PM Magazine, July 2023, Brownfields Edition

Photo by Visit Detroit, Michael Falsetti

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The ICMA Code of Ethics: Your Guidepost to Your Professional Values

BY KEVIN DUGGAN, ICMA-CM (RETIRED)

I have often hiked in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains. Some trails are well marked and easy to follow. Others are barely trails at all and make it much more difficult to keep yourself “on track.” In those circumstances when the trail is difficult to discern, there is nothing more reassuring than coming across a guidepost that confirms you are headed in the right direction.

Our paths as local government professionals are also at times difficult to traverse. Hopefully most of the time it is clear what we should do (or not do) in a particular circumstance. However, we will all encounter circumstances when it is more difficult to discern the right course of action— particularly when we have something significant to potentially lose or gain. The ICMA Code of Ethics can serve as our ethical “guidepost” to help us find the right path to follow in order to be true to our professional values.

There are a number of key values that underpin our profession. For many, if not most of us, these values were the reason we chose to commit our work lives to the local government profession.

The ICMA Code of Ethics is not simply a set of rules to be followed, but the embodiment of the values upon which our profession is based. These values include:

• Supporting the equitable delivery of public services and the equitable treatment of residents.

• Preventing political interference in the delivery of basic services.

• Making personnel decisions solely based on merit.

• Respecting democratic values and maintaining the public’s confidence.

• Avoiding conflicts of interest.

• Demonstrating ethical conduct and integrity.

• Upholding the fundamental principles on which council/manager government is based.

• Committing to the effective and efficient delivery of public services.

While I suspect there would be little, if any, disagreement among our colleagues regarding these basic values, being true to these values as we navigate through the challenges of our careers is not always easy.

nternational City/County Management Association icma.org

July 2023

Public Management (PM) (USPS: 449-300) is published monthly by ICMA (the International City/County Management Association) at 777 North Capitol Street. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002-4201. Periodicals postage paid at Washington, D.C., and at additional mailing offices. The opinions expressed in the magazine are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of ICMA.

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ICMA

Creating and Supporting Thriving Communities

ICMA’s vision is to be the leading association of local government professionals dedicated to creating and supporting thriving communities throughout the world. It does this by working with its more than 12,000 members to identify and speed the adoption of leading local government practices and improve the lives of residents. ICMA offers membership, professional development programs, research, publications, data and information, technical assistance, and training to thousands of city, town, and county chief administrative officers, their staffs, and other organizations throughout the world.

Public Management (PM) aims to inspire innovation, inform decision making, connect leading-edge thinking to everyday challenges, and serve ICMA members and local governments in creating and sustaining thriving communities throughout the world.

Helping us find the right path to follow in order to be true to our professional values

KEVIN DUGGAN is a retired city manager and current ICMA senior advisor in California.

2022–2023

ICMA Executive Board

PRESIDENT

Jeffrey Towery, ICMA-CM

City Manager

McMinnville, Oregon

PRESIDENT-ELECT

Lon Pluckhahn, ICMA-CM

Deputy City Manager

Vancouver, Washington

PAST PRESIDENT

Troy Brown, ICMA-CM

City Manager

Moorpark, California

VICE PRESIDENTS

International Region

Chris MacPherson

Former Chief Administrative Officer

Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

Rebecca Ryan

General Manager

Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional

Council, New South Wales, Australia

Colin Beheydt

City Manager

Bruges, Belgium

To be true to these values you need to ask yourself the following questions:

• Are you willing to commit to the fair and just implementation of public policies and services with attention to the most vulnerable and underserved members of the community?

• Are all members of your community able to get access to the same opportunities and services?

• Are you willing to stand up against efforts by elected officials to interfere in administrative matters granted to the manager by charter, law, or resolution?

• Are you also willing to faithfully implement the policy direction of your elected officials whether or not you recommended the policy chosen?

• Are you willing to withstand the pressure to make personnel

Midwest Region

Victor Cardenas, ICMA-CM

Assistant City Manager

Novi, Michigan

Corri Spiegel, ICMA-CM

City Administrator

Davenport, Iowa

Michael Sable, ICMA-CM

Assistant City Manager

Bloomington, Minnesota

Mountain Plains Region

Diane Stoddard, ICMA-CM

Assistant City Manager

Lawrence, Kansas

Kenneth Williams, ICMA-CM candidate

City Manager

Beaumont, Texas

Dave Slezickey, ICMA-CM

City Manager

Kingfisher, Oklahoma

Northeast Region

William Fraser, ICMA-CM

City Manager

Montpelier, Vermont

Scott W. Colby Jr.

Assistant Town Manager

Windsor, Connecticut

decisions based on political or personal considerations?

• Are you committed to open and forthright communication with elected officials and the public regarding all matters within your purview, including the willingness to disclose bad news (such as organizational missteps) fully and in a timely manner?

• Are you willing to make decisions that may not be in your personal best interests (including putting your job security at risk, if necessary) in service to the best interests of the organization and community?

• Are you committed to working effectively with all elected officials who are carrying out their appropriate responsibilities regardless of your personal feelings regarding them or their philosophies?

• Do you fully appreciate that the “ends” cannot be separated from

Dennis Enslinger, ICMA-CM

Deputy City Manager

Gaithersburg, Maryland

Southeast Region

Nate Pagan, ICMA-CM

City Manager

Owensboro, Kentucky

Valmarie Turner, ICMA-CM

Assistant County Administrator

Loudoun County, Virginia

Jorge Gonzalez, ICMA-CM

Village Manager

Village of Bal Harbour, Florida

West Coast Region

Roxanne Murphy

Operations Department Administrator

Nooksack Indian Tribal Government, Bellingham, Washington

Pamela Antil, ICMA-CM

City Manager

Encinitas, California

Jessi Bon

City Manager

Mercer Island, Washington

ICMA CEO/Executive Director Marc Ott

Interim Managing Director, Lynne Scott lscott@icma.org

Brand Management, Marketing, and Outreach; Director, Equity & Social Justice and Membership Marketing

Managing Editor Kerry Hansen khansen@icma.org

Newsletter Editor Kathleen Karas kkaras@icma.org

Graphics Manager Delia Jones djones@icma.org

Design & Production picantecreative.com

The ICMA Code of Ethics is not simply a set of rules to be followed, but the embodiment of the values upon which our profession is based.

the “means” in carrying out your professional responsibilities?

• Are you willing to make tough decisions, even if not popular in your organization, to ensure organizational efficiency, effectiveness, and fiscal sustainability?

• Are you willing to potentially forfeit your current position in order to live up to the values that brought you into the profession?

These are all challenges you could face or perhaps have already faced during your

career. Have you thoughtfully considered how you would deal with these challenges before you are faced with them?

I hope you periodically take the time to read and reflect on ICMA’s Code of Ethics (which is by way of your ICMA membership your code of ethics). As you do so, please view the Code not so much as a list of rules that limit your flexibility or an enforcement mechanism that could result in you being sanctioned, but more as a critical resource—your “guideposts” to help make sure that you arrive at the career destination you intended when you began your professional journey.

This column is based on a Cal-ICMA sponsored presentation by ICMA/League of California Cities Senior Advisor Kevin Duggan and ICMA West Coast Regional Director Pat Martel at the 2023 League of California Cities City Managers Department Annual Meeting. The moderator of the session was Cal-ICMA Ethics Committee co-chair Brett Channing, assistant city manager, Corona, California).

We will all encounter circumstances when it is more difficult to discern the right course of action— particularly when we have something significant to potentially lose or gain.

Top Three Things to Learn at the ICMA Equity Summit

Join us for this virtual learning event focused on advancing racial equity in local government.

The 2023 ICMA Equity Summit, “Weaving Equity into the Fabric of Local Government,” is a virtual gathering of local government professionals and diversity, equity, and inclusion officers (and those doing the work without the title). The event is designed to cover best practices, foster relationships with like-minded professionals, and create solutions in the DEIB space and local government management profession.

Over two days and through two tracks, attendees can discover tools and expect inspiration and encouragement to help weave the fabric of equity into their local government operations. The summit is a valuable professional development opportunity for anyone working in the field of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Here are the top three things to learn at the summit:

1. Strategies for Advancing Equity and Inclusion. Are you new to “the work” in local government or new to an organization and not sure where to start? The summit provides education sessions that cover a range of topics related to equity and inclusion. Attendees can learn about strategies for advancing equity and inclusion in their organizations, including data collection and analysis; developing coaching, mentoring, and professional development programs; and more.

The session, “Embedding Equity into Local Government Budgeting,” uncovers the perfect combination of better budget development plans and readily available resources to fund proposed solutions to yield programs that meet equity goals. “Lessons Learned from Operationalizing Equity: Navigating Diverse Perspectives and Identities in Implementing an Equity Lens Toolkit,” provides attendees insight into adapting the toolkit to the local context, using change management practices to bring people and ideas along, and making it accessible to every department by removing barriers to use.

2. Best Practices for Promoting Racial Equity. Attendees can learn about best practices for promoting racial equity in their organizations, including addressing systemic racism, community engagement, and more. The summit provides an opportunity to learn from experts in the field and to share best practices with other attendees.

Receiving feedback from the people who are impacted by projects or policies is imperative for promoting racial equity, and the session, “Equitable + Representative Engagement: Creating a Balance to Understand Your Community’s

BY LAURA SAVAGE

Needs,” delivers best practices to ensure you’re serving all members of the community. The interactive session, “Advancing and Measuring Innovation Practices,” delves into strategies to capture employee voices, create safe collaboration spaces, and grow purpose driven allies.

3. Critical Issues Facing Local Governments and Professionals. From the challenges military families of color face in their military-adjacent communities to struggles when facing the dismantling of equity-focused initiatives, the summit provides an opportunity to learn about innovative approaches to addressing critical issues and to connect with other professionals working on similar initiatives.

DEI professionals are the engines of institutional change yet receive massive pushback in the profession resulting in a critically large number of resignations. The session, “Burnout and Retention in DEIB: How to Identify and Advocate for Practitioners,” covers actionable steps for practitioners to avoid burnout, as well as ways organizations can support their official DEIB officers in their efforts developing, implementing, and maintaining successful initiatives to increase retention.

In the session, “Sustaining Equity Officers in the Public Sector,” administrators can gain insight into support structures that prevent or mitigate equity officer burnout, learn how to enhance their role in change management toward equity, and how to create the effective inclusion of an equity officer in executive spaces.

Registration includes two days of live sessions (July 20–21) and access to the digital platform, including video recordings and slides, for 30 days after the event. Learn more at icma.org/2023-icma-equity-summit.

LAURA SAVAGE is senior program manager of equity and inclusion at ICMA (lsavage@ icma.org).

Supporting Economic Mobility in Cities, Counties, and Towns

BY MARC A. OTT

ICMA’s exciting new work with the Gates Foundation

For most ICMA members and public service professionals around the world, the reason for choosing a career in local government is the desire to help improve the quality of life in their communities. As an example, I have shared my personal career journey, which began in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, where as a boy I saw the disparity in living conditions between my family and more affluent areas nearby. I observed how often opportunities for a better life remained elusive or even seemed unattainable to some in my neighborhood. Some of the most difficult work that local government leaders do is helping to transform economically challenged segments of our community. To achieve one small victory, it may take many years of hard work—engaging with residents who are frustrated, angry, or feel hopeless; convincing potential partners to collaborate on projects and policies whose outcomes are uncertain; and searching for funding from the federal, nonprofit, and commercial sectors.

Addressing Economic Mobility Requires Collaboration

Tackling these challenges takes an incredible amount of not only persistence but optimism. That is exactly what the 10 communities who are participating in ICMA’s Local Government Leadership for Economic Mobility & Opportunity initiative have. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is providing support for this important work, reports that economic mobility is actually decreasing in the United States. ICMA agrees with the U.S. Partnership for Mobility from Poverty that reversing this trend and restoring the American dream is a complex yet solvable problem, requiring the collaboration of businesses, community and advocacy groups, and individual residents, as well as local and state government. City and county managers are best positioned to be the catalyst to bring these groups together and to implement policies and effect conditions that promote overall wellbeing and upward mobility for their residents.

Small teams of managers, staff, and partners from each of the 10 communities, which include Beloit, Wisconsin;

Chesterfield County, Virginia; Dubuque, Iowa; El Paso County, Texas, Grand Island, Nebraska; Gresham, Oregon; Meadville, Pennsylvania; Morgan Hill, California; San Juan County, Utah; and Tarboro, North Carolina, have formed a cohort.

They are currently working to address challenges to upward mobility for at-risk segments of their communities, focused on such issues as housing, access to job opportunities and business development, and support for working families. While the strategies and tactics will be different for each community the cohort will generate core learnings and ICMA will conduct additional research. All of this work will be shared with our members through resources, trainings, and sessions at the ICMA Annual Conference and other virtual and in-person events.

Sustainable Development Offers Opportunities

The July issue of PM Magazine focuses on sustainable communities, and in reading this month’s article on the history of ICMA’s work in brownfields redevelopment, the first sentence reminds readers that the best decisions are those that support the triple bottom line—environmental, social, and economic. Development and redevelopment opportunities often offer cities and counties the best chance to reduce the economic disparities that arise as our communities evolve.

Some of the most rewarding experiences for me, as well as many of my colleagues, have been in working with developers to go beyond the bounds of their original proposals and to create additional benefits such as access to affordable housing, relevant and living wage jobs, and a clean and safe environment. These agreements require months, even years, of negotiation and careful follow-up to ensure that commitments made are delivered on. But nothing compares to hearing from a resident about how their life changed because they no longer had to travel over an hour to get to a job in a community where they could not afford to live.

Another important aspect of creating a fertile environment for upward mobility is community vision. While I was city manager in Austin, Texas, we were able to garner support for the development of a new library. The community ideals called for a space that allowed everyone in the community to discover, learn, and create. The new Austin Public Library opened in 2017, and

MARC A. OTT

is CEO/Executive Director of ICMA, Washington, D.C.

We are grateful to the Gates Foundation for helping to jumpstart this initiative and excited to uncover the innovative approaches our members develop to help improve economic mobility.

its vision statement focused on access, equity, and inclusion. It was named one of the top five libraries worldwide in 2018, citing that in creating the library the city took into account the wishes and needs of users, offering computer access to all residents, community outreach programs especially aimed at engaging underserved residents, and an array of cultural resources and programs.

Speaking on behalf of the entire ICMA team, we are grateful to the Gates Foundation for helping to jump start this initiative and excited to uncover the innovative approaches our members develop to help improve economic mobility. Consistent with the ICMA Code of Ethics and Declaration of Ideals, it is an outstanding example of how our profession serves the best interests of all people, eliminating barriers to public involvement in decisions, programs, and services, and promotes mobility and opportunity for all people in all communities.

Need Help? Technical Assistance for Thriving Communities

BY TAD MCGALLIARD

TAD MCGALLIARD

is director of research and technical assistance at ICMA (tmcgalliard@ icma.org).

With the expansion of existing federal funding initiatives and the development of new programs resulting from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and planned investments in clean energy and climate resiliency from the Inflation Reduction Act, many federal agencies have established technical assistance centers to support cities, counties, towns, and townships, especially those that have not traditionally received federal funding. Most of this assistance is available without a fee or requirements for a lengthy consulting contract or procurement process. Typically, the programs identified in this article will follow a similar process of intake through an online form or referral from the federal agency; an onsite and/or virtual assessment of key challenges and needs; a longer-term engagement of activities targeting a priority need; and wraparound services and follow-up to help ensure that the targeted outcomes are achieved.

Environmental Finance Centers (EFC). The EFC program has been around for a number of years, but recent funding has led to an increased number of centers focused on supporting community projects in areas like drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. Other focal points include local infrastructure investments in solid waste, clean air, greenhouse gas reduction, and toxic substance management. In late 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced 29 new EFCs that will be operated by universities and nonprofit organizations. ICMA is a partner with the Low Impact Development Center (LIDC), which will support communities in EPA’s Region 3, which includes the states of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. Learn more at epa.gov/ waterfinancecenter/efcn.

Technical Assistance for Brownfields (TAB).

Since the mid-1990s, EPA has awarded grants to local governments and community organizations to assess and clean up brownfields, in addition to setting up revolving loan funds and conducting area wide planning. EPA funds several organizations (including ICMA, see icmatab.org ) to provide support to communities, tribes, and nonprofit organizations on their brownfield challenges. Several new and returning TAB providers were announced in May 2023, and will be rolling out and/or continuing services helping communities across

the countries with support for various types of activities such as:

• Identifying, inventorying, and prioritizing brownfields for redevelopment.

• Determining the potential public health impact of brownfields.

• Getting the public and other stakeholders involved.

• Facilitating site reuse goal setting and planning charrettes.

• Evaluating economic feasibility of reuse plans.

• Conducting educational workshops, seminars, and webinars.

• Interpreting technical brownfield reports, assessments, and plans.

• Identifying appropriate funding/financing approaches.

• Integrating approaches to brownfield cleanup and redevelopment.

• Understanding and navigating regulatory requirements.

• Reviewing applications for federal brownfield funding. Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers (EJ TCTACs). In April 2023, EPA announced 17 new EJ TCTACs that will work with local, state, and Tribal governments and communitybased organizations on environmental and energy justice challenges. Importantly, the EJ TCTACS assist stakeholders with a variety of assistance, including strategies for

There is an unprecedented amount of federal grant money to support initiatives for more resilient, equitable, and sustainable communities.

capturing new environmental and energy justice funding, as well as other resources offered by federal agencies, philanthropy, and other supporters. In partnership with the National League of Cities, National Forum for Black Public Administrators, Urban Sustainability Directors Network, and the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, ICMA was selected as one of the 17 EJ TCTAC teams. SolSmart. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has long offered technical assistance, particularly in renewable energy. For the last 13 years, ICMA has partnered with DOE to provide technical assistance on local planning, zoning, permitting, inspection, financing, and economic development strategies to foster the growth of rooftop, as well as larger scale, solar projects. SolSmart (solsmart.org) is the premier designation and technical assistance program helping communities create economic and job opportunities through solar deployments.

Distressed Cities Technical Assistance (DCTA) Program. This program is designed to help smaller local governments experiencing economic distress and persistent poverty. The program provides technical assistance directly to local governments and their nonprofit partners in places with a population of fewer than 50,000. There are metrics for economic distress and persistent poverty that are required for assistance through this program. (hudexchange.info/ programs/dcta).

Economic Recovery Corps (ERC). The ERC (iedconline. org/pages/erc/) is a new program launched by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) and implemented by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), in partnership with ICMA, the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties, the National Association of Development Organizations, and the Regional Accelerator and Innovation Network. The program is placing at least 65 “recovery” fellows to work with cities, counties, development districts, and other agencies with economic development responsibilities.

Not all assistance available today is federally funded. The National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, Cornell Tech, the Urban Sustainability Directors Network, and Results for America, with support from various foundations, established the Local Infrastructure Hub to help small and midsized cities navigate the hundreds of programs funded by the BIL. Much of the training is provided through “bootcamps” on specific opportunities. (localinfrastructure.org).

Alongside an unprecedented amount of federal grant money to support initiatives for more resilient, equitable, and sustainable communities is a growing roster of organizations to provide technical assistance and support for local governments and community stakeholders. Small communities and rural places are strongly encouraged to seek out help from these and other resources given the federal government’s push to make sure that traditionally underrepresented places capture their share of this generational federal investment.

Small communities and rural places are strongly encouraged to seek out help from these and other resources.

In the Wake of the Pandemic, Here’s How to Fill Vacant Storefronts

Four ideas for getting local businesses back into our downtowns

One of the most visible scourges of the COVID-19 pandemic is the vacant storefronts in downtown business districts throughout the United States. Our downtowns had suffered from commercial vacancies long before the pandemic, but COVID-19 expanded the problem dramatically. As the nation emerges from the pandemic, it’s time to focus on revitalizing our downtowns by filling those debilitating vacancies.

Filling empty storefronts is a challenge for urban areas ranging from small towns to big cities—and they have good reason to prioritize the issue. Vacancies have a major negative impact on our downtowns and neighborhood centers, depressing surrounding property

ILANA PREUSS

is founder and CEO of Recast City and author of Recast Your City: How to Save Your Downtown with Small-Scale Manufacturing (Island Press, 2021).

BY ILANA PREUSS

values, encouraging more neglect and suppressing the growth of small businesses.

Fortunately, we know a lot about how to grow local businesses, especially small-scale manufacturers, and prepare them to make the transition from home-based or shared space enterprises to brick-and-mortar stores. The challenge is to match their needs with those of the owners of vacant storefronts. Meeting that challenge involves understanding both why those properties are empty and how to better address the interests of both parties.

Storefronts are remaining empty for a variety of reasons. Some are purely economic—if the space has been neglected, the cost of renovation may outweigh

the lease rate that the property owner can get for the space. If a property owner has other income from the property, the owner may receive a tax benefit from taking a loss on the storefront. A large investment company or trust may not be willing to rent a space for less than the advertised rate for fear of jeopardizing the underwriting by devaluing the space. In some cases, a guaranteed lease from a major national chain may cause the rent to be paid, even though the store is closed and the property is vacant. It may even prevent a competitor from opening there. Other reasons have to do with mismatches between the needs of owners or their representatives and interested small businesses. The available space may be much larger than what small businesses need, and property owners may not be willing to subdivide the space or allow multiple tenants to share it. Property owners may also expect tenants to pay for the buildout of the space, which small businesses often cannot afford. If a commercial space is small, needs considerable work or the total lease value is low, brokers may not give the space much attention, preferring to spend their time filling spaces with better (more lucrative) prospects. A distant neglectful owner may wish to hang onto a property in hopes of better days ahead, especially if local officials do not enforce code violations or have no financial penalty for long-term vacant properties.

Against this backdrop, innovative approaches are needed. One option is to increase the adoption of vacant property ordinances, which typically impose added fees on properties left vacant long-term. San Francisco’s commercial vacancy tax ordinance took effect on January 1, 2022. The vacancy tax applies to ground floor, street-facing, commercial properties in certain neighborhood commercial districts including the primary commercial corridors. Washington, D.C., likewise charges a significant fee based on the property tax rate to vacant or blighted properties.

Among smaller cities, Mansfield, Texas, has a vacant property ordinance that

charges a high daily fee based on code violations and vacancy. Raton, New Mexico, recently passed a vacant building ordinance, requiring owners of abandoned homes and buildings to register their property with the city and pay a fee that increases annually if the property remains vacant.

Another option is to use tax increment financing or other local funding vehicles to provide matching grants to property owners for storefront buildout with signed tenants, as does Longmont, Colorado’s Downtown Development Authority. It provides up to 50% of the cost of renovating a ground floor space and changing it from a service business use to a retail storefront again. This option can be applied in markets where the cost of construction isn’t justified by current lease rates, and it can make storefront space affordable to small businesses.

A third option is to pursue ways to get commercial property into local hands. The Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh has created the Avenues of Hope Commercial Real Estate (ACRE) Program. It provides long-term financing at 1% interest—with no payments due for 20 years and no prepayment penalty. The funding can be used for site acquisition and prep, building costs and construction, and soft costs associated with real estate development.

Yet another option is to invest in residential and commercial land trusts for downtown properties. The residential floors can be preserved as affordable or locally attainable housing, while a subsidy to ground-floor commercial storefronts—in the form of a discounted land trust rent—can provide space for locally owned businesses while preventing gentrification from driving these businesses out of the neighborhood. This approach is especially applicable to high-cost, very distressed markets where control of multiple buildings near each other can be secured.

Options exist for revitalizing vacant downtown storefronts. Taking advantage of those options will bring our downtowns fully back to life—and show that America is moving forward from the pandemic.

This story was originally published by Next City, a nonprofit news organization covering solutions for just and equitable cities, at nextcity.org.

Vacancies have a major negative impact on our downtowns and neighborhood centers.

The Grass is Not Always Greener

BY MICHAEL HULING

From zoning reform to landscape conversions, sustainable growth begins locally.

It may be tempting to think of such issues exclusively in environmental terms, but they do intersect with an array of other concerns and priorities. For example, a proposal to replace energy sources that emit carbon dioxide with windmills is clearly an environmental matter. It also raises questions, however, about the relative inefficiency and unpredictability of the windmill’s energy production, the swaths of land that must be sacrificed, the impact on local ecosystems, the source of the windmill materials and the associated emissions, and so forth. Moreover, the placement and cost of the windmills will have social and economic effects that may be salient to the local community. These potential challenges don’t necessarily mean that windmills are a bad idea, but that any environmentally driven policy will have externalities—positive or negative—that must also be considered.

The point here is that when we think about sustainability, we ought to do so in the comprehensive sense of the word, which includes a sustainable culture, economy, and environment. Each of these priorities fundamentally shape our lives and our cities, while also representing a continuity between generations. In thinking about sustainability comprehensively, we turn our attention to a range of issues including zoning, housing, transportation, parking, landscaping, building codes, and more. These are fundamentally local matters that we have the capacity to determine as we see fit—and that will shape our communities in the years to come. As our

populations increase, we need more housing, jobs, transportation, schools, water, and energy. Perhaps the central question for cities with regard to sustainability is how can we mitigate our negative impact on the environment while populations and economies continue to grow? In other words, how can we achieve sustainable growth?

Urban Sprawl and Zoning Reform

If we stipulate that environmental, cultural, and economic sustainability are all important, then we should look at policies that advance each of these. One of the most consequential developments in American history has been the urban sprawl of the post-war era, which has not only displaced countless communities with highways, but alienated people from one another and from the things they value most. Urban sprawl, most of which was imposed through top-down centralized

From shifting energy sources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to redesigned landscaping and water conservation, municipal governments continue to reshape the future of our cities in response to climate change. Warmer weather, extended droughts, severe wildfires, and loss of biodiversity are just a few of the implications to which we must adapt if we are to preserve our way of life for posterity.

When we think about sustainability, we ought to do so in the comprehensive sense of the word, which includes a sustainable culture, economy, and environment.

planning without the consent of local communities, has had perhaps the largest environmental impact of any policy when you consider the way it has transformed housing, transportation, and infrastructure.

As Roger Scruton notes, “American cities have decayed because vast tax-funded resources have been available for the building of roads and housing projects, for the purchase and demolition of otherwise habitable slums, for the horizontal spread of infrastructure, and for the imposition of crazy zoning laws which ensure that where you can buy things you cannot do things, and where you can do things you cannot live.”1

Every word of this is true, but the last part is crucial in that it captures the intersection between environmental, cultural, and economic issues.

Local zoning laws all but require a lengthy commute to go nearly anywhere—work, school, stores, places of worship, and anywhere else

we traditionally identify with ourselves and our community. By placing barriers between where we live, work, and engage with our community, rigid zoning laws have served to maintain a dependence on cars and have made it increasingly difficult to feel any kind of deep affection for one’s home. As Jane Jacobs understood, the success of cities is rooted in their diversity, particularly the diversity of uses that allow people to find homes, jobs, and third places that align with their values. As residential and commercial uses are pushed farther apart, we suffer in numerous ways. Increased transportation-based emissions harm our environment, disconnection from places central to community erode our culture, and rising costs of infrastructure to maintain the unnatural sprawl stifle our economy. To put in bluntly, the segregation of uses through misguided zoning causes environmental degradation, cultural amnesia, and economic instability.

Zoning reform can counteract these consequences by restoring a harmony between people and their activities. Why force housing to be built miles away from businesses, schools, and churches when these are complementary? Much of the damage has been done, but prioritizing higher-density housing in close proximity to these other places is paramount for sustainable growth. Not every community can or should have the density of New York City, but forcing people away from each other and their communities is neither desirable nor sustainable. Sustainable growth is only achievable if we become more

efficient with our resources— land, especially. By allowing people to live in places, rather than around them, we can preserve our environment while strengthening our culture and economy. What may sound like a transformation of how cities are zoned is really just a restoration of what we have lost: a harmonious balance between the natural and built environment that is truly sustainable.

Sustainability Case Study: Southern Nevada

While zoning reform is a solution applicable to nearly all cities, there are other policies that have demonstrated success in sustainability. Southern Nevada, which is naturally an extremely dry climate with very high temperatures in the summer, is a useful case study for other cities and regions. The biggest environmental challenge in Southern Nevada is water usage, as the region’s population continues to grow while fresh water sources are very limited. Southern Nevada is highly dependent on the Colorado River and Lake Mead for fresh water, but declining water levels in these two bodies pose a major challenge in the coming years. So, what has local leadership done in response to the water crisis? A lot, actually.

In recent years, wastewater infrastructure redesigns have allowed much more water to be recycled, treated, and filtered for

Conservation and progress are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are the twin pillars of sustainable growth.

reuse. Southern Nevada has become the gold standard for water recycling, as one of the few places in the world that recycles all indoor water on a community-wide scale. The result is that 99% of indoor water is recycled, which is an astonishing feat.2 Regional collaboration resulted in a state law (AB 356) prohibiting decorative grass in areas where it does not serve a recreational or functional purpose.3 The bill also called for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) to develop a plan for the removal of such grass wherever feasible. The SNWA has commenced an aggressive landscape conversion plan to replace grass with turf and other landscaping that does not require intense water usage. The SNWA has also created a detailed regional plant list to help developers identify which plants are most suitable for the region’s climate and ecosystems.4 These reforms will save an estimated 9.5 billion gallons of water annually, which is nearly 10% of Southern Nevada’s water supply. Incentives for property owners to remove grass have also been a part of this strategy, which has included rebates for pool covers to reduce water evaporation. The end result is that between 2002 and 2019, the region’s population increased by 48%, while water use per person decreased by 52%.5

Southern Nevada has shown that cities in even the most extreme climates can still achieve sustainable growth. Some of these solutions can certainly be replicated in other places, such as the highly efficient water recycling infrastructure. Others, however, are particular to the Southern Nevada region and may be unapplicable to most places. The sustainability plans in coastal Southern California will necessarily differ from Southern Nevada, just as they will from those in the Midwest or the South. The overlying goal of sustainable growth may be the same, but the particular strategies, policies, and priorities should reflect the people and the places from which they stem. Southern Nevada’s regional plant list won’t be of much use to South Florida, after all. We can learn from and collaborate with governments in regions across the country and around the world, but the sustainability of our local communities is ultimately our responsibility.

Sustainable Growth Is Possible and Necessary

There are those who insist that we can’t have sustainable growth—that we can’t provide more housing, jobs, and general prosperity because our finite resources will not allow us. Fortunately, this notion has been disproven by the empirical

data for decades. Ambitious tree planting initiatives in Europe and Southeast Asia have allowed our planet to become greener over the past 20 years, according to NASA satellite research.6 Carbon dioxide emissions in the United States have fallen 17% from the 2007 peak, while our population and economy have grown significantly.7 Since 2000, the Las Vegas Valley population has increased by over 800,000 while total water usage has decreased by 23%.8 None of these trends are by accident, as they are the result of prudential decisionmaking and an understanding that conservation and progress are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are the twin pillars of sustainable growth.

We can “zoom out” to national and global policy areas such as tax reform, international trade, climate accords, and the like, but these are largely intangible to the sustainability efforts on the ground within our local communities. We have little control over what happens at the national and international levels of policymaking, but we do have the ability to shape our communities from within. When Jane Jacobs fought against the “urban renewal” being imposed on her Greenwich Village neighborhood, her focus was not on transformative global change or a grand vision that every nation must embrace, but on preserving what she loved: her home. Advocates for conservation would do well to embrace the unique affection that people have for their real, tangible community in a way that they cannot for the abstract idea of “the planet’.” Global climate initiatives reliably fall victim to the collective action problem, while local

sustainability can be readily recognized as our problem. As Roger Scruton writes, “It is the love of home that provides the most effective motive on which the environmental movement can call.”9 It is human nature to protect the people and the places that we cherish as ours, which is why a localized approach to sustainability will be more effective and, well, sustainable.

Sustainability is not merely a choice or an alternative, but an obligation to ensure that the world—primarily understood at the level of the local community—that we pass on is in as good of shape, if not better, than that which we inherited.

ENDNOTES AND RESOURCES

1 https://theimaginativeconservative. org/2016/07/conservatism-meansconservation-roger-scruton-timeless.html

2 https://www.snwa.com/waterresources/current-water-supply/index. html#:~:text=Southern%20Nevada%20 is%20one%20of,for%20direct%20or%20 indirect%20use.

3 https://legiscan.com/NV/bill/ AB356/2021

4 https://www.snwa.com/assets/pdf/ water-smart-plant-list.pdf

5 https://allinclarkcounty.com/category/ sustainable-water-systems

6 https://www.nasa.gov/feature/ames/ human-activity-in-china-and-indiadominates-the-greening-of-earth-nasastudy-shows

7 https://www.statista.com/ statistics/183943/us-carbon-dioxideemissions-from-1999/

8 https://www.ktnv.com/13-investigates/ here-is-how-southern-nevada-is-dealingwith-growth-and-the-water-issue

9 https://theimaginativeconservative. org/2016/07/conservatism-meansconservation-roger-scruton-timeless.html

HULING is a city planner for Clark County, Nevada, and an advisory council member at the Davenport Institute for Public Engagement and Civic Leadership.

MICHAEL

Lake Mead

It Happens on a Brownfield

BY CLARK HENRY

Key lessons and successful strategies in brownfield revitalization, more than 25 years in the making

e could very well be in the golden age of brownfield resource availability, a short period that will be referenced as “the good old days.” In the not-too-distant future, local governments and communitybased organizations will reflect upon their successful transition of brownfield liabilities into essential community assets, jobs, tax revenue, cleaner environments, sense of place, and healthier communities. Or, conversely, they will ponder why they did not act sooner when the “getting was good.”

One reason for this golden age is the once-in-

a-lifetime financial and technical resources brought to communities through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and Inflation Reduction Act. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization (OBLR) is currently administering over $1.5 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law alone, creating a budget that is orders of magnitude larger than usual. These resources make their way to units of local government, quasi-public entities, nonprofit organizations, and academic institutions in the form of grant funding and technical assistance.

So, what is a brownfield and why should we care? Putting it simply, a brownfield is property whose path to redevelopment involves addressing contamination, or at least the perception of contamination. They are the large sites left behind when industry closes or moves elsewhere, the former gas station on the corner you wish would turn into a coffee shop, or the un/underused historic building that has seen better days.

From a local government management perspective, they are underperforming assets that should otherwise produce tax revenue that pays for essential public services. From a community-based perspective, they are the sites that might be exposing people to contaminants, degrade community identity, and do not serve a purpose. From a development perspective, they are often the only sites available, or they are in desirable locations, but they also represent financial

and legal risk, so developers invest elsewhere.

Brownfields are found in large cities, small towns, remote locations, in city centers and suburbs across the country. Before you say, “We don’t have a brownfield problem,” think twice. It’s surprising what you find when you look for it. Also, try thinking about it from a different perspective. Consider brownfields the future location of the housing, business, parks, infrastructure,

It is common that neither the property owner nor developer are willing nor able to pay for the site assessments, a situation leading to failed transactions and properties sitting idle, sometimes for decades. This is a primary area where public, quasi-public, and nonprofit organizations are in a strong position to acquire resources to fund assessments and bring technical expertise to bridge gaps in capacity, finance, and understanding to catalyze

EPA Definition of a Brownfield:

institutions, and amenities that make communities strong.

The financial and legal risk associated with brownfields is a fundamental obstacle to realizing redevelopment. There are simply unknowns as to the implications of contamination on the site, or possible contamination, that are impossible to account for until certain steps are taken.

The first step is to characterize the site through Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments. This work involves research into site history (Phase I) and taking samples of soil, soil gas, groundwater, and building materials (Phase II) to identify what contaminants are present (if any) and their concentrations. This data then informs the remediation plan that outlines steps necessary to accommodate the proposed development.

redevelopment. It is an excellent chance to put public-private partnerships into action. Local governments, quasi-public, and nonprofit organizations are eligible for EPA brownfield grants that finance site assessments and leverage technical expertise to bridge gaps the private sector was unwilling/unable to. This is where we stop thinking of brownfields as “brownfields,” and start understanding that brownfields are about housing, economic development, environmental justice, jobs, tax revenue, public facilities, schools, environmental protection and restoration, and resilience to climate, economic, and social vulnerabilities. Brownfield revitalization is a direct way to realize the goals outlined in your plans, from comprehensive plans to housing plans, watershed restoration

A brownfield is a property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.

New homes being built on a brownfield site in south Wales. Istock.com

and beyond. A keystone resource available to serve this purpose is the EPA Brownfield Program, offering grants for site assessment and small area planning, cleanup, job training, and a revolving loan fund.1

Community-wide assessment grants fund the site assessments, pre-development site planning, small area planning, market studies, stakeholder engagement, and more. Cleanup grants fund the cleanup of property owned by the applicant. Job training grants fund job training programs to provide the skills and certifications necessary for people to work on brownfield redevelopment. Finally, the revolving loan fund grants provides grantees with a resource to lend money for cleanup of privately and publicly owned brownfields. Not only is this a source of revenue that is nearly impossible to find,

but successful programs can get supplemental funding on an annual basis, and when the applicant finally closes the grants with the EPA, the funding is theirs to use for cleanup (absent the EPA requirements) from then forward.

Another reason we are in a golden age of brownfield resources is that the once-in-alifetime financial resources come at a time when the brownfield industry of experts has matured, and the knowledge necessary for understanding legal, technical, financial, logistical, regulatory, and other dynamics is readily available and accessible across the country. This expertise can be leveraged through EPA grants, but also through another EPA program called the Technical Assistance to Brownfield Communities (TAB) program.2 Local governments, service providers, and state agencies have spent the last 25+ years

learning tough lessons and innovating to find success, so you don’t have to. The following are a few key lessons and successful strategies. Get ahead of the curve and consider adopting these approaches and perspectives.

Approach Your Brownfield Work as an Ongoing Investment

Grants are great, but the reality of successful brownfield redevelopment is that it takes time, especially if you look beyond one property. Working to realize the most potential of a community’s brownfields takes a persistent effort and commitment on the part of local governments and private and nonprofit sector partners.

Cities such as Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Portland, Oregon, manage full time brownfield programs with dedicated staff. Having inhouse expertise who can work across public agencies with

property owners, developers, regulators, communitybased organizations, and residents lends credibility to a jurisdiction’s ability to accomplish its goals on brownfields. The product of such programs includes extra tax revenue generated through redevelopment, effectively offsetting the cost of program administration.

Look Beyond Grants.

There are proven steps that state, regional, and local governments, and their partners can take to leverage brownfield redevelopment, even without EPA brownfield grants. State legislation can be adopted that provides tax incentives to help make projects financially viable. For example, perhaps the most generous incentive is Mississippi’s Redevelopment Tax Rebate legislation that allows tax credits for up to five

times the cost of environmental assessment and remediation.3

A staff person with brownfield expertise can help developers navigate regulatory processes and understand the implications of the brownfield process on timeline, budget, and scope. This “navigator” can also help property owners understand why their property is considered a brownfield and help them find their way through what may seem like a scary process, effectively unlocking the potential of a property that would otherwise site idle.

A local government and its partners can also acquire brownfields, work through assessment and remediation, and return the land back to the private sector for vertical development. They can also provide incentives related to zoning, permitting, fees, etc., that help attract investment and make these projects more viable. They can provide loan guarantees that help mitigate the risk for lenders in unproven markets or establish land banks that hold brownfields with the intention of returning them back to productive use.

These are but a few concepts to consider when regardless of the tactic, the opportunity cost of doing nothing is unacceptable. Your TAB providers can help define the path that is right for you.

Small Communities and Organizations Do Big Things

The prospect of adding staff, writing grants, managing compliance, and forging partnerships can be daunting—or seem impossible—for a small, under-resourced

community. Such concerns are understandable and relatable though there are proven strategies employed by small and under-resourced communities that can inform approaches in this context. Whether it’s partnerships with regional agencies with administrative capacity, using grant funding for contractors to manage administrative functions, or taking advantage of free technical assistance, there is a path forward to brownfield revitalization.

Under the TAB program, teams of brownfield experts are available—free of charge— to communities across the country. These teams offer varied levels of assistance depending on the needs of the community, such as quick phone calls to interpret a report, training staff, hosting public forums, developing educational material, or building community capacity. Each EPA region has a designated TAB provider who can support your efforts. ICMA is the TAB provider for EPA Region 4 (Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi).

Learn, Explore, and Build Capacity

Whether you have been proactive about brownfield revitalization or if you are just beginning this journey, there is a constantly evolving body of knowledge and experience in the brownfield community that should inform your decisions. Several states host brownfield conferences that provide excellent educational, training, and networking opportunities. Further, the National Brownfield Training Conference is the largest

and most comprehensive event focused on brownfields and land revitalization in the country.

Attending these events greatly increases your capacity to leverage investment; inspires public, private, and nonprofit change makers to do great work; and builds a community of brownfield experts across the country. ICMA has been co-sponsoring the national event with the EPA for over 20 years and we look forward to greeting you at Brownfields

2023, August 8–11, in Detroit, Michigan.

ENDNOTES AND RESOURCES

1 https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ types-epa-brownfield-grant-funding

2 https://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ brownfields-technical-assistance-andresearch

3 https://www.mdeq.ms.gov/water/ groundwater-assessment-andremediation/brownfields/

CLARK HENRY is a senior program manager at ICMA (chenry@icma.org).

Working to realize the most potential of a community’s brownfields takes a persistent effort and commitment on the part of local governments and private and nonprofit sector partners.

Clearwater Beach Kissimmee FL Ennis TX

Disneyland Paris Barcelona Italian Riviera

The Woes of Wish-cycling: Tips and Common Misconceptions of Recycling

Help your residents recycle effectively

BY JEREMY WALTERS

While many of us have the best intentions when it comes to recycling, we aren’t always doing it right. Many residents will toss items in their recycling bin, hoping they can be recycled, whether they can or not. This is referred to as “aspirational recycling” or “wishcycling.” Unfortunately, this type of mindset can be detrimental to municipal recycling programs. Incorrect items can end up contaminating perfectly good recyclables and can potentially damage the equipment in recycling facilities and reduce recovery rates— or worse, cause harm to employees.

According to a recent survey Republic Services conducted, 73% of Americans consider themselves an expert or good at recycling, yet 61% incorrectly believe flexible plastics, like plastic bags, could go in curbside recycling bins.1 There are easy rules to remember to help your residents improve their recycling habits.

Know what to throw. There are several materials that are excellent candidates for recycling because of their ability to be remade into new products. Focus on cardboard, paper, aluminum cans, and plastic bottles and jugs to make the most impact.

Empty, clean, and dry. These are the three magic words of recycling. Every item in your recycling bin should be free of residual food and liquid—for example, a ketchup bottle. When items like that ketchup bottle still contain residue, they can contaminate other more fragile recyclables like paper or cardboard, and those contaminated materials could end up in the landfill. Give your recyclable containers a quick rinse, then tap out the excess water, leaving no more than a teaspoon. And don’t forget to put the cap or lid back on those bottles!

When in doubt, throw it out. There will be times when you just aren’t sure if something should be recycled or not. It’s best to toss the item in the waste bin when that happens. For example, a pizza box is made of cardboard, but if grease and cheese are stuck to the box, it can’t be recycled. Or, take your recycling knowledge one step further and remember: When in doubt, find out. Check with your local service provider for recycling do’s and don’ts. Don’t bag it. While it might seem to make sense to place recyclables in a plastic bag, it’s a big no-no. Materials must stay loose so they can easily be sorted and separated at the recycling center. Plastic bags wrap and tangle around the sorting equipment causing jams and inefficiencies. Instead of collecting your recyclables in a bag, try collecting them in a

basket that you can empty into your curbside cart.

Not all plastics are created equal. Flexible plastics should never be placed in the recycling bin. Swapping plastic grocery and produce bags for reusable bags is a simple way families can cut down on the amount of waste they make. When it comes to recycling plastics, you should only recycle plastic bottles, jugs, and tubs.

Don’t confuse reuse with recycling. All too often, we see well-intentioned recyclers blur the line between reuse and recycling. We see so many items come to the recycling center that don’t belong in your curbside recycling bin. Just because you no longer have spare time for your bowling league doesn’t mean your old bowling ball or shoes belong in your recycling bin—but you’d be surprised how many end up there. For an item to be reused, it must be donated to a secondhand store.

While recycling doesn’t need to be difficult, there are several myths or misconceptions that lead to confusion among residents:

Myth #1: Plastic doesn’t really get recycled. Fact: Plastic bottles, jugs, containers, and tubs are widely accepted for recycling in communities across the country, and there is strong demand for these materials.

Myth #2: Anything plastic can go in your

recycling bin. Fact: Know what to throw. Generally, plastic bottles with necks or handles, plastic containers, and tubs are recyclable in your curbside container.

Myth #3: Plastic grocery bags can be recycled curbside. Fact: Plastic bags (and other flexible plastics) require special handling to be recycled and should not go in your curbside container. Return them to collection bins at the grocery or big-box store.

Myth #4: You should bag your recyclables. Fact: Recyclables should never be bagged. Place them loose in your recycling bin. Flexible plastics like plastic bags can wrap and tangle around equipment at recycling facilities, causing major delays or damage.

Myth #5: Anything with a recycling symbol should go in your recycling bin. Fact: The “chasing arrows” symbol generally identifies the type of plastic used to make a container or sometimes indicates that an item contains recycled content, but it does not mean that an item is recyclable. Always check with your local provider on what is accepted in your curbside recycling bin.

Myth #6: Pizza boxes and foam takeout containers are recyclable. Fact: These items are often mistakenly placed in the recycling bin, but unfortunately, they are not recyclable. Once a pizza box is soiled with grease and cheese,

While you may feel guilty throwing something away, you could be doing more harm than good if you incorrectly place it in the recycling bin.

the cardboard is no longer viable for recycling. If the top half of your pizza box is oil-free, you can tear it off and recycle that part. All foam products, from takeout containers to packing peanuts, should never be thrown in your recycling bin.

Myth #7: Old clothes, toys, and furniture can be recycled. Fact: These are items that should go to a donation center instead. Clothing and toys can be reused, but not recycled curbside. If the clothes

are too worn, throw them out or use them as rags. When it comes to furniture, items that are too large to fit in your trash container are considered bulk waste. If the furniture is too old or used to be donated, check with your local provider to see if they can help you dispose of it properly through bulk collection.

Myth #8: You don’t need to rinse your recyclables. Fact: Food and beverage containers must be rinsed

free of residual food and liquid. If they are not rinsed out, the residual material can spill on paper and cardboard, deeming it unfit to be recycled. Only clean, dry paper and cardboard can be recycled.

Myth #9: Batteries and electronics are safe to go into home recycling.

Fact: Improper disposal of e-waste and batteries is quite common and can be extremely dangerous. Hundreds of preventable fires are caused each year by the improper disposal of battery-powered electronics and batteries themselves. Never discard rechargeable electronics or

Empty, clean, and dry. These are the three magic words of recycling.

batteries in your recycling bin or trash. Instead, consider donating old cell phones to organizations like Cell Phones for Soldiers (cellphonesforsoldiers.com)

or the 1Million Project

(1millionproject.org), or look into our mail-back recycling program.2

Recycling is fundamentally important when it comes to living a sustainable lifestyle. To

ELECTRIC FLEET

have the most impact, though, we need to do it properly. While you may feel guilty throwing something away, you could be doing more harm than good if you incorrectly place it in the recycling bin. Remember: when it comes to recycling it isn’t about how much you recycle but how well you recycle. Don’t be a wish-cycler!

When we talk about sustainability and waste, there are often three R’s associated with this connection: reduce, reuse, and then recycle. While recycling is a critical piece of the sustainability puzzle, it isn’t the silver bullet. We all must do our part to create a sustainable world now and for future generations.

ENDNOTES AND RESOURCES

1 https://www.republicservices.com/ residents/recycling/america-recycles-day

2 https://www.republicservices.com/ residents/recycling/battery

JEREMY WALTERS

serves as a sustainability ambassador for Republic Services, a leader in the environmental services industry. He helps to develop and execute recycling education programs and serves as a spokesperson for Republic’s nationwide Recycling Simplified education campaign.

REPUBLIC SERVICES, INC. is a leader in the environmental services industry. The company’s industry-leading commitments to advance circularity, reduce emissions, and decarbonize operations are helping deliver on its vision to partner with customers to create a more sustainable world. For more information, please visit RepublicServices.com.

We’re electrifying our fleet. Electric trucks are not only better for the planet, but they allow for quieter operations within our neighborhoods.

GAS-TO-ENERGY PROJECTS

We convert the gas from our landfills into energy and use it to produce electricity for the public grid. Many of our trucks run on renewable natural gas, too — a bridge until we get to a fully electric fleet.

RECYCLING LEADERS

We’re leading the way in recycling – from facility technology to education programs. We have 12 compost facilities, and we’re opening the Polymer Center later this year to keep plastics in circularity longer.

Republic Services aluminum sorting

©2023 Republic Services, Inc.

Republic Services is partnering with customers to create a more sustainable world. We’re working to make our communities safer and more eco-friendly.

Palouse, Washington: A Small Town Takes Big Action on Brownfields

BY SARAH SIELOFF

A BROWNFIELDS SUCCESS STORY

Home to the Palouse, Yakama, and Spokane Nations, the city of Palouse (population 1,015) is located in Whitman County in southeast Washington. Soon after the town’s establishment in 1874, a blacksmith and livery stable set up shop at 335 East Main. As petroleum-powered machines replaced human and animal agricultural labor, that gave way to a welding shop, and in 1955, a Conoco service station.

With five above-ground and four underground storage tanks, the Conoco was a significant operation covering

one-third of an acre. In 1977, it sold to Palouse Producers, a regionally prominent supplier of agricultural fuel and supplies. And in 1985, Palouse Producers declared bankruptcy.

That bankruptcy was part of a larger trend. “The farm economy took a real hit in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s,” reflects former city attorney and orchardist Stephen Bishop. “I cut my teeth doing farm bankruptcies during that era.”

As businesses closed and buildings became vacant, Palouse shed jobs and property values ticked downward. It was

a vicious spiral that rendered the surrounding area unattractive for investment. Even two miles northeast of town, the appraisal on Doug Wilcox’s farm came back low. “The problem was that

the average traveler coming to the farm…had to go through Main Street,” Wilcox explains. “Banks denied loans because you couldn’t not see the state of downtown.”

“This story matches the contours of the Palouse [landscape]. You can’t see 50 feet in front of you because there’s a hill. And when you get over that hill, there’s another hill. But we had such a strong partnership with everyone that we never hit a hill we couldn’t overcome.” —Former Mayor Michael Echanove

View of the Palouse River and redeveloped properties from the back. The brick building at left is the former school gymnasium that now houses a bank and health center. To the right is the back patio of TLC Animal Care and the Palouse Brewing Company.

An environmental blow followed the economic one. Recounts Bishop: “[Palouse Producers] was already in bankruptcy court when people noticed, especially in high water, a sheen—an oil slick—going down the river.”

One Step Forward and Two Steps Back

To address the immediate threat of oil entering the Palouse River, Palouse Producers installed interceptor trenches, although these were not maintained for long due to its bankruptcy. The Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) removed almost every regulated storage tank at the former Palouse Producers’ site in 1984 and 1985. The last known tank came out in 1992. And then the former Palouse Producers

site, like so many other contaminated properties, sat. Around it, economic dislocation continued apace. Sure, people still needed to come downtown to collect mail, pick up groceries, or pay their taxes, but Main Street was a shadow of its former self.

For the old Palouse Producers site, there was no clear path forward. Under the federal 1980 Comprehensive Environmental Responsive, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, also known as the Superfund Law), anyone who owned a contaminated property could be held responsible for its entire cleanup. The risk was clear: no one was going to touch this site.

Then in 1996, the Palouse River added insult to injury with a 500-year flood event that impacted almost every building

on Main Street. “It was a flood that no one could remember happening before,” says Bishop. “What was born out of that was a new awareness. People suddenly started to realize that downtown needed help,” he continues. In 2000, the local government embarked on a $2.5 million downtown revitalization project to repair and upgrade Main Street’s utilities and sidewalks, with funding cobbled together through state grants. It became the impetus for other post-flood improvements, like Doug Wilcox’s decision to buy and donate a dilapidated theater to the city, which demolished the building in 2001 and eventually built a new community center on the site.

While downtown’s recovery lurched forward, the Palouse Producers’ site stood out as a symbol of what was holding the city back. It was still tied up in bankruptcy court. It stood in the middle of Main Street, one block from the grocery store and across the street from the post office, with its back to the river. At one point, Wilcox and Bishop went to Spokane to discuss the site with an engineer. “He said ‘Don’t touch it. It’ll bury you,’” remembers Bishop. “I remember coming home we were quite disheartened. Then one day I’m sitting in the office working, and my secretary says, ‘Michael’s on the phone.’”

Low-barrier Environmental Assessment Resolves Uncertainty

Then-Mayor Michael Echanove (2001–2019) thought he had found a way forward for the Palouse Producers site: the municipality would take the wheel, use brownfields grants to assess the site, buy it, and clean it. Then someone else would

turn it into something great. Brownfields are properties that are contaminated or perceived to be contaminated. They have latent value, but successful redevelopment requires targeted investment, often both private and public. State and federal brownfields programs act as catalysts and fill initial gaps with funding and technical assistance.

Palouse’s first stop was the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Brownfields Program, where the city availed itself of a targeted brownfields assessment (TBA), a lowbarrier technical assistance tool that allowed the EPA to assess the Palouse Producers site on the city’s behalf. The TBA had several of the benefits of a federal grant with little of the paperwork. And because the property didn’t change hands, the city was able to understand the existing contamination without incurring environmental liability.

Between 2006 and 2008, EPA awarded Palouse two TBAs worth $96,500. These produced environmental site assessments that documented soil and groundwater contamination by petroleum hydrocarbons, benzene, and metals. This was a big step forward. Now the question was how to clean it up.

Coming to Terms, Building Trust, and Moving Forward

Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) hydrogeologist Sandy Treccani could see a path forward for the Palouse Producers’ site using a tool called a prospective purchaser consent decree (PPCD). PPCDs weren’t new in Washington, but they also weren’t common—between

1991 and 2015, Ecology had executed perhaps 25. Under a PPCD, the city of Palouse would take ownership of the Palouse Producers site, assume liability for the contamination, and clean it up. In return, Ecology would provide cleanup funding, and upon completion, the city’s liability would be settled with both the state and third parties—a significant benefit. The deal would produce a clean site for Ecology and a new opportunity downtown for Palouse. The technical requirements were clear, but the equation hinged on very human factors. “It’s a leap of faith,” says Treccani. “They have no reason to trust us. None. In fact, that might be where many

small communities start. And it’s the biggest hurdle. Once you have a success, then people can trust you.”

For a seasoned municipal attorney like Stephen Bishop, the rub lay in the small print. Negotiating with the Washington State Attorney General’s office, which served as Ecology’s attorney, Bishop wanted an escape clause, wherein Palouse would be responsible for cleanup only if it received the promised grants. The state couldn’t agree to those terms. The agreement hung in the balance. And then one day, “I was working in the orchard, and I thought, ‘At some point in your life, you have to go on blind faith. In

the end, [the state] has all the teeth, but it’s not going to take a bite just to push somebody around,” remembers Bishop. The city could make this work and the wheels began to turn.

In 2009, Ecology awarded the city an integrated planning grant (IPG). It was a “try before you buy” brownfields resource: requiring no local match, the IPG funded environmental assessment, community engagement, and planning

for site reuse—all without the requirement to own the target site. The IPG built on EPA’s TBAs, and Ecology chipped in additional funding for assessment in 2010. Now it was time for the city to take ownership and start cleanup.

In a series of highly coordinated moves between Ecology, the attorney general’s office, and the city, the state produced a cleanup action plan and the PPCD and conducted the required public comment in the exceptionally rapid timeframe of less than three months. Everything had to come together precisely to extract the property from bankruptcy court, transfer ownership to the city for $1, activate the PPCD, and award grants. Cleanup funding came from state and local sources, and the city also received a lowinterest loan from Washington’s brownfield revolving loan fund, managed by the state’s department of commerce. Whitman County chipped in by forgiving back taxes (see Figure 1). The total cost of assessment and cleanup was about $1.46 million.

Over almost two years, the cleanup demolished two buildings and removed the top eight feet of all petroleumcontaminated soils, enough to fill 280 dump trucks. The most

“The brownfields site was a puzzle piece, and the puzzle itself is Palouse.”

—Former Mayor Michael Echanove

Former Palouse mayor Michael Echanove (2001–2019) and current mayor Tim Sievers

Funding and Timing for the Redevelopment of the Former Palouse Producers Site

Supplemental Grant

Amount: $48,000

Issuing Entity: Ecology

Purpose: A Supplemental environmental site assessment

Target Brownfields Assessment

Amount: $9,160

Issuing Entity: EPA

Purpose: Phase I Environmental Site Assessment

2006

2012

2010

Remedial Action Oversight Grant

Amount: $477,672

Issuing Entity: Ecology

Purpose: Cleanup. Palouse provided 33% local match ($159,224)

2008

2009

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Amount: $101,891

Issuing Entity: Washington State Department of Commerce

Purpose: Cleanup

2012 BF RLF Grant

Amount: $137,606

Purpose: Cleanup

2012

Target Brownfields Assessment

Amount: $87,371

Issuing Entity: EPA

Purpose: Phase II Environmental Site Assessment

contaminated, highest risk soils were hauled offsite, and others were capped in place. The cleanup also removed a previously unknown 500-gallon storage tank. The excavated area was backfilled with clean, compacted fill capable of supporting buildings, and Ecology installed three wells to monitor groundwater, which are still tested biannually as the remaining hydrocarbons continue to degrade. An environmental covenant ensures that future site users are aware of residual contamination and the need to protect the environmental remedy. When the literal dust had settled, “We had a beautiful patch of dirt,” reports Echanove.

Throughout this process, the city’s brownfields advisory

committee (BAC) had held regular community meetings to explain what was happening at the Palouse Producers site. Doug Wilcox chaired the BAC, which had six to eight members, including current Mayor Tim Sievers (appointed 2021). With the cleanup complete, the site’s future came into focus. The city was poised to influence its reuse. What did the community need?

Opinions varied. While one side of Main Street backs up to the Palouse River, few sites provide river access, which was important to residents. They also wanted commerce—places to eat or shop that would bring people back downtown and make Palouse a better place to live. Armed with community input, the city solicited proposals from development

Integrated Planning Grant

Amount: $197,926

Issuing Entity: Ecology

Purpose: Additional site assessment, creation of a redevelopment strategy, and community engagement

teams. They received four responses, and selected one from a local team of four friends that included a police officer and a pharmacist. They had proposed a brewery and a veterinary clinic. “What a great proposal to have a vet clinic that was working out of a one-car garage bring their tax dollars into the city,” reflects Mayor Sievers. “And then to have the brewery come in! It’s been a long time since we’ve had a brewery in Palouse.”

The city sold the site to the local development team for $3,000 in 2019. “The committee focused on the site not as a profit center, but as part of Palouse’s future,” says Echanove. That approach made the difference for the development team because it made the site accessible.

2012

Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund

Amount: $211,949

Issuing Entity: WA Commerce Purpose: Loan to support cleanup

Asked how other cities could find similar partners, investor Joe Handley said, “You have to find somebody who loves the community, is in the community, and is not in it for the money. We’re in it for the long run.”

New Life and Good Beer

Now home to TLC Animal Care, the vet clinic was the first building to go up, opening in June 2022. Dr. Andi Edwards grew up in Palouse and trained at nearby Washington State University’s renowned veterinary school. “I remember being a kid and walking past the scary old gas station. I thought it was great when they cleaned it up. It was good for this town, good for the environment, and good for the river.” When the opportunity at the

2012

Delinquent Tax Assistance

Amount: $28,000

Issuing Entity: Whitman County Purpose: Redevelopment assistance

former Palouse Producers site presented itself, she had been working out of her basement for seven years, outside Palouse city limits. Dr. Edwards designed the clinic herself, and while construction paused during COVID, community enthusiasm didn’t: community members covered the drywall in messages of support. “Our building is literally full of community spirit,” says Dr. Edwards.

Today, TLC Animal Care serves people across a roughly 50-mile radius with exam, dental, and surgery facilities. For Dr. Edwards, her clinic is the realization of a multiyear dream, and a chance to give back to her hometown in a significant way. “[The former Palouse Producers site] was an awesome opportunity for a small business owner. And we were happy to bring our taxes into the city,” she says. She employs four technicians—two of whom she had to hire within the first few months of opening to keep up with demand—and a weekly relief doctor.

With the clinic up and running, the Palouse Brewery got under construction, opening in January 2023 to a line out the door and standing room only. “We had people from all walks of the community,” relates Handley. “People who would never talk to one another were standing shoulder to shoulder having a beer. We wanted a place where

everyone feels welcome, and we did it.” With four of their own beers on tap and plans to expand to six, the brewery uses local products wherever possible, like garbanzo beans for its falafel. It employs 12 people, and there are plans to eventually can and distribute Palouse Brewery beer in Washington and Idaho.

One of the most exciting things about the redevelopment project is the access it provides to the river. At the brewery, people can sip beer and watch the water roll by. “Everyone’s going to be down here watching when the river gets high,” relates Mary Welcome, a community organizer, former city councilmember, and member of the Chamber of Commerce. The vet clinic also has a small grassy yard facing the river. “We sit out there a lot,” says Dr. Edwards. “We do a lot of endof-life care, and people find that space really meaningful.”

Ripple Effects

In late 2020, Spokane investors David Birge and David Griswold bought the old school gymnasium next door to the former Palouse Producers site. Built prior to the Great Depression, the vacant two-story brick edifice backed up to the river. How did they end up in Palouse? “We liked the downto-earth feeling,” says Griswold. “When you see a busy street in a small town, it’s notable,”

adds Birge. “And the city council seemed pretty progressive. They want to see the city prosper.” The old gym is today home to a bank branch and a health clinic—a significant development, given that the last bank left town in 2020. It has taken years of focused, patient work to get here, but Palouse’s main street now has four new businesses housed in three buildings, two of which are new and one of which was previously vacant for years. “The city’s role was just trying to open the doors for opportunity,” says Mayor Sievers. For Ecology’s Sandy Treccani, Palouse’s success is a testament to the power of partnership: “Build trust and relationships,” she advises. “You can’t build your house until you build the foundation.” For Joe Handley, that rings true: “Everyone involved has been incredibly helpful…. The Department of Ecology really wanted this, and really helped us make it happen…. You could tell they were really invested in it.” For Welcome, the big lesson is clear: “Public funding and public infrastructure make opportunities that the actual public can access,” she says. Echanove sums it up: “Brownfields properties are awesome properties.”

SARAH SIELOFF an urban planner and funding strategist at Haley and Aldrich.

A Career Spent Caring About and Redeveloping Brownfields

BY DEBRA FIGUEROA

Ribbon cuttings.

We all live for that moment when the project comes together, the last brick is neatly put in place, and we can look at our residents with pride and a sense of accomplishment. These moments are hard fought and won in a never-ending battle between the needs of our communities and our fiscal realities. Often it is those places most in need of help, our brownfields, that haunt us. For so many of us, the demands of redeveloping these areas outstrip our resources, both human and fiscal.

Clearwater, Florida

I was first introduced to brownfield redevelopment as the city manager’s intern for the city of Clearwater, Florida, in 2002. The city had an active brownfield redevelopment program that had begun six years earlier in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While Clearwater is a resort beach community, the city realized that redeveloping brownfields was critical for

economic development and revitalization. Since the inception of the program, Clearwater has assessed 73 properties and undertaken 17 cleanups, making 88 acres of properties available for reuse.

I was a young idealistic intern who had recently graduated from the University of Florida with a master’s degree in political science and a desire to make a difference. I had studied environmental policy, environmental justice, and community participation. When I found a program working to clean up hazardous waste that unduly impacts the environment for lowerincome neighborhoods, revitalizes the community, provides new job opportunities, and creates beautiful public spaces, I was hooked. I knew I wanted to learn more about redeveloping brownfields.

Carlisle, Pennsylvania

I pursued other opportunities in Sarasota, Florida, and Salem, Oregon, where I learned strategies and tools for community revitalization, such

as downtown beautification, grant writing and management, how to develop affordable housing, and overseeing infrastructure projects. In 2013, I returned to brownfield redevelopment as the assistant borough manager for Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The borough hired me to assist with a 65acre redevelopment of three former industrial sites next to downtown Carlisle.

With just over 20,000 residents, Carlisle is a picturesque Mid-Atlantic community in south-central Pennsylvania. Founded in 1751, Carlisle has a rich history and culture that includes the Whiskey Rebellion, the famous Molly Pitcher, Dickinson College, the U.S. War College, and a bustling, vibrant downtown. While Carlisle is a wonderful place to visit and call home, in 2012, the community faced a decision point. After nearly 100 years of operation, three of Carlisle’s largest industrial facilities closed between 2008 and 2012. Hundreds of jobs disappeared overnight, and the community faced a cluster

More than 20 years in local government taught me that brownfield redevelopment is one of the most rewarding challenges to undertake with your community.

of contaminated brownfields and a limited budget. All three factories were in the northwest neighborhood right outside of downtown, leaving 65 acres of economic uncertainty or opportunity, depending on how the community handled the disruption.

Carlisle seized the opportunity to reinvent itself. The borough formed close working partnerships with two of the new property owners of the largest brownfield sites

and released an RFQ for what would become the Carlisle Urban Redevelopment Plan (CURP).1 Carlisle hired a redevelopment planning team that was led by Stromberg/ Garrigan & Associates and included a brownfields specialist (Gaito & Associates), and a funding and grant advocacy firm (Sustainable Strategies DC). After a robust public outreach and planning process, the CURP provided the community with a road

map to the future. Rather than let the contaminated properties sit empty or leave their development to market forces, the borough took a proactive role in working with property owners to ensure that the redevelopment of the three former industrial sites maximized their redevelopment regarding job creation, tax revenue generation, and community enhancement, while still complementing downtown and

Seize the opportunity to work with your residents, businesses, and the EPA to improve your community.

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

melding the new development with character of the surrounding neighborhoods and community.

The plan provided a conceptual framework that included new complete streets with walkable development, housing, a retail analysis of development the local economy could support, green infrastructure to mitigate future flooding, and beautiful community spaces. The plan inspired residents to hope for a better future, but also came with what felt like an impossible price tag for a small community with limited resources. Luckily, the plan also included a section on how to obtain resources for brownfields redevelopment. The borough worked with the Cumberland County Housing and Redevelopment Authority to apply for an EPA areawide planning grant in 2013. The EPA awarded Carlisle the grant, and the community was on its path to a brighter future.

Based upon the strength of the CURP, the EPA areawide plan, and endless hours of hard work and dedication

from partners, the community invested $12.9 million in taxincremental financing (TIF), over $20 million in state and federal grants, and $100 million in private investments. In place of 65 acres of rubble, empty buildings, and contamination, there is now a new complete street grid with affordable and market rate townhomes, apartments, duplexes, recreational space, commercial office buildings, restaurants, and a hotel. Two of the three former brownfield sites are developed. The third is now owned by the Cumberland Area Economic Development Corporation and is in the initial stages of redevelopment. The project has been so successful that the EPA honored it with the Region 3 Mid-Atlantic 2020 People’s Choice Award.

Personally, the project highlighted why brownfield redevelopment is so important and taught me strategies to pursue to improve communities. The brownfields were in the poorest area of Carlisle with significant flooding issues and the largest concentration of people of

color. The largest factory had been decimated in a fire; the soil was contaminated; basic infrastructure like water, sewer, and stormwater were absent; and the empty buildings posed an ongoing health and safety risks to the low-income residents that lived right next door. Rather than letting the empty factories sit and continue to deteriorate, the borough forged partnerships that allowed it to work closely with the private sector and the community to create a better future for the residents of Carlisle.

We enter public service for reasons such as strengthening local economies, revitalizing a part of town that needs attention, improving water or air quality, building trust in our community, expanding parks and recreational opportunities, increasing resiliency for our communities in the face of climate change, or moving the needle on sustainability and environmental justice. Brownfield redevelopment lets us do all these things and more. It is one of the most

powerful redevelopment tools a community can employ.

Glenwood Springs, Colorado

Glenwood Springs, Colorado, a resort mountain community on the Western Slope, selected me to be city manager in 2016. In 2017, the community was awarded an EPA areawide planning grant and hired Stromberg/Garrigan & Associates to undertake a collaborative planning process that included extensive public outreach. Together with community stakeholders, the city developed an implementation plan, Moving Forward Together, to revitalize the brownfields along the Colorado and Roaring Fork Rivers in the city’s core, including a five-acre site where the city’s decommissioned wastewater treatment plant was located.2

The planning area covered by the grant also included a fiveacre Colorado Department of Transportation’s (CDOT’s) engineering and maintenance site and a 27.4-acre closed mine.

COVID-19 and the resulting pressures around housing and development in the rural west upended and delayed

Clearwater, Florida

development along the confluence of the two rivers. The city continues to make slow and steady progress on its redevelopment efforts with the help of the EPA areawide plan. The brownfield site owned by

CDOT now holds a new office for Iron Mountain Hot Springs, and CDOT partnered with the privately owned hot springs spa to create an office for the state agency and affordable housing for the employees of both CDOT and Iron Mountain Hot Springs. This beneficial redevelopment will help both organizations thrive into the future and was made possible through the partnerships created by the areawide planning process.

Brownfields = Potential

My career has always been about strengthening communities. I am now fortunate to help communities across the country find the funding they need to see their redevelopment plans cross the finish line working for the funding and grant advocacy firm, Sustainable Strategies DC. The next time a factory

shuts down, a property with a history of leaking underground tanks or an abandoned drycleaning facility is for sale, or a fire destroys a property that housed hazardous waste, seize the opportunity to work with your residents, businesses, and the EPA to improve your community. Contact EPA’s Technical Assistance to Brownfields (TAB) Communities Program.3 There is a TAB team in every region of the United States, and they can help you begin your journey from a brownfield with unknown hazards to a property ready for the future.

Brownfields represent potential. They can be the future site of market or affordable housing, small or large businesses, technology hubs, solar fields, breweries, restaurants, resiliency projects, or childcare facilities. Twenty-one years in local government taught me that brownfield redevelopment is one

of the most rewarding challenges to undertake with your community. See you at the ribbon cutting!

ENDNOTES AND RESOURCES

1 https://cms8.revize.com/revize/ carlislepa/CURP/Carlisle%20URP%20 Part%201.pdf

2 https://cogs.us/422/Moving-ForwardTogether

3 https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/ files/2015-09/documents/tabbifold-2-11.pdf

DEBRA FIGUEROA

is a principal in Sustainable Strategies DC’s Western Office. She is an expert in local government strategic management with more than 21 years of local government experience in Colorado, Florida, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. Her most recent position was as city manager of Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

ICMA and Brownfields: An Illustrious History

The concept of sustainable communities emerged in the late 1980s, suggesting that decision making consider environmental, social, and economic impacts or the triple bottom line. Since that time, many new and innovative strategies for local sustainability policies, programs, and partnerships have emerged. Many of those ideas have taken hold and become prevailing practices, while others have never gained traction. Of those many approaches that have stuck around, it can be argued that one of the most impactful sets of sustainability concepts are the policies, programs, and partnerships that federal, state, and local governments; the private sector; and community organizations have implemented to return formerly used and potentially contaminated brownfield properties back to productive new uses.

ICMA and Brownfields

BY TAD MCGALLIARD

Before the term brownfield was coined in the mid-1990s, ICMA was already working on related topics. In the 1970s, the Management Information Service was one of ICMA’s premier modalities for educating members on new challenges. Several issues were focused on managing solid waste facilities and municipal landfills;1 other reports provided ideas for local government to consider when

For decades, ICMA and its partners have educated local governments and helped make strides in the local cleanup and redevelopment efforts of brownfield properties.

trying to manage urban sprawl and growth.2 The 1973–1974 OPEC oil crisis severely impacted the United States, ushering in an era of inflation and economic challenges. A little-discussed outcome of that crisis was the closure of gas stations across the country. To help local government leaders, ICMA published the Public and Private Utilization of Abandoned Service Stations in 1975.

The onset of the environmental movement in the 1960s and 1970s created a steady stream of federal legislation focused on clean air and water standards, pollution prevention, endangered species, and more. One central piece of legislation, The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (or Superfund Law) became law in 1980. Superfund provided a mechanism to clean up uncontrolled or abandoned hazardous commercial, industrial, and transportation sites that were abandoned as the American economy was transitioning. However, like with any new law, there were unintended consequences. Within a decade, many local jurisdictions were witnessing a reluctance by the private sector to invest in redevelopment due to Superfund restrictions and the fear of becoming a potentially responsible party to massive cleanup liability and costs. By 1990, communities were asking for better definitions of liability and seeking more cooperation among all levels of government, the private sector, and community organizations to identify ways of restarting redevelopment. In the early 1990s, EPA launched the “brownfields initiative,” and later in 1997, the Brownfields National Partnership Action Agenda.3

Organizations like ICMA and the U.S. Conference of Mayors were engaged to help EPA conceptualize new strategies for thinking about land use and importantly beneficial redevelopment of formerly used commercial and industrial properties that were only lightly or minimally contaminated.

Throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s, ICMA was awarded numerous EPA grants to produce training manuals, guidance documents, and online tools, leveraging the growing utility of the internet. A well-regarded resource for many years, ICMA’s Brownfields Redevelopment: A Guidebook for Local Governments and Communities, provided practical programmatic, policy, legal, and regulatory guidance for leaders, managers, and staff in cities and counties. Other workshops, publications, and peer gatherings were developed on related issues, including environmental justice, community engagement, historic preservation as well as special cleanup challenges like underground storage tanks.

The idea of smart growth emerged in the early and mid-1990s as a land use strategy with sustainability undertones and often a focus on infill development, including the reuse of brownfield sites. Again with financial support from EPA, ICMA produced seminal publications from 2000 to 2010 like Getting to Smart Growth, Getting to Smart Growth II,4 and This is Smart Growth, reports and documents that provided case studies, policy examples, zoning recommendations, and planning strategies for local governments. Putting Smart Growth to Work in Rural Communities became one of ICMA’s most widely downloaded documents at the time of its release in 2010.5 Widely marketed by ICMA, the focus on small communities and rural places was a welcome addition to the conversations on sustainability, which tend toward the actions of and strategies for larger cities and urban environments. EPA continues to use the document as an outreach tool and content in support of their work.

By the early 2000s, many jurisdictions were beginning to assign responsibilities for “brownfield coordination” to their staff in economic or community development, planning, and public works.

Some early adopter cities were hiring staff and creating offices to specifically focus on brownfield cleanup and reuse in their communities. By the time that ICMA conducted its first national survey on local sustainability policies and programs, nearly 22% of the respondents reported that their community had an active program focused on brownfields, vacant property, and reusing abandoned properties.6

Twenty Years of National Brownfields Conferences

Since 2003, ICMA has partnered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to lead the National Brownfields Training Conference. ICMA has managed a dozen different conferences in locations around the United States, with each event featuring several thousand attendees, more than 150 educational sessions, and dozens of exhibitors. During this time ICMA has helped more than 45,000 attendees learn about successful strategies for cleaning up and

redeveloping brownfield land and properties. Brownfields 2023 (brownfields2023. org) takes place in Detroit, Michigan, a city undergoing a generational revitalization with numerous successful redevelopment projects and success stories.

Looking Forward

EPA and others have estimated the number of brownfields at one time to number nearly 450,000. What the true number is nationally is secondary to the fact that most communities with any sort of industrial or commercial history likely have one or more sites in their jurisdiction. Moreover, any time a gas station, dry cleaners, manufacturing site, or even retail and office facilities close or are abandoned, a next generation brownfield is potentially created. Economic cycles are continuously evolving the nature of work and by extension the buildings and the places where that work is conducted. For example, the pandemic has created much more widespread acceptance of hybrid or full-time remote white-collar jobs. With this evolving restructuring of corporate staffing strategies, there is reason to be concerned about a nationwide downsizing of office footprints. Will office buildings and office parks become the next generation of brownfield sites? Similarly, as retail commerce increasingly occurs online, will strip malls and other retail sites become the abandoned properties that communities are more likely to deal with in the future? If so, there is a solid brownfield footing from which to build out strategies, approaches, and ultimately on-the-ground reuse and redevelopment.

After more than three decades of work by stakeholder groups like ICMA and many others, the fear of redeveloping a brownfield site, while not completely mitigated, has at least been substantially reduced. Across the United States today, there exists an ecosystem of firms, agencies, nonprofit organizations, academic researchers, and importantly local government staff and stakeholders that have expertise and experience with the requirements, regulations, and processes for beneficially redeveloping formerly used commercial and industrial properties. Moreover, there are now significant federal grants to help communities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) has authorized several billion dollars to help local governments and other organizations communities with their brownfield challenges.

As this brief history has demonstrated, ICMA has long supported the work of local cleanup and redevelopment efforts for brownfield properties. That support continues today. In 2021, ICMA became a partner with EPA to help local governments and communities in southeastern U.S. states (see icmatab.org) as part of the Agency’s Technical Assistance for Brownfields Network.7 Similarly, ICMA has continued as the primary partner of EPA in planning the National Brownfields Training Conference, the biennial gathering of all public, private, and community stakeholders focused on revitalization and redevelopment innovations. The communities led by ICMA members have fostered

ICMA and EPA: National Brownfield Conferences Through the Years

Portland, Oregon, 2003

St. Louis, Missouri, 2004

Denver, Colorado, 2005

Boston, Massachusetts, 2006

Detroit, Michigan, 2008

New Orleans, Louisiana, 2009

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2011

Atlanta, Georgia, 2013

Chicago, Illinois, 2015

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2017

Los Angeles, California, 2019

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 2022

remarkably transformative redevelopment of brownfield sites across the United States. ICMA is proud to support those efforts with technical assistance and training and to highlight leading practices and examples whenever we can.

ENDNOTES AND RESOURCES

1 Managing Solid Waste, Part 1 (November 1973), featured sections on solid waste collection, processing, and resource recovery; Managing Solid Waste, Part 2 (September 1974) covered requirements and best practices for municipal operations of landfills and other solid waste disposal approaches.

2 Local Government Techniques for Managing Growth, May 1974.

3 ICMA, 2001. Brownfields Redevelopment: A Guidebook for Local Governments and Communities, Second Edition.

4 https://icma.org/documents/gettingsmart-growth-ii-100-more-policiesimplementation

5 https://icma.org/documents/puttingsmart-growth-work-rural-communities

6 Breaking New Ground: Promoting Energy and Environmental Programs in Local Government (2011) https://icma.org/ documents/breaking-new-groundpromoting-environmental-and-energyprograms-local-government

7 For more information on EPA’s TAB program and to find the TAB provider for your community https://www.epa. gov/brownfields/brownfields-technicalassistance-and-research#TAB. More information about ICMA’s TAB work and to request assistance can be found at www. icmatab.org.

TAD MCGALLIARD is director of research and technical assistance at ICMA (tmcgalliard@icma.org).

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Let’s Think Differently About… Firing Poor Performers

YOU CANNOT TOLERATE POOR PERFORMANCE IF YOU WANT TO PROMOTE EXCELLENCE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION.

BY ED EVERETT AND MARY WELCH

Premise

Local government does an abysmal job of firing poor performers. This failure directly and negatively impacts an organization’s effectiveness, efficiency, and productivity.

The Myth

There is a myth that it is impossible to fire a poor performer. Many mistakenly believe that the Supreme Court guaranteed employees the right to a public sector job. Absolutely not. In 1985, in Cleveland Board of Education v. Loudermill, the Supreme Court declared that government employees have a “property right” to their job and, as such, they have a right to due process. The right to due process is a far cry from a guaranteed job. It merely means that employees must have an appeal process so that they cannot be fired for political or discriminatory reasons, a manager’s bias or dislike, or a retaliatory act. It categorically does not mean that poor performers can’t be fired.

Firing an employee takes will and skill. By “will,” we mean the strength and courage to do the right thing despite resistance from unions, upper management, councils, or politics. By “skill,” we mean that a manager will surround herself or himself with informed advisors.

Stewart Liff, an author and fellow at The Performance Institute, said it best. “It all comes down to mind set. If you think you have the will and skill, then you can fire someone. If you buy into the stereotype that firing someone is too difficult, then you won’t.”

We are not suggesting that lots of your employees need to be fired. Based on our research and decades of

experience, we estimate that 95% to 97% of your employees are high-quality, hardworking and dedicated employees; however, that leaves up to 5% of your workforce who are poor performers. This small group has a substantial negative impact on your organization.

Context Is Crucial

There is a significant difference in handling employee relations matters depending on your state. We have both spent our careers in California, which has strong unions, tough state rules, and often civil service or personnel commissions. We are writing this article from a California perspective.

Some of you are from “right to work” states and do not have unions or employee associations. This makes firing easier; however, all employers need to be cognizant of being sued for wrongful termination. Wrongful termination is any firing that violates a state or federal law, or public policy. State and federal laws prohibit employers from using discriminatory or retaliatory actions in firing an employee.

All states are governed by federal laws and the previously mentioned Supreme Court ruling. Your local requirements will guide how you proceed in the arena of employee relations.

Research Findings

Thorough research on this topic revealed data from the private sector and from the federal government, but no data on how local government handles poor performers. The results of our research are below:

• All studies agree that not dealing with poor performers will:

1. Reduce the productivity of your organization.

2. Lower the morale of your workforce.

3. Negatively affect the retention of good employees.

4. Reduce the quality of service of your organization.

• A McKinsey Study found that negative employee interactions by poor performers have five times the impact on an organization than positive employee interactions do.1

• Based on the Office of Personnel Management and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the private sector fires employees at about twice the rate as the federal government.

• When federal employees were asked how their agencies deal with poor performers who do not improve after receiving counseling, only 11% said their agency fired poor performers.

• We have personally observed the resistance and unwillingness of local government to fire poor performers and the negative impact of that failure to act on local government.

Why Doesn’t Local Government Fire Poor Performers?

To solve a problem, we must correctly define the causes of that problem. Why are supervisors and managers not firing poor performers?

The research identifies the following reasons:

• It takes too much time and energy to fire an employee.

• One might lose the case and look bad.

• Dealing with poor performers is a low priority for most employers.

• Managers can’t bring themselves to have the “difficult conversation.”

Telling someone their performance is unacceptable is hard.

• Many employers are fearful of being sued.

• A poor performer might be protected by someone higher up in the organization.

• Managers don’t get the proper support from their HR department or legal staff.

• Managers don’t understand the law, civil service regulations, or their own organization’s rules.

• Managers have never been trained on the disciplinary process.

• Some managers feel sorry for the person they know they should fire.

Many of these reasons are the result of fear, including fear of confrontation, losing, being sued, not being supported, or not being liked. Fear can paralyze people; however, good managers are not manipulated by their fears. Courage is facing one’s fear and doing the right thing.2 Fears can be managed.

First, support from the top to tackle poor performance is essential. Second, training on the disciplinary action process provides the knowledge needed to be successful.

Third, having a great team of collaborative advisors to provide advice and counsel will increase the success rate and minimize not only the fear of failure, but the risk of failure.

Common Mistakes about Terminations

Managers and supervisors make some common mistakes that prevent them from acting on poor performance:

It is easier to ignore problem employees than to confront them. It may be easier in the short term, but in the long run, it takes more energy, requires more work, costs more money, and causes more harm.

Managers procrastinate, hoping the poor performer will change. Hope is not a strategy. Problems don’t solve themselves and become worse over time.

Managers hope the problem employee will leave on their own accord. Hope is also not a solution. Problem employees are comfortable in an organization that refuses to deal with them.

Managers deal with poor performers by reorganizing around them. The only person you are fooling is yourself. Everyone in the organization knows the reason for the reorganization and loses respect for the manager and organization.

Managers move the poor employee into a donothing job. Unfortunately, poor performers are a cancer in

the organization, regardless of their position.

Sometimes the Manager Is the Poor Performer

Too often, we focus on employees and forget the greater damage a poor-performing manager or supervisor has on an organization. The research is clear: Poor-performing managers can devastate an organization. One study showed that when workers

moved from a below average boss to a high-quality boss their productivity increased as much as 50%.3 Figure 1 shows that turnover increases with poor management.

The Role of Human Resources and the City/ County Attorney

The role of human resources and the legal department is to work closely and collaboratively with the department manager

to assist that individual in dealing with employee conduct and performance issues, including the termination of poor performers. It is the role of all three stakeholders to work together to:

• Discuss thoroughly the performance and/or conduct issues of the employee.

• Identify and map out a strategy and process to undertake the appropriate actions for resolution.

Human resources and legal departments need to offer advice and assistance, not tell the department manager that an employee can’t be fired. The HR/legal team can identify the pitfalls of proceeding with an action, but some managers may want to proceed regardless. When an employee’s conduct is in direct conflict with an important organizational value, a manager may want to proceed with a termination, even when faced with the possibility of losing an appeal, in order to send a powerful message to the organization.

Unfortunately, human resources and legal departments are sometimes seen as

Figure 1

Attrition decreases as the people skills of managers develop

impediments to firing a poor performer. They are often overly cautious and afraid of being sued. This causes managers not to act on problem employees.

If a small HR or legal department does not have the expertise to effectively assist department managers, the organization should retain a consultant who is an expert in employee relations and employment law to provide that assistance.

Ignore the Probationary Period at Your Own Risk

One of the most underutilized and easiest ways to get rid of a poor performer is to let them go during the probationary period, often the first 30 days to six months of their employment. This is often called the “final phase of the selection process.” Terminating someone during their probationary period takes less time and energy. Probationary employees have narrow access to appeal their rejection during probation.

Why are poor performers not let go during the probationary period? Research suggests that agencies:

• Have invested time and resources in the hiring process and don’t want to admit they made a mistake.

• Feel the pressure of vacancies and can’t face working shorthanded while they do another recruitment.

• Don’t understand the power of the probationary period and the importance of getting rid of problem employees at this stage.

If an employee is not performing well during the probationary period, then it is exceedingly unlikely they will improve as a regular employee. The probationary period is a

gift to local government. Don’t waste it!

The Important Distinction between Misconduct and Poor Performance

Some employees have “conduct” issues, some have “performance” issues, and a few have both. Employees can be fired for either reason, but the process is somewhat different.

Misconduct: Misconduct cases are those where an employee fails to comply with work rules, policies, or procedures such as not arriving for work on time, not treating clients or coworkers with courtesy, being dishonest, not maintaining a good attendance, and other similar behaviors. Such violations are dealt with through corrective action and progressive discipline, e.g., verbal or written warning, suspension, and ultimately dismissal.

Misconduct can also be more serious, including intentional, negligent, or illegal behavior such as lying, cheating, falsifying a resume, insubordination, stealing, or sabotage. One does not have to go through the progressive discipline process if the conduct is egregious. Moving directly to termination may be appropriate in such situations.

Poor Performance: Poor performance is the inability to get the job done to the

employer’s expectations. The best way to deal with poor performers is using a performance improvement plan (PIP). A PIP allows the employee a chance to get the training and coaching necessary to improve and move to satisfactory performance. All PIPs must have at least three parts:

1. A clear description of what performance is subpar.

2. What the employee must do to improve her or his performance.

3. A specific statement of what training or other support the employee can expect to receive to improve.

Employees who are poor performers will sometimes have a history of positive performance evaluations. A history of positive evaluations can slow the process but does not prevent you from firing an employee. (This is a significant problem with performance evaluations and why in a previous article we recommended getting rid of such systems.)4

Training and coaching can help a poor performer improve, but not an employee who has a serious misconduct issue.

Summary

The takeaways from this article are clear:

• Stop signing onto the myth that it is impossible to fire a poor performer.

• Poor performers cause low productivity, low morale,

lower quality of service, and higher turnover.

• Firing poor performers requires will and skill.

• There are tons of excuses, but never good reasons for not dealing with poor performance.

• A very small percentage of your workforce are poor performers, but they cause a substantial negative impact.

• Don’t forget to fire poorperforming managers.

• HR and legal departments must provide advice and assistance to departments. Poor performers who are not dealt with take up too much of an organization’s time, which should be devoted to encouraging and mentoring star performers. Hiring, developing, and firing employees are the most basic tasks of supervisors and managers. If you want to promote excellence in your organization, then you cannot tolerate poor performance.

ENDNOTES AND RESOURCES

1 Stewart Liff, Government Executive, Sept 2015.

2 https://icma.org/articles/pm-magazine/ leadership-local-government-part-4-fearand-courage-leadership-duality

3 IZA World of Labor. Kathryn Shaw, Stanford professor and member of National Bureau of Economic Research.

4 https://icma.org/articles/pm-magazine/ lets-think-differently-about-performanceevaluations

ED EVERETT, ICMA-CM (RETIRED), is a retired city manager (everetted@ comcast.net).

Dear Readers: In the first article of this series, I challenged the profession to submit articles for the “Let’s Think Differently About…” series. I have heard from a couple of you, and I am excited about these upcoming articles; however, we need more of you to step forward. This is your chance to let the profession know about your innovative idea and prove that local government is not a status quo and risk-averse environment.

MARY WELCH served as the human resources director for both San Mateo and Alameda Counties in California for a total of 25 years. She also served as a human resources consultant for Management Partners for 10 years.

BY MATTHEW BURRIS

Sustainability Is More Than Being Green

Three key concepts that form the cornerstone of good public management

I have been a student of sustainability for two decades now and have found there are three concepts important to the study and practice of sustainability that have useful application to local government, especially at the higher management levels. These three concepts are (1) long-term and strategic planning, (2) systems thinking, and (3) applying an equity lens.

The conventional idea of sustainability originated almost 40 years ago out of international efforts to address the impacts of economic development on people and the environment. This new approach, this sustainable approach, suggested we balance the competing priorities of the economy, the environment, and people (equity). This new model has often been represented by a three-legged stool. Just as a three-legged stool needs three balanced, strong legs to support someone, human societies need the environment, the economy, and equity for support. Sustainability is also inherently a long-term concept. At its most basic, sustainability means the ability to persist or maintain over time. This means we need to consider the impacts of our decisions over extended periods if we are to truly understand whether they are sustainable.

Long-range Planning

However, the nature of serving local communities and meeting the wide range of short-term demands and needs often monopolize our time and attention. This takes time away from the very important responsibility of identifying long-term community objectives and opportunities. Longterm, strategic planning can help us overcome this challenge by creating a long-term vision around which all municipal functions can be organized. As ACAOs, our job is to see the big picture and rally different teams to work together toward a common purpose. We need to have a common vision to ensure our various teams and departments do not inadvertently work at cross purposes. Long-term planning also gives us the perspective we need to at least consider the long-term benefits over short-term gains.

We used long-range planning several years back when faced with the challenge of a key piece of open space changing ownership and developing as a neighborhood. After months of community unrest, we worked with the community to develop a longterm vision for the property. This vision was very different than any of the neighborhoods nearby, but it also provided the city’s departments with the clarity

they needed to work collaboratively and develop new multi-departmental solutions.

Systems Thinking

Achieving balance between the environment, economy, and equity requires a systems-based approach. There is no other way to optimize multiple goals other than with systems thinking. In the public sector, we are awash in multiple and often competing objectives. The systems thinking that forms the basis for sustainability can be used by local government to help solve complex problems. A systemsbased approach demands that a system be balanced by iterating between components and managing feedback to ensure some degree of equilibrium. Many organizations still focus on one issue or variable when problem solving. When we break larger systems into their component approaches, we start contributing to the creation of internal silos that inhibit collaboration and allows departments to pursue competing goals. Now, as we are facing more complex problems with ever scarcer resources, we need all the collaboration, creativity, and efficiency we can get.

As ACAOs, we are uniquely positioned within local agencies to translate communitywide policies into coordinated efforts across multiple departments and manage multiple outcomes. We used systems thinking with the latest update of our comprehensive plan. We received a housing allocation from the state that would require us to plan for a massive amount of new housing in a built-out city. Historically, our planning department would have prepared the update to our comprehensive plan. This time, we could not afford a long, iterative process. Instead, we formed a working group with representatives from each city department and the group helped craft, review, and refine the entire plan. By making sure all affected parties were at the table, we were able to shave six months off the typical schedule and each department was able to start implementing the plan immediately after adoption.

Equity Lens

Sustainability has played a crucial role in highlighting the importance of equity. Since the conventional idea of sustainability was unveiled in the mid-1980s, sustainability practitioners have been working to conceptualize equity to better address the human element of our systems. Such work has helped us to understand that, just like we cannot neglect some aspects of the economy or the environment

MATTHEW BURRIS, AICP, is deputy city manager of Rancho Cucamonga, California.

without consequences, we cannot neglect some aspects of our population. Equity affects all corners of our communities and can be impacted by all our services areas. With our position between CAOs and departments, ACAOs have unique responsibility and authority to ensure our communities’ needs are being met equitably and justly. Using the sustainability lens of equity has led us to a new communityfocused economic development strategy. Recently, when considering a discretionary approval for a new gas station and restaurant combination, we used an equity lens to consider whether our community

members were meaningfully participating in the decision-making process. They weren’t any. So, we went to the community. We learned there was deep concern with the proposed project as well as unmet needs in that neighborhood. It turns out those unmet needs are also market opportunities for our community.

As ACAOs, our work is complex and ever changing. Being one step removed from our boards and councils provides us with some insulation from the whims of politics and short-term community concerns. As such, we have an important responsibility to help set the long-term

vision of our communities. We are uniquely suited to communicate that vision to our teams, organize the work efforts of multiple work groups and departments around common purposes, and make sure that no one in our communities is left out. Sustainability is not just about environmental performance. It is a long-term, strategic planning tool based in systems thinking and equity. These concepts can form the cornerstone of good public management that can help us ensure improved collaboration, communication, and overall performance improvements within our organizations.

BY RYDER TODD SMITH

First Impressions Now Happen Online, Not in Person

Online reputation management for local government leaders

Imagine this: you are in a job interview with a recruiter or panel. You made it through the first round and now they are trying to assess whether you would be a good fit. The conversation is flowing and everything seems to be going well until they say, “So, we saw this news article online about why you left a position 10 years ago. Can you tell us what happened there?” Now, you have to explain your side of the story for the hundredth time and hope they understand.

You might think that meeting your potential new employer in person was your chance to make a good first impression: good eye contact, professional appearance, a firm handshake, etc. When, in fact, they have already “met” you by doing the modern-day equivalent of a background check: a Google search. And the old adage rings true: you never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Why Your Online Reputation Matters

Whether you like it or not, the first few search results for your name are your “online reputation.” These are the first bits of information a public agency will find when they do a background check on you as part of the hiring process. Or what reporters and community members will find when they want to learn more about their city/ county leader. For younger Gen X and “elder” millennial managers, you may have started seeding your online reputation with blogs and social media while in your teens or early 20s. Was that version of you the best one to present to the world?

The internet has become the dominant place to make a first impression, and leaders in the public sector have the most at stake when it comes to their online reputations. The nature of your leadership role in local government puts you in the public eye. At some point, you may have to take an action that upsets someone or

creates a controversy that results in media coverage. In the private sector, a mistake or poor decision could just quietly disappear into the ether. In the public sector, these situations can quickly spiral into stories about “wasting taxpayers’ money” or “government mismanagement.” This is part of the burden and responsibility of public service.

If you do not have a strong online presence, others can move quickly to fill the void with their own information. Even worse, one small misstep on your part could lead to search results for your name full of content that is out of your control and that sticks around for years.

The good news is that you do not have to passively accept what the internet defines as your online reputation. You can take your future into your own hands through a process called online reputation management.

Online reputation management is, broadly, the process of preventing and repairing threats to your online reputation. In practice, it involves building a stronger, positive online presence that you control. Over time, that

RYDER TODD SMITH is president of Tripepi Smith and Associates Inc.

positive content should mix in with (and potentially outrank) the less desirable search results for your name. That way, when someone looks for information about you, the first impression they should get is what you want them to find.

ICMA Can Help You During a Transition

ICMA recognizes that experiencing a career “transition” is a very difficult situation that many members face at some point in their local government careers. Any job change is difficult, but when it is forced on someone—sometimes, for reasons that often have nothing to do with their job performance—it can be traumatic.

ICMA and its partners has valuable resources for members who are between jobs. The best defense is a strong offense when it comes to your online reputation, which is why ICMA offers an online reputation management service for members in transition (MITs). ICMA

subsidizes this service for MITs through Tripepi Smith, a California-based marketing, technology, and public affairs consulting firm that specializes in serving local governments.

About ICMA’s Online Reputation Management Services

The online reputation management

services offering will help ICMA members shape online search results for their name by creating/optimizing personal social media profiles, publishing professional interviews, and/or launching personal websites. ICMA will subsidize the cost of each of the three service packages (up to 50%) for members in transition.

This member benefit provides three different packages to enhance and protect your online reputation:

1. The Blueprints package is for those who either do not currently have or do not actively use a LinkedIn profile, Twitter account, and/or Facebook profile.

2. The Breakground package is intended for intermediate social media users who are in search of a professional audit. The audit will provide you with an overview of your profiles while ensuring that best practices are being adhered to. In addition, Tripepi Smith will conduct an interview with you to create

Any job change is difficult, but when it is forced on someone—sometimes, for reasons that often have nothing to do with their job performance—it can be traumatic.

positive content on the well-respected local government news website, CivicBusinessJournal.com. Lastly, Tripepi Smith will provide prompts for you to author an op-ed article for PublicCEO.com, a digital local government publication that delivers news and insights to over 16,000 city managers, county administrators, public executives, and public employees every weekday.

3. The Remodel package is for those who are serious about protecting (or repairing) their online reputation. In addition to the services within the Breakground and Blueprints packages, Tripepi Smith will create a personalized

website for you. The team will work with you in gathering content that showcases your professional achievements. Finally, the website will be optimized for major search engine algorithms. This will ensure that major search engines recognize this new website is relevant to your name.

Not a One-and-Done Process

Online reputations require care, feeding, and attention to detail to maintain. It is in your best interest to be proactive rather than reactive. After a negative story appears on a news network, it is likely beyond your control and will be difficult to displace from search results for your name. But if you have already taken steps to “own” at least some of the first page of search results for your name, others

will have an uphill battle to insert their own narratives.

Learn More

If you want more control over the first impression your online reputation will make, visit icma.org/reputation. There you will find a brochure that explains the three service packages in greater detail and how to get started. Only ICMA members who are in transition are eligible for the subsidy on these services, but anyone interested in this service may email membership@icma.org for more information.

PROFILES OF LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT IN ACTION

“Being an ICMA Credentialed Manager is personally rewarding. It keeps me focused on my professional development and skillset improvement by setting targets and providing benchmarks. I also found completion of a multi-rater assessment invaluable. I am proud to be an ICMA member and know that the credentialing program keeps me engaged and committed to the profession.”

Chad

Bird City

Manager

City of Burlington, IA

Credentialed since October 2017

Demonstrate your commitment to professional development and lifelong learning. Join the growing number of those who have earned the ICMA-CM designation. ICMA Credentialed Managers are viewed with growing distinction by local governing bodies and progressive, civically engaged communities. For more information, visit icma.org/credentialedmgr

The Voluntary Credentialing Program Celebrates 20 Years! View a list of credentialed managers and candidates at icma.org/credentialed

Celebrating 20 Years of the Voluntary Credentialing Program!

Online reputations require care, feeding, and attention to detail to maintain.

CONFERENCE ASSISTANCE SCHOLARSHIPS

To help ICMA members experience the difference

that attending the ICMA Annual Conference has made for so many, ICMA offers the opportunity to apply for a scholarship to support your conference attendance.

2023 ANNUAL CONFERENCE SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

EARLY CAREER PROFESSIONALS

ICMA members with three years or less experience as a full-time local government employee.

WORKPLACE DIVERSITY

ICMA members who are from historically marginalized or underrepresented populations.

SMALL COMMUNITY EMPLOYEE

ICMA members serving in small communities with limited financial resources. (no minimum population)

EDWARD O. STENE

ICMA student members, who are full-time first year graduate students.

Details at icma.org/annual-conference/scholarships

Apply by August 16, 2023

Do you understand what your finance director is telling you?

Numbers are at the core of a public finance officer’s job and being able to communicate those numbers to others is critical to effective decision making on all aspects of public administration. However, for many leaders, it may be difficult to understand this language of numbers and technical accounting definitions. GFOA’s research report Fiscal Fluency Made Easy provides essential strategies for transforming numbers into human experience, based on the popular book, Making Numbers Count .

Learn more about GFOA’s research and join in the Fiscal Fluency Challenge.

DISCOVER

Where the sun shines bright and the fun never ends!

Whether you are a newcomer to local government or a seasoned professional, here are a few reasons to make the ICMA Annual Conference the professional development event you don’t want to miss:

• Learn firsthand from expert practitioners

• Hear about leading practices for local government management

• Network with 5,000+ local government professionals from around the world

• Experience an expansive exhibit hall showcasing the latest products and services