action grants.  The purpose of the program is to help support municipal projects that reduce energy use and costs or make the community more resilient to climate change impacts.  Applications must be received by Sept. 20, 2022.  For more information on this grant, as well as service provider grants please click below.

Episode 2 of Potholes & Politics offers listeners an overview of the Maine Municipal Association, our services, governance structures, and plans for enhanced support of municipalities as they face unprecedented challenges. Featured in this episode are staff voices from around the office, including the Legal, Education, Risk Management, and Administrative departments. This episode will be good to revisit for new listeners who may want to understand the function and purpose of MMA, and the many services available to our nearly 500 member municipalities. Listen Here

Maine Public Health Association (MPHA), in collaboration with Maine Area Health Education Centers (Maine AHEC), Maine Public Health Training Center, and Maine Resilience Building Network (MRBN), is conducting a survey to develop a better understanding of the public health workforce in Maine, how the current landscape is impacting public health staff and volunteers and their work, and the future of the state's public health workforce. Findings will be used to inform education, training, support, and advocacy efforts.