The City of Portland is accepting financial support from people, organizations and municipalities as it deals with a recent influx of people seeking asylum. The city will use donations to provide emergency shelter, housing assistance and basic human necessities. The city requests monetary donations only at this point. It cannot accept physical donations and the United Way of Greater Portland says it is still processing volunteer requests. More volunteers are not needed at this point.

It has come to the attention of the Maine Municipal Association’s Legal Services Department that some taxpayers are confused by additional information that the new senior tax lien law requires be included in the 30-day demand notice sent under the real estate tax lien mortgage process. Legal Services has published a short bulletin in an effort to assist members – especially, municipal tax collectors – with this issue.

The Maine Bicentennial Commission (Maine200) kicks off the commemoration of 200 years of Maine statehood with a special event on Friday, July 26, 2019. Gov. Janet Mills will join commission leaders in Presque Isle, Bangor, Portland and Augusta to announce plans for Maine’s 200th anniversary of statehood, and to raise Maine’s bicentennial flag. The commission asks all Maine towns and cities to join Gov. Mills in kicking off the occasion by raising the bicentennial flag at noon on Friday, July 26 in their communities. Bicentennial flags will be available for purchase soon via the www.Maine200.org  MaineMade webstore. Questions? Contact Maine200 Business Manager Bradley Sawyer, bradley.sawyer@maine200.org.

The Maine Emergency Management Agency will be co-sponsoring a three-day Heritage Emergency And Response Training (HEART) from August 27-August 29 at the Maine Cultural Building in Augusta. Sessions will run from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm daily and will provide realistic, hands-on training in damage assessment, rapid documentation, emergency evacuation and salvage, rehousing and storage, crisis communication, team building, and more. Later in the year, a five-part webinar series will build upon the in-person training, reinforcing concepts covered in the August training.

Would your town like to know more about Real ID? The Maine Secretary of State’s Office will give presentations to community groups to share information and answer questions, as it prepares to launch Real ID on July 1 and throughout the phase-in period. Please reach out if you would like a BMV representative to visit and speak about this change in Maine driver licenses and IDs. Anyone who’s interested in a visit can email Kristen Muszynski, Director of Communications at  Kristen.Muszynski@maine.gov or sos.office@maine.gov.

The Maine Municipal Association is pleased to offer an opportunity for your municipality to nominate one of your own for the Association’s most prestigious award, the MMA Ethel N. Kelley Memorial Award. The award recognizes distinguished service at the municipal government and community level, and will be presented at MMA’s Annual Convention.

Maine Municipal Association’s State & Federal Relations staff compiled new Municipal Revenue Sharing figures for FY 2020 based on recent action by the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. The committee voted – Gov. Janet Mills has not yet weighed in – to increase overall revenue sharing from 2.5% of state income and sales tax revenue to 3%. MMA’s figures show the potential impact of that decision for every municipality.

The Nature Conservancy is seeking initial proposals for a new round of competitive grants from the Maine Natural Resource Conservation Program. More than $5 million will be available for award in 2019 for those seeking to restore and protect wetlands and significant wildlife habitat in Maine. Wetland restoration and enhancement projects are strongly encouraged in this round. Public agencies, municipalities, tribes, and non-profit conservation organizations are encouraged to submit a Letter of Intent. To be considered, all Letters of Intent must be submitted online by 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 27, 2019.

To read more:  http://mnrcp.org or contact maineresources@tnc.org.

The National Civic League wants to help assist and recognize towns and cities that encourage homeowners and small businesses to install solar energy sources. The program, called SolSmart, is run in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Energy. Assistance can be provided at no cost to municipalities.

MaineHousing will hold five forums around the state this summer concerning the issue of affordable housing, starting with Presque Isle on June 18. This is MaineHousing’s 50th anniversary year. It will provide special focus areas on six key topics: homelessness, affordability, community development, low-income and special needs consumers, protected class members/fair housing, and the quality of housing.