The Maine Plumbers’ Examining Board will offer training sessions throughout the state starting on Oct. 3 and running through Dec. 13. The training is free, but seating is limited. Uniform Plumbing Code books (2015) are available for sale using credit cards or checks as well.

The Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Department is promoting its Maine Range Access Improvement Grant program, which is designed to improve and develop recreational archery and firearms facilities. The program provides grants of up to $50,000. Last year, $225,000 was awarded to seven different projects across the state. An important informational session is scheduled for Nov. 1, with proposals due on Dec. 6.

The New England Environmental Finance Center will host a forum on financing for stormwater control projects on Nov. 15-16 at the University of New Hampshire, in Durham, N.H. Stormwater projects are “big ticket” items for municipal officials, and this event will explore a variety of ways to prepare and pay for these kinds of projects.

The Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument will hold a series of community listening sessions starting Sept. 15. These listening sessions are described as opportunities for interested citizens in communities surrounding the monument to work with the National Park Service and help shape the management planning process for the new public lands.

Kennebunkport Town Manager Laurie Smith will become the next President of Maine Municipal Association’s Executive Committee and Linda Cohen, City Councilor in South Portland, was recently elected Vice President. Vassalboro Town Manager Mary Sabins was re-elected to a three-year term on the MMA board. James Gardner Jr., Town Manager in Easton, and Christine Landes, Town Manager in Bethel, also were elected to MMA’s executive committee.

By hitting the link below, you can see the names of the municipal officials who recently were elected to serve on MMA’s Legislative Policy Committee (LPC), which will guide and oversee the association’s legislative agenda and advocacy program during the 2017-2018 legislative biennium. Please take the opportunity to reach out to members serving your region to congratulate them, let them know what you would like to see as part of MMA’s 2017-2018 legislative platform, and to give your opinion on legislation that will affect municipalities in your region or statewide. If you attend the MMA Convention on Oct. 5 in Bangor, please stop by the 2:45 p.m. “Meet your LPC” session called “Setting MMA’s 2017-2018 Legislative Priorities,” and share your ideas directly with the newly-elected Policy Committee.

Earlier this summer a survey was sent to Maine municipalities with active TIF districts to determine if the program was meeting the economic development needs of communities of varying size, fiscal capacity and location throughout the state. A second survey was sent to non-TIF communities to learn why they were not using the program and whether changes to the law would encourage participation. The final report, which includes valuable information about the TIF program and it’s current state, was created in partnership with the Economic Development Council of Maine (EDCM) and Maine Development Foundation (MDF).

Maine Municipal Association’s 2015 Fiscal Survey is complete, summarizing important fiscal data from 189 towns and cities throughout the state. Some important conclusions: Municipal spending increased annually by 4 percent from 2010 to 2015, in part fueled by reductions in Municipal Revenue Sharing funds from the state. Public K-12 education spending rose faster than 4 percent over that period. Municipal spending on roads and infrastructure rose much slower, at an annual rate of 2 percent.

Maine Municipal Association held elections recently and a new slate of officers and Executive Committee members will come aboard, effect Jan. 1, 2017. Laurie Smith, Town Manager in Kennebunkport, will be MMA’s next president. Linda Cohen, City Councilor in South Portland, will be our vice president.

Maine faces a shortage of qualified engineers, including engineers who special in municipally related fields. The Maine Engineering Promotional Council and the University of Maine will hold an Engineering Workforce Summit on Sept. 29 at the Ramada Inn and Conference Center in Lewiston.