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Guidepost #15 - Tom Bonfield, City of Durham, NC

Welcome to week #15 of the Cookingham Connection. Today, we learn from Mr. Tom Bonfield, the city manager of Durham, North Carolina. Mr. Bonfield has served in local government for more than 30 years, including 25 years managing cities. He served as the City Manager of Temple Terrace for thirteen years and Pensacola for ten years, prior to...

TX: Scott Sellers, Kilgore City Manager

Fifty Nifty Takeaways What do we hope to learn from this series? We hope you will gain a better understanding of the unique characteristics of local government in each state, we hope you will learn that there are others like you who are motivated to make a difference through the public sector, and we hope...

Call for Papers: Federal, State and Local Budgets

CALL FOR PAPERS Federal, State, and Local Budgets in Jeopardy: A Conference on America's Fiscal Future

Tansy Hayward, Raleigh, NC

We're back with another installment of The Assistant series where we sit down with Assistant and Deputy City (& County) Managers to get their take on local government. Today we hear from Tansy Hayward, Assistant City Manager for the City of Raleigh, NC.

Digital Storytelling: Finding Your Filter

We have a new member of the ELGL columnist family. Kim Ervin, of #ELGL14 fame and Pyramid Communications Senior Social Media Strategist, joins us to provide a monthly column on digital storytelling. She's also organizing a Google Hangout to explore the topic more in-depth. Digital Storytelling: Changing Landscape, Consistent Goals By: Kim Ervin, LinkedIn and Twitter A...

Guidepost #14 – Kyler Ludwig

Welcome to week #14 of the Cookingham Connection. Last week, we heard from Mr. Ray Gosack. Today, we learn from Mr. Kyler Ludwig, Assistant City Administrator of Goddard, Kansas. Mr. Ludwig graduated magna cum laude from the honors program at Utah Valley University with a B.S. in Political Science and an emphasis in American Government. He spent three years volunteering part-time...

SEELGL Trivia Night!

Another fun event is on the way for ELGL Southeast members! Come have a beer and show off your random knowledge at trivia night at Mystery Brewing Company in Hillsborough, NC on Wednesday, November 19 at 8pm. This event is open to ELGL members and friends. We're hoping to organize a carpool, so stay tuned!...

'Tis the Season for Elections in the Land Down Under

'Tis the Season by Andrew Coulson Connect: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest Good Ol’ October….a month reserved for ghosts, ghouls (my birthday… cough) and, of course, local government conferences and award ceremonies in Australia. Our award ceremonies range from the best maintained cities to best practices in community engagement. It was great to watch, from a far, #ELGL14. I hope that...

Allow Myself to Introduce Myself......Arnold Perez, Brownsville, TX

Welcome to the new and (somewhat) improved version of our member introductions. If you are puzzled by the column name, take a minute to watch the above scene from Austin Powers. Background Check Brownsville Survey from Brownsville.TV on Vimeo. Arnold Perez is the Organizational Development Management for the City of Brownsville, Texas. He is a...

We're #9: SeeClickFix Names ELGL a Leader in Innovation and Engagement

Ten Leaders In the Civic Space We'll be blushing for days after being named one of the 10 leaders in the civic space. SeeClickFix selected organizations that are doing "some pretty awesome stuff." Here's who is hanging out with us on the list: 1. Granicus 2. Socrata 3. CityWorks 4. NeighborWorks 5. OpenGov Hub 6. Blexting 7....

Guidepost #14 - Ray Gosack, City of Fort Smith, AR

Today we learn from Mr. Ray Gosack, the city administrator of Fort Smith, AR. Prior to his service in Fort Smith as city administrator, Mr. Gosack was the Fort Smith deputy city administrator. He also served during 1988-1999 as the assistant village manager and director of management services for the Village of Homewood, Ill. Be sure to...

Exploring the Metroplex with Harrison Wicks

Golf clap to new ELGL project assistant Harrison Wicks. Harrison will serve as a point person for the SW chapter. His duties including managing the SW Twitter feed, developing original content, and strengthening our partnerships with other organizations. Who Am I? Why Am I Here? by Harrison Wicks - LinkedIn and Twitter Attention ELGL members,...

Activating a Sustainability Plan with Nyssa Rivera

Nyssa Rivera works for the City of Forest Grove, OR. Her column will walk you through the creation and adoption of a sustainability plan. Activating a Sustainability Plan By Nyssa Rivera Two years ago, my dog and I landed in Eugene, Oregon after a four day drive from Houston, TX. I was leaving the smog...

What is an Assistant To?: Ben McCready, City of Rock Island, IL

What is an Assistant to the City Manager? In between other duties as assigned, council meetings, and a bewildering assortment of public inquiries, ELGL members identify the essential functions of the position.

Presentation: 60 Local Government Ideas in 60 Minutes

In cased you missed it or want to relive it, here's the presentation...... #ELGL14 60 Ideas in 60 Minutes.

#CatchKC with Ben Kittelson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojF5TFG0YtM&feature=youtu.be Ben Kittelson, the reigning Knope of the Week, is driving cross country this week to his new home in Carrboro, NC. It was a no-brainer that he'd make a pit stop in the Land of Cookingham - Kansas City, MO. Thanks to our good friend Rick Usher, Kansas City assistant city manager, the stop...

Guidepost #13 – Melanie Curl

Welcome to week #13 of the Cookingham Connection. Last week, we learned from Sherilyn Lombos, the city manager of Tualatin, Oregon. Today, we learn about the same guidepost from Melanie Curl, HR Specialist with the City of Keller, Texas. Ms. Curl assists all city departments with recruitment and selection of new city staff. Her responsibilities include: creating job descriptions, developing advertising...

On Campus with University of Nevada, Reno MPA Program

The next stop on our tour of MPA programs around the country takes us to the Biggest Little City in the World and the University of Nevada, Reno. Wikipedia tells us that the university has a center for Basque studies (including Basque language!) due to the sizable Basque population in the area. Who knew?! No...

Community Conversations – How WordPress Brings Transparency to Local Government

As a precursor to our webinar with GovFresh, we've asked Sam Taylor, City of Ferndale, WA, to write about his city's experience in using WordPress. Background Check Sam Taylor (LinkedIn and Twitter) is a Certified Municipal Clerk, a former journalist, and current Master in Public Administration Student at Kent State University. He’s worked for the...

Innovation Series: Miguel Gamino & the City of San Francisco

The next installment of the innovation webinar series comes to us from San Francisco, CA. Miguel Gamino, the city's Chief Information Officer, will be sharing the innovations San Francisco has recently adopted from free public wifi in parks to adopting cloud technology. So join us on October 29 at 10 am PT. Register for the...