Interested in sharing your community’s placemaking successes for a chance to take home the CEA cup? Be sure to submit your project by April 17, 2026! 

Pattern Book Homes For 21st Century Michigan https://mml.org/resources-research/books-and-briefs/pattern-book-homes-for-21st-century-michigan/

MI Home Program https://mml.org/advocacy/mi-home-program/

Online Learning with the League https://learn.mml.org/login/index.php

Webinar, "Michigan Women in Municipal Government Presents A.I. & Local Government: Tools and Guidance for Responsible Use" https://mml.org/event/michigan-women-in-municipal-government-presents-a-i-local-government-tools-and-guidance-for-responsible-use/

Newly Elected Officials Training https://mml.org/education-events/elected-officials-academy/newly-elected-officials-training/

Join the next show live on Zoom here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_F8NZLHYzTA2S2w1gk8z5gQ#/registration

We then turned to our regularly scheduled legislative news, including a hot-off-the presses update on revenue projections for road funding and revenue sharing, the postmark property tax bill, oath of office deadlines, and some thoughts on how to make your voice heard in Lansing. 

Moving into what's happening (or not happening) in Lansing, we discussed the current state of the ever-ongoing budget process. We finished with some updates from the road (MME, BLAC, MAM, and more), and how these face-to-face, on-the-ground, mano-a-mano conversations with members shape the League’s advocacy priorities going forward. 

A new statewide group, called The Coalition for a Strong and Prosperous Michigan, recently unveiled a bold and comprehensive vision to invest nearly $6 billion in American Rescue Plan (ARP) funding to build our state’s future. A news conference took place on Oct. 14 to release the plan, called “From Rescue to Prosperity: A Roadmap to Michigan’s Future.”

• Staffing/Covid Updates • NEPA/SHPO Updates • 2020 MDOT Standard Specifications for Construction • New LAP Certification (Coming Soon) • Construction Manual Update/Project Closeouts • Upcoming Training • And much more!

You'll also have an opportunity to ask questions or share concerns about issues affecting your community.

Speakers: Kelly Crannell, Michigan Department of Transportation Ryan Doyle, Michigan Department of Transportation

Presenters: John S. Cooper, Executive Director, Safe & Just Michigan Frances Walters, Director of the Conviction Integrity and Expungement Unit, Washtenaw County Prosecutor’s Office (WCPO) Amanda O'Boyle, Assistant City Attorney, City of Lansing

Join us for an information-packed webinar where you’ll hear from experts on: -Strategies for coordination activities between different units of government -Leveraging state, private and philanthropic dollars to maximize your ARP funding -Navigating the Michigan Department of Treasury ARP application portal -Reporting and auditing requirements

-How to access assistance in seeking, planning for, and utilizing your ARP dollars

Presenters: Plante Moran, Michigan Municipal League, and the Michigan Association of Counties

Moderator Chris Miller, a founding board member of NC3, Michigan State University Economic Innovation Fellow, and initiator of MILE, Michigan’s Investment Crowdfunding law, will lead the panel through a discussion of the existing CIF structures as well as a look at NC3’s proposed 21st Century CIF. NC3’s proposed CIF eliminates some of the challenges of the existing structures and opens up opportunities for consequential individual and community wealth-building through investment and ownership of community businesses, real estate, green energy and more.

Listen to the MML's virtual news conference about our opposition to the short-term rental bills pending in the state Legislature. https://bit.ly/3fzA8I9

Send a letter opposed to the bills using our Action Center! https://bit.ly/2T1cufW

Contact your state lawmakers today and tell them to oppose HB 4722 and SB 446.

Go to https://blogs.mml.org/wp/inside208/ for details.

With: Tiffany Jones and Bryan Peckinpaugh, Detroit Water & Sewerage Department Trisha Bruzek, Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner's Office

Michigan’s revised Lead and Copper Rule has renewed public interest in the dangers of lead -- and with it, it has raised questions from residents about water safety, lead line replacement and test results. But making a complicated issue such as the Lead and Copper Rule understandable requires proactive messaging and a solid communications plan. Michelle Franzen Martin and Rich Donley of Mort Crim Communications Inc. (MCCI), with their partners from the Detroit Water & Sewerage Department and Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner's Office, will provide you with the steps necessary for communicating complicated issues to residents -- and, most importantly, making sure you use clear, consistent messaging to make sure they understand.

Equity in our community relies on access to opportunity. Too often, our justice-involved neighbors experience immediate barriers to employment, housing, and the resources to assist them as they transition to a stable, safe, and consistent lifestyle. Leading the way for over four decades in employment-centered reentry is the Center for Employment Opportunities.

CEO partners with localities to help the government meet its labor needs while increasing employment opportunities for individuals returning from incarceration to the community. This brings a two-fold economic and public safety impact - increasing employment prospects and reducing recidivism.

Join the Michigan Municipal League for a conversation with the Center for Employment Opportunities on how their partnership assists those with the most significant barriers to employment and the highest risk of returning to the criminal justice system. You'll learn how CEO's program helps participants reduce their likelihood of returning to jail and prison, successfully reconnecting them to the workforce and community. Also, you'll hear from the City of Detroit on how the partnership has supported the city's needs and created meaningful employment and value for residents across Wayne County.

Over the last month, our colleagues at The Wellbeing Lab headed out into the state of Michigan to measure the wellbeing of 1,500 people representative of Michiganders. They asked the question, “How are we doing?” and delved into how people were boosting their levels of thriving and reducing their levels of struggle at this time. The survey data shows valuable forms of wellbeing support that their families and community had been providing and what actions their workplaces and bosses were taking that were having a positive impact. The Wellbeing Lab will give highlights of the report. Discover the roles that struggle, psychological safety, families, allyship and vaccinations have played in helping people care for their wellbeing, and the practices you can implement in your own community. And we will discuss ways of intelligently applying these findings as a network.

This webinar will provide details on how to apply for the Michigan Municipal League Foundation’s Bridge Builders Main Street Microgrants. Details on eligibility, timeline, and process will be provided. Time for questions and answers will take place at the end of the session.

In 2020 the MML Foundation launched the Bridge Builder microgrants to support innovative work that intentionally & creatively brings people together, while socially distant, and repairs broken relationships in the community.

In 2021, the program will offer two categories for funding: 1) The Neighborhood Microgrants will offer ten $500 grants across the state. 2) The Main Streets Microgrants will offer grants of $5,000 in four pilot communities in eligible regions (1 per region). These grants have been generously funded by the DTE Energy Foundation.

The Bridge Builders Project began with a pilot in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The microgrant program launched was intended to encourage the acts of creativity, selflessness, and connection that we were seeing in Michigan in response to the isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, we have an opportunity to re-emerge from the pandemic as co-creators of the future we want to see. We invite Michigan residents to imagine a future for their communities where trust and belonging thrive, individuals’ well-being is valued, and diversity and culture are celebrated community assets.

This webinar will provide details on how to apply for the Michigan Municipal League Foundation’s Bridge Builders Neighborhood Microgrants. Details on eligibility, timeline, and process will be provided. Time for questions and answers will take place at the end of the session.

In 2020 the MML Foundation launched the Bridge Builder microgrants to support innovative work that intentionally & creatively brings people together, while socially distant, and repairs broken relationships in the community.

In 2021, the program will offer two categories for funding: 1) The Neighborhood Microgrants will offer ten $500 grants across the state. 2) The Main Streets Microgrants will offer grants of $5,000 in four pilot communities in eligible regions (1 per region). These grants have been generously funded by the DTE Energy Foundation.

The Bridge Builders Project began with a pilot in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The microgrant program launched was intended to encourage the acts of creativity, selflessness, and connection that we were seeing in Michigan in response to the isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, we have an opportunity to re-emerge from the pandemic as co-creators of the future we want to see. We invite Michigan residents to imagine a future for their communities where trust and belonging thrive, individuals’ well-being is valued, and diversity and culture are celebrated community assets.

EMA has recently launched the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program to assist local communities as they undertake hazard mitigation projects, reducing the risks they face from disasters and natural hazards. The BRIC program aims to categorically shift the federal focus away from reactive disaster spending and towards research-supported, proactive investment in community resilience.

Join the League as we host FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Branch and Region V’s BRIC Coordinator, Morgan Fabry, for a program overview and to discuss the benefits and key elements of the newly developed BRIC Program.

In partnership with the Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Townships Association, Michigan Association of Counties, and the County Road Association of Michigan, the Michigan Department of Treasury is pleased to announce the 11th joint webinar, “Tools and Resources for Local Governments”, formerly known as “COVID-19 Updates and Resources for Local Governments.”

Topics will include updates on the CARES Act grants, Financially Distressed Cities, Villages and Townships (FDCVT) grant, recreational marijuana payments, the American Rescue Act, and cybersecurity for local governments.

Congratulations, Jacqueline!

Guests: Kamil Robakiewicz, Principal, Miller Canfield Law Firm Nhan Ho, Associate, Miller Canfield Law Firm

Michigan is under a new three-week epidemic order issued by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and announced recently by Governor Whitmer. The order has multiple parts, which legal experts from the Miller Canfield law firm break down for our members.