The Michigan Municipal League is a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

association of municipalities and municipal leaders in the

State of Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The group banded in 1899 under the motto “Cooperation solves any problem” to reflect the organizers’ combined purposes: exchange of information, shared learning, development of unified policies on matters of municipal concern, and to form a collective voice on matters including home rule for local government. The organization today remains the largest collective voice for municipalities in the State of Michigan, and represents the mutual interests of villages and cities of all sizes in its advocacy activities at the state and federal level.

History

In August 1898, the city of

Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

sent its mayor, William B. Baum, Sr., to a meeting in Detroit of the National Municipal League, which had been formed in 1894 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

as a citizens’ group aimed at finding ways to achieve good city government. The National Municipal League was later renamed the National Civic League and is today known as the

National League of Cities The National League of Cities (NLC) is an advocacy organization in the United States that represents the country's 19,495 cities, towns, and villages along with 49 state municipal leagues. Created in 1924, it has evolved into a leading membership ...

, the oldest and largest organization in the United States focused on advocating for municipalities. Inspired by the conference, Baum wrote to the mayors of 50 Michigan cities but only heard back from 15 so he decided there was not enough support at the time to pursue the idea further. Then in January 1899,

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

Mayor George H. Perry wrote to Baum to enlist his support in calling for a meeting of Michigan mayors to champion the principle of home rule. An invitation from Perry, Baum,

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

mayor M.G. Laenecker and Detroit Mayor

William Maybury William Cotter Maybury (November 20, 1848 – May 6, 1909) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Early life Maybury was born in Detroit, Michigan, on November 20, 1848, the son of Thomas Maybury. He attended public schools ...

was sent to every Michigan mayor for a meeting held in Lansing on May 23, 1899, where a constitution was drafted and temporary officers were elected. Mayor Baum became the first president of the new group.

Traverse City Traverse City ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Grand Traverse County, although a small portion extends into Leelanau County. It is the largest city in the 21-county Northern Michigan region. The population was ...

Mayor Frank Hamilton was the first vice president. Adrian Mayor Willard Stearns was treasurer and

Mayor Frances Hunter was secretary. The mayors of Cadillac, Flint, Jackson, Kalamazoo and Port Huron were elected as directors. The group was responsible for organizing its first convention, held in Grand Rapids on September 26–27, 1899, where the League of Michigan Municipalities was officially formed with 44 founding municipalities. The city and village officials were initially focused on resolving issues with the Michigan legislature. At that time, all cities were chartered directly by the legislature. In the words of Harold D. Smith, the first director of the League, “they were at the mercy of a body composed of members who had little or no experience in municipal affairs.” Their initial efforts were focused on securing home rule for cities and villages, or as Smith put it, “bringing impressively to the attention of a rural legislature the problems of growing cities in the state.” Those activities were later reinforced by the creation of a League advocacy office in

Lansing Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, makin ...

, the seat of state government in Michigan, where League staff act as registered

lobbyists In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, whi ...

for cities and villages. The group also uses a variety of grass roots tactics to achieve political influence. The League held its first annual convention in 1899, hosted each year by alternating member communities. It later added an annual legislative conference that is always held in the state's capital. While the League's activities are no longer focused solely on the legislature, local officials have continued to collaborate for more than a century to represent and protect the interests of local government. The League's current motto is “Better communities. Better Michigan.” Its stated mission is to serve as “the one clear voice for Michigan communities" and to aid them in creating desirable and unique places through legislative and judicial advocacy; to provide educational opportunities for elected and appointed officials; and to assist municipal leaders in administering community services. The mission statement concludes: "Our mission is that of a non-profit, but we act with the fervor of entrepreneurs to passionately push change for better communities and a better Michigan.” The League also provides a variety of services to its member communities, including a risk management and liability pool, purchasing program, executive search services, a municipal litigation center, education and training. The Michigan Municipal League Foundation provides funding for the League's educational programs and related functions such as a Shared Services Initiative which provides monetary and advisory support for local governments seeking to explore options for public services collaboration. League projects include the Center for 21st Century Communities, an effort to help local officials identify, develop and implement strategies that will strengthen a community's sense of place in order to attract and retain young and talented members of the world's increasingly mobile workforce.

Organizational structure

The League is composed mainly of communities and individual elected officials and staff within those communities. These members in turn elect an 18-member

board of trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

from within their ranks who each serve for a three-year term. The Board determines policy both within the organization itself and as a political entity interacting with state and federal government. An executive director is appointed by the Board to have authority over the League's programming, policy development and member services. The executive director in turn oversees and delegates duties to a staff of paid professionals. The director also serves as the top public spokesperson for the League, along with the President of the Board of Trustees. This is one of 49 state municipal leagues which cooperate with the

, which is the oldest and largest organization in the United States with the mission to strengthen and promote cities as centers of opportunity, leadership and governance. In Michigan, a parallel organization that acts with and on behalf of townships is the Michigan Township Association. Other parallel organizations serving different constituencies includ
Michigan Association of Counties.Michigan Suburbs Alliance
an
Michigan Chamber of Commerce

Publications

is the Michigan Municipal League's official magazine. "It serves as a medium of exchange of ideas and information for the officials of Michigan cities and villages." Archived Issues are available.

Notes

Published works

* *{{cite journal , url=http://www.mml.org/pdf/iptreports/restoring-mi-communities2.pdf , title=Restoring Michigan Communities Building by Building Better Communities. Better Michigan. , date=September 2007 , journal=Michigan Municipal Review Published , publisher=Michigan Municipal League , access-date=January 3, 2012, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101115237/http://www.mml.org/pdf/iptreports/restoring-mi-communities2.pdf, archive-date=January 1, 2011

External links