Municipal officials will need to contact legislators at the appropriate time to influence their votes on municipal issues. Building relationships with legislators takes time and careful effort, but it is the most effective way to shape the rethinking of those who decide public policy. The best way to build these relationships is by being a useful and trustworthy source of sound information and insight. Your message should be to support helpful legislation and to oppose legislation that makes it more difficult to govern cities. City budgets are in a crunch, and the state should not reduce local revenues or mandate costs on local government.
Web page including the “no tax due inquiry system” is available on MML’s Web page under “What’s New.”
MML TO LAUNCH STATEWIDE PUBLIC RELATIONS CAMPAIGN … As the result of a strategic planning process undertaken by the MML Board of Directors last spring, the MML will begin the development of a statewide public relations campaign aimed at emphasizing the value of Missouri’s cities, towns, and villages. A board subcommittee was formed to oversee this project and after issuing a statewide RFP, the committee recommended Hughes firm from St. Louis for the campaign. This project will begin after the first of the year, with completion in six to nine months. All members of the MML will benefit from this coordinated campaign to enhance the value provided by Missouri’s cities, towns, and villages.
2008-2009 POLICY STATEMENT … The 2008-2009 Policy Statement is now available for download on the MML Web site at www.mocities.com. Members may also request a hard copy from League headquarters. The policy statement was adopted at the business meeting during the Annual Conference.
COURT OVERTURNS “FLAGPOLE” ANNEXATION … The Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District in Curtis v. City of Hillsboro held that voluntary annexations must be compact by overturning a “flagpole annexation” in which the city annexed highway right-of-way in order to get to a parcel of land that petitioned for annexation. “Flagpole” annexations have always been a grey area, but now, at least, the courts have resolved the issue.
POLICE UNIONS ARE ACTIVE … In the aftermath of Independence NEA v. Independence School District in which the Missouri Supreme Court held that all public employees have a constitutional right to collective bargaining, we are experiencing significant efforts to organize municipal police officers. Because the current Missouri public employee labor law exempts police officers, city officials do not know what procedures to use in recognizing a police union. As a result, we have seen lawsuits filed by unions against the following cities: Jennings, Hazelwood, and Independence. We expect additional lawsuits until the courts or the General Assembly provide guidance.
IRS MILEAGE RATES … Effective January 1, the IRS standard mileage rate will decrease to 55 cents per mile.
PERSONNEL LAW WORKSHOPS … Over 750 pages of new regulations for the FMLA go into effect January 16, 2009. In addition, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 takes effect January 1; this act nullifies two U.S. Supreme Court cases and imposes other important changes. For the triple whammy, Missouri’s new Immigration Law, HB 1549, imposes a number of mandates and significant penalties for non-compliance. To help local government staff address these significant changes, the Missouri Municipal League is sponsoring a series of workshops throughout the state. Administrators, attorneys, H.R. directors, department heads, and elected officials should all plan to attend. The workshops will be held in early January in Creve Coeur (Jan. 6), Columbia (Jan. 8), and Gladstone (Jan. 9). More information on the workshops as well as the registration form is available on the MML Web site at www.mocities.com.
GFOA WINTER WORKSHOP … The Missouri Government Finance Officers Association will be conducting a Winter Workshop on January 23 in Columbia. The workshop topics include: turmoil in the bond market, fraud control, property taxes procedures, and getting the most from sales taxes. All local government officials are invited to attend. More information can be found on the MML Web site at www.mocities.com.
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