Voices in Local Government

Latest Episodes:

EP46 Pay Paradox and Severance Negotiations Part One May 15, 2024

Show notes

Part one focuses on internal and external pay paradox. Should an IT director or civil engineer make significantly more than a fire or police chief? With tight budgets, how can city/county managers and HR leaders attract top candidates and keep current employees morale up?

Resources

email podcast@icma.org to send Warren a question about hiring, recruiting, or anything career-related.

Sumter Local Government Consulting

GovAI Coalition - Your Voice in Shaping the Future of AI Apr 29, 2024

Show notes

Free Resources

GovermentAI Coalition

Free Membership Application

Free to Use Deliverable Guide, including:

AI Policy
AI Policy Manual
AI Incident Response Plan
AI Fact Sheet
Vendor Agreement
Use Case Template
Vendor Registry

ICMA Local Government Reimagined Conference: Explore the Future of AI in Local Government - June 5-7 in Palm Desert, California

Job Search and Interview Process Apr 03, 2024

Show notes

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
01:25 Job Search Process
07:15 Networking and Job Search Resources
09:11 Negotiating Job Offers
16:05 Adjusting to the CAO Role
28:29 Building Relationships with Staff
29:57 Hiring Veterans and Tapping into the Talent Pool

Resources

Veterans Local Government Management Fellowship

Voices in Local Government Podcast EP27 Veterans in Local Government Management Program

ICMA Job Center

Human Resources Recruitment Handbook: Hiring Veterans for Local Government Positions

From Discord to Accord: Unraveling Local Government Conflict with Mediation Mar 20, 2024

Show notes

(Timestamps are an approximation)
00:52 Defining Mediation
02:34 Mediation in Local Government
05:08 Mediation in Noise Complaints
09:05 Benefits of Mediation for Local Government
11:41 Mediation in Policy and Ordinance Development
13:11 Cost Benefit of Mediation
15:15 Mediation and Community Engagement
20:22 Challenges in Mediation
25:56 Implementing Mediation in Local Government
28:26 Finding and Hiring Mediators
29:13 Conclusion

Resources

Sage Mediation

ICMA Learning Lab on-demand webinar: Managing a Divided Council.

Immediate Impact of AI on Local Government Part Two Feb 29, 2024

Show notes

In part two, Santy and Hemant continue covering these topics:

How should IT or HR departments answer when employees ask: "How will AI make my job easier instead of replacing me?"
How residents can use AI to help themselves and create better interaction with local government.
What is the next step for local governments and individual staff after experimenting?
AI architecture.
Creating internal guidelines.
Fear and optimism from our favorite fictional AI.

Resources
City of Boston Interim Guidelines for Using GenerativeAI

ICMA's Local Government Reimagined Conferences:

Explore the Future of AI in Local Government

One Topic. Two Locations. ICMA is headed to Boston, MA and Palm Desert, CA for the Local Government Reimagined Conferences. From cutting-edge applications to strategic insights, discover how AI is reshaping the landscape of local government. Register here.

Government AI Coalition

Join over 140 government agencies in creating standards for responsible AI procurement and governance for public agencies. Learn more.
Additional Content

Zencity: Using Generative AI for Community Engagement, from our partner named a 2024 GovTech100 company.

Immediate Impact of AI on Local Government Part One Feb 28, 2024

Show notes

Define AI, GenerativeAI and dismiss common myths or misconceptions.
How can AI can be used as a precise tool for a specific project right now?
How can local governments vet vendors?
Application for smaller towns and counties.
Are GenerativeAI tools going to remain free?
AI’s ability to help and/or hurt public discourse and local government employees caught in the middle.

Resources
City of Boston Interim Guidelines for Using GenerativeAI

ICMA's Local Government Reimagined Conferences:

Explore the Future of AI in Local Government

Government AI Coalition

Join over 140 government agencies in creating standards for responsible AI procurement and governance for public agencies. Learn more.
Additional Content

Zencity: Using Generative AI for Community Engagement, from our partner named a 2024 GovTech100 company.

Affordable Housing: Open the Door to Economic Mobility for Your Residents Sep 12, 2023

Show notes

Resources:

ICMA Economic Mobility and Opportunity Tools and Resources

ICMA Annual Conference, Austin, Texas

Free Breakfast Workshop with Danielle Arigoni: Affordable, Climate-Friendly Housing as a Pathway for Economic Mobility

October 2, 2023
7:45am to 9:45am CT
Austin Convention Center
Room: Meeting Room 4

Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation, by Danielle Arigoni. Use promo code "webinar" for a 30% discount.

More from ICMA strategic partner, Cigna:

Local government healthcare resources

Brownfields: From Rusted Fences to New Revenue Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

ICMA experts on brownfields, Clark Henry and Chris Harrell, explain why brownfields are a problem and how to transform them into sustainable spaces with positive economic, social, and environmental impact. Often at no cost to the local government. Then they preview the Brownfields Conference, August 8-11 in Detroit.

Resources

Technical Assistance to Brownfields Communities: Free technical assistance and workshops (in-person or digital) via ICMA in region four, or find your representative organization on the resources page.

Brownfields Conference, August 8-11 in Detroit

Brownfields University, a foundational pre-conference training program, free with registration for Brownfields 2023 conference.

ICMA Brownfields topic page, for the basics all the way through advanced studies and resources.

Free copy of the ResourceX Annual Impact Report

Finance Transformation: Trends and Recommendations Jun 15, 2023

Show notes

City and County government organizations face significant challenges, including budget constraints, changing regulations, and increasing demand for transparency and accountability. Finance transformation can help address these challenges by improving financial processes, increasing efficiency, and enhancing decision-making capabilities.

Jim McClurkin and Miriam Rayward explain how initial assessment, defining vision and objectives, developing a roadmap, engaging stakeholders, and implementing and monitoring progress, local government organizations can begin their finance transformation journey, including:

Integration across multiple functions, departments, and projects. HR, payroll, t+e, accounts payable, compliance, etc).
Talent and change management.
Analytics for real-time decision making instead of waiting until "budget season".
Tips on how to optimize processes with new technology

Resources

Free eBook: 4 Ways to Turn AP More Productive for Cities and Counties

ICMA's A Budgeting Guide for Local Government, Fourth Edition

Painless Procurement? Jun 01, 2023

Show notes

Local government spends 2 trillion dollars annually on procurement. Co-founder and CEO of Pavilion, Mariel Reed, shares her unique perspective working in both local government and technology to create solutions that improve the often tedious, slow, and painful procurement processes, including:

Drastically reduce buying cycles.
Maintain compliance.
How city/county managers and department heads can empower purchasing managers to transform the dreaded procurement headache into a strategic advantage.

Resources

Pavilion's free platform for local governments.

Connect with Mariel on LinkedIn to continue the conversation or ask questions about procurement. Include ICMA podcast in your message!

Emergency preparation and response resources from Hagerty Consulting.