The Michigan Municipal League 2012 Capital Conference begins at 9 am today with several interesting and informative workshops at the Lansing Center. Recreation Authorities & Other Funding for Parks & Rec is in Room 202. Most Common OMA and FOIA Mistakes and How to Avoid Them is in Room 205. Creative Consolidation: Success in Shared Services is in Room 204. The MAMA Advanced Institute is 9 am - 4:30 pm in Room 201, with the League Board of Trustees Meeting from 10 am - 1 pm at the League Capital Office.

The Governance Committee Meeting is 1:15-2:15 pm in Rooms 103-104.

Welcoming General Session starts at 2:30pm and features a discussion on the personal property tax issue with Lt. Gov. Brian Calley. This is a hot topic of concern to many League communities at risk of losing this crucial revenue source for local services, unless the legislature provides a guaranteed replacement. The general session is your chance to hear firsthand from the Lt. Governor on where this issue is headed.

Don't forget the Regional Roundtables at 3:45 pm, where you'll get a chance to hear and present entries for the annual Community Excellence Award competition. This year the process starts with a casual five-minute talk in front of your region, describing what your community's project has accomplished and how it's benefitted your city or village and its residents. Check the program or the League's Capital Conference apps for Android or iPhone to find out in which room your region meeting is taking place.

The day finishes up with the MML Liability & Property Pool Kick-Off party at 5:30 pm in Hall A.

Onsite registration and packet pick-up is open in the Central hallway from noon to 6 pm.

Welcome, everyone! Check back here on the Capital Conference blog, follow the event on Twitter at hashtag #mmlconf, and check out event photos on flickr throughout the next two days.

To stay up to date on the latest news from Capital Conference, read the Capital Conference blog or go to the League’s website at mml.org. Want to be sure you know what's happening as it happens? Follow the Capital Conference Twitter feed by searching the hashtag #mmlconf. Want to see photos from the event? We'll be posting them throughout the event on the League's flickr page.

Go here for the full agenda that covers everything from brownfield tax credits to green government to Lt. Gov. Brian Calley discussing the personal property tax issue.

LANSING, Michigan - The Michigan Municipal League's Capital Conference starts tomorrow (Tuesday, March 20) and our hundreds of attendees are in for a couple action-packed days.

To stay up to date on the latest news from Capital Conference, read the Capital Conference blog. Want to be sure you know what's happening as it happens? Follow the Capital Conference Twitter feed by searching the hashtag #mmlconf. Want to see photos from the event? We'll be posting them throughout the event on the League's flickr page.

Go here for the full agenda that covers everything from parks and recreation authories to green government to Lt. Gov. Brian Calley discussing the personal property tax issue.

Matt Bach is director of communications for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at 734-669-6317 and mbach@mml.org.

 
LANSING, Michigan - Get on the inside track of Michigan’s transportation future, and learn what’s ahead and how it could impact your Michigan community during the Michigan Municipal League's 2012 Capital Conference, March 20-21, 2012. This year's Conference will include a session about the state's transportation future, including the latest updates on where transportation legislation is headed in 2012 from Senator Tom Casperson, Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, and Representative Paul Opsommer, Chair of the House Transportation Committee.

Troy Chamber of Commerce President Michele Hodges will talk about what transportation means to the business community. Let’s Save Michigan advocate Sarah Szurpicki will offer insights on why transportation is so vital to Michigan’s future. Session moderator will be Linden Mayor David Lossing, vice president of the Michigan Municipal League Board of Trustees. General Session, titled Taking the Inside Track on Transportation is 1:45-2:45 pm Wednesday, March 21.

Casperson served in the Michigan House of Representatives for six years, from 2002 to 2008. In 2010, he was elected to the Michigan Senate, making him the first Republican to represent the 38th Senate District. The 38th District serves 13 of the Upper Peninsula's 15 counties, making it bigger geographically than 9 states. He serves as chair of the Transportation Committee and the Natural Resources, Environment and Great Lakes Committee.

Read additional posts about the 2012 Capital Conference here:
- How Green is Your Government? Find out at Capital Conference
- Peter Anastor to Talk Brownfield Tax Credits at Michigan Municipal League Conference
- Lt. Gov. Brian Calley to Discuss Personal Property Tax at Capital Conference
- Michigan Municipal League Launches Mobile App for Capital Conference
- Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett to Discuss Placemaking at Capital Conference
- Energy, Environment, Transportation Policy: What's Ahead? Find out at Capital Conference
- Capital Conference General Session To Have Transportation Focus

Matt Bach is director of communications for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org and (734) 669-6317.

  Peter Anastor will be one of the guest speakers for Brownfield Tax Credits: Now What? It's one of the morning concurrent sessions at Capital Conference, 10:15-11:30 a.m. Wednesday, March 21 2012. View other speakers here and the Capital Conference agenda here.

Peter Anastor is the Director of Policy for the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). In this position, Peter is responsible for developing broad policy initiatives and designing and creating new strategic initiatives at the MEDC. In addition, Peter is leading a Statewide team, working with many statkeholders, to develop a Statewide Logisitic strategy. Professional Background Prior to his current position, Peter served as the Manager of Community and Urban Development for the MEDC. In this position, Peter was responsible for developing and implementing urban and community revitalization strategies for the MEDC. This included overseeing the Brownfield Redevelopment Program, the Community Assistance Team and the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) tax credit programs.

Prior to that Peter also served as Program Manager for Brownfield Redevelopment at the MEDC. In this position, he oversaw the day-to-day operations of the program including the allocation of brownfield redevelopment tax credits and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) approvals. Peter has also served as a Senior Project Manager at the MEDC where he worked with companies to structure incentive packages to secure new jobs and investment for the state of Michigan. Prior to joining the MEDC, Peter served as a Budget Analyst in Michigan’s Office of the State Budget where he developed budget recommendations for various state departments. Peter also serves as a member of the Michigan State Land Bank Authority and was a former Secretary to the MEGA Board. Education Peter earned a Bachelors degree from James Madison College at Michigan State University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

Read additional posts about the 2012 Capital Conference here:
- Lt. Gov. Brian Calley to Discuss Personal Property Tax at Capital Conference
- Michigan Municipal League Launches Mobile App for Capital Conference
- Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett to Discuss Placemaking at Capital Conference
- Energy, Environment, Transportation Policy: What's Ahead? Find out at Capital Conference
- Capital Conference General Session To Have Transportation Focus

Elizabeth Shaw is communications coordinator for the Michigan Municipal League. She can be reached at eshaw@mml.org.
 

The Michigan Municipal League's Capital Conference is going mobile. Starting now, League members and others can get all Capital Conference related information from their smart phones and tablets for their Android and Apple devices. To get the Capital Conference app for your device, simply go to the Android Marketplace or Apple App Store and search for "Michigan Municipal League".

The apps are free and contain everything you'll need to know about the 2012 Capital Conference taking place March 20-21 in Lansing. By using this app for Capital Conference, you can view the full agenda of sessions, photos from the event, blogs written by League staff about the Conference, a map of the Lansing Center where the conference is occurring, a list of vendors participating in the annual expo, and much more. The apps even have a map of the expo hall showing where particular vendors will be set up.

The mobile apps for Capital Conference are part of a larger mobile application initiative by the League. We've also launched in the Android marketplace apps for "The One Clear Voice", "Economics of Place" and "Let's Save Michigan". These apps push our blogs and social networking feeds directly to users' mobile devices.

Through its Center for 21st Century Communities, the League has identified eight assets for making vibrant communities and restoring Michigan to prosperity. One of those assets is messaging and technology and this endeavor into mobile applications feeds into that asset, said Rob Ferrari, director of digital strategies for the League.

"The League has put an emphasis on creating technology solutions that will deliver up-to-date information to our members anytime, anywhere," Ferrari said. "We realize that smartphones and tablets are becoming more prevalent with our members and the public, and these platforms provide the League another opportunity to deliver information to our members where and when they want it."

Matt Bach is director of communications for the Michigan Municipal League. He can be reached at mbach@mml.org or (734) 669-6317.