BILOXI – The Vaiden mayor and members of the Board of Aldermen attended the 86th annual Mississippi Municipal League conference in Biloxi last week to learn how they can better serve Vaiden.
Mayor Melvin Hawthorne and Aldermen Theodore Purnell, Curtis Meeks, Doris Fluker and Lesia Hemphill attended the conference.
“We had two Aldermen to receive their [Certified Municipal Official] Certificates,” stated Hawthorne. “Theodore Purnell received the Basic Certificate and Curtis Meeks received the Advanced Certificate. Also, Theodore Purnell carried the town’s flag during the parade of flags ceremony.”
The MML’s Certified Municipal Official (CMO) program has three certification levels: Basic, which requires 60 hours of training focused on the basics of municipal organization, law, finance and land use; Advanced, which requires an additional 40 hours of training in community and economic development; and Professional Development, which requires another 40 hours of course work encouraging the improvement of skills such as public speaking, writing and interpersonal communications. Officials who earn the Professional Development Level must have first completed the Basic and Advanced levels of the program, according to a letter from the MML.
Officials from throughout the state attended programs, including “Parliamentary Procedure 101,” “Media: Not the Enemy,” “MML Legislative Update,” “Public Private Partnership (P3s): Nuts and Bolts,” “Get Elected, Stay Elected: Social Media for Local Elected Officials,” and “Recent Developments in Tax Forfeited Property Sales,” according to the MML.
Greg Fender, president of Local Government Services, LLC, presented “Receiving the Maximum Value for the Use of Your City’s Rights of Way,” and Hawthorne served as moderator.
The session provided participants insight on how to maximize the value of a municipality’s rights of way, according to the program.
“This was a great moderator assignment for me because the town is being asked now by a communication company to use our water towers. Clearly, we don’t have any utility experts on our board that knows about fair municipal rates. Therefore, the town may use The Local Government Services, LLC to negotiate a fair rate for the town,” stated Hawthorne.
He also said the conference was beneficial for all municipalities who attended.
“No matter what you have or what your town endures, there’s a program for you,” said Hawthorne.
He said he also attended sessions to help mayors who had not served in any other elected positions prior to being mayor.
“It’s one of the best kept secrets, although it’s been around for years,” said Hawthorne.
Established in 1931, MML represents 295 municipalities in Mississippi.
The mission of the MML is helping cities and towns excel through training, lobbying at the state and federal level, and providing resources and networking opportunities with state, federal and private entities, according to the MML.
