CCM MRSC 2021

MUNICIPAL RESOURCE AND SERVICE CENTER

As the name implies, CCM’s Municipal Resource and Service Center (MRSC) provides a range of resources and services to our members and partners. These include education, research, networking, and money-saving opportunities. MRSC also manages CCM’s membership database, website, and social media accounts.

Education

Because our workshops are so popular, it’s no surprise that this year’s Certified Connecticut Municipal Official (CCMO) Program had 72 municipal officials graduate at our annual convention. With direction from Trinity College, the CCMO program is the only program that offers comprehensive professional development for municipal officials.

We continued to hold regular webinars in 2021. This year we held more than 45 webinars. Sessions ranged from traditional topics such as cyber security, time management, and drug and alcohol testing regulations, to topics that arose due to the continuing pandemic and other legislation. Members are able to access session recordings and material on our new website.

Over the summer, we launched CCM CARES: in Action, a guided process to implement action items from our racial equity InfoKit. From these sessions, we began tracking and recognizing the progress of municipalities.

Research and Information

The Research staff responded to more than 700 information requests from municipal officials. In addition, staff produced various resource documents on a wide range of topics. These included COVID-related policies, the American Rescue Plan, and family medical leave, among others.

CCM continued to provide up-to-date state budget information during the General Assembly session. Significant changes to state funding occurred in 2021, and staff informed members of those changes and their impact.

The Municipal Salary Survey offers salary and benefit information on more than 40 municipal positions. Towns and cities have come to rely on this critical information as they fill vacancies and engage in labor negotiations.

The Municipal Labor Relations Data Reporter is the only publication of its kind in Connecticut. It consists of an up-to-date account of all binding interest arbitration awards, recent contract settlements and changes, ability-to-pay information, and the latest development in labor and employment law.

CCM’s Municipal Employee Relations Act (MERA) Manual, is updated annually and a must-have reference tool for municipal labor relations. Beginning with the law’s enactment in 1965, it interprets the Municipal Employee Labor Relations Act from origin, development, and current status of every important topic.

Events

We partnered with The Campaign School at Yale to hold Representation Matters: Are You Ready to Run for Public Office¸ a two-day virtual training intended to encourage people of color to run for local office in Connecticut. This first session had about 100 graduates, with attendees from as far away as NY, NJ, TX, and Washington DC.

The 2021 Convention moved back to an-person event. It brought together hundreds of local government officials and more than 75 companies and organizations for one and a half days of educational workshops and networking opportunities.

Many of the exhibitors at the Convention were Municipal Business Associates (MBAs) — businesses interested in preserving and investing in Connecticut towns and cities. Even though 2021 continued to be a difficult year, there were over 55 MBAs who partnered with us in myriad ways.

Programs and Services

MRSC continues to work with vendors to create unique programs that will add value to CCM membership and allow local government to save money. Our Drug and Alcohol Testing Consortium and CCM Energy programs continue to attract new municipalities. We also launched a service with our newest partner Pality that delivers timely economic and fiscal data.

Our Municipal Consulting Service (MCS) offers opportunities for municipal officials to quickly onboard experienced individuals in a variety of capacities. Our Executive Search program offers very competitive pricing and can simplify the time-consuming process of executive recruitment.

Our wide array of offerings allows municipalities of all sizes to choose what services are right for them.

The Municipal Job Bank advertised dozens of municipal job openings and RFP/Qs for municipalities in 2021. This included jobs of all levels all across the state, and even throughout New England. Through the new dashboard, members are now able to post positions on their own! Our Prescription Discount Card Program was once again one of our most popular services, giving residents of 141 municipalities access to prescription savings.

MRSC not only assists municipalities, we also assist municipal associations. We provide administrative services to the Connecticut Association of Municipal Attorneys (CAMA) and the Connecticut Economic Development Association (CEDAS).

This year, CCM implemented new association management software, which included a new website and member portal. This system improves our membership database and our internal processes. It also allows for better engagement with members. The project was completed on time and on budget.

CCM’s Instagram account surpassed 1,000 followers in 2021.