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Executive Committee Minutes Archive

Executive Committee Minutes

TCMA Executive Committee
Minutes
Conference Call
Friday, December 4, 2009

Participants on the conference call were: TCMA President Courtney Sharp, City Manager, Midland; TCMA President Elect Bill Keffler, City Manager, Richardson; TCMA Past President Paul Parker, City Manager, Lufkin; ICMA Vice President Tom Muehlenbeck, City Manager, Plano; ICMA Vice President Rick Cortes, Assistant City Manager, Seguin; and Kyle Jung, TML staff.

TCMA President Courtney Sharp called the conference call to order at 10:00 a.m.

Courtney Sharp expressed his concerns about the May 28, September 11, and November 5, 2009, ICMA Board agenda items detailing the work of the ICMA Task Force on Organizational Structure and Governance. The task force report contains several items outlining proposed ICMA organizational changes addressing the relationship between ICMA and state associations, including affiliate agreements, changes in the nomination and election process, and the creation of an Advisory Council.

Tom Muehlenbeck stated that ICMA was attempting to negotiate affiliate agreements with any state association that wished to sign one so that services are not duplicated by either organization.

Rick Cortes stated that these agreements are completely voluntary, and no state association is required to adopt an affiliate agreement with ICMA. Also, the terms of an affiliate agreement can be tailored to the specific needs of the individual state association, and there is no “one size fits all” agreement expectation by ICMA.

Bill Keffler stated that the past ICMA strategic planning task force discussed how ICMA would work to identify the role of ICMA at the state level and how ICMA could improve its service to the membership.

Courtney Sharp asked if ICMA had a timeline to have all state associations approve affiliate agreements. Rick Cortes stated that ICMA did not have a timeline in mind, but the affiliate agreements could be negotiated in a three-year, five-year, or “open-ended” timeframe.

Tom Muehlenbeck stated that there has been no participation by members from Texas at the recent ICMA regional summits. The next ICMA Mountain Plains/West Coast Regional Summit is scheduled for March 11-12, 2010, in San Diego, California. Tom encouraged all members from Texas to attend the regional summit.

Tom Muehlenbeck stated that ICMA will not punish any state association that does not sign an affiliate agreement by prohibiting it from participating on the proposed regional nominating committees. Further discussions about the nominations and election process are planned by the ICMA Board at their February 2010 meeting.

Tom Muehlenbeck stated that he had concerns about the proposed Advisory Council, including what role it would take, who it would report to, and the financial resources it would require. He stated that he thought it could be a training ground for future ICMA vice presidential candidates.

Bill Keffler stated that he has not spoken to either task force member from Texas about the report (David Morgan, assistant city manager, Richardson; or Mike Eastland, executive director, NCTCOG).

Tom Muehlenbeck asked if TCMA would consider going through the affiliate agreement line-by-line to provide direction to Rick Cortes and him. Courtney Sharp agreed to schedule a TCMA Executive Committee meeting for Thursday, January 28, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. at the Texas Municipal Center in Austin to discuss the proposed affiliate agreement with Tom Muehlenbeck and Rick Cortes and provide direction to ICMA during further discussions regarding the proposed affiliate agreement.

There being no further business, the conference call was adjourned at 10:40 a.m.