IMLA

Homelessness Working Group Conference Call
2022-12-01 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-11-03 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-10-06 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-09-01 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-08-04 15:00 - 16:00 (America/New_York)
If you care to take part in this call, please email cstorer@imla.org.

Election Webinar
2022-12-01 13:00 - 14:00
Recent Developments in Election Law: The Independent State Legislature Theory, Voter Suppression masquerading as Election Reform, and Efforts to Curb Partisan Gerrymandering
This program will focus on the most recent developments in election law, with emphasis on the Independent State Legislature theory to further restrictions on Section 2 Vote Dilution under the Voting Rights Act and pernicious efforts to suppress minority voting. Given the uncertainty in the law as reflected in the most recent grant of certiorari in the Moore v. Allen case and Brnovich, this program will resonate with local government counsel interested in keeping current in this volatile area of the law.
Speaker: Ben Griffith & Chris Balch

Land Use Webinar - Free Live For IMLA Members
2022-11-29 13:00 - 14:00
Protecting Due Process in Your Pajamas: Administering Land Use Hearings in a Virtual World
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced local governments to shift to virtual hearings if they wanted to continue conducting business. Questions as to what impact such hearings may or may not have on the constitutional rights afforded parties in land use cases were generally set aside for the time being as Americans faced up to a significant health crisis. Heading into 2023, are virtual hearings the “new normal” and, if so, are the legislators and courts on board? Do existing state statutes and case law provide adequate protection for local government leaders to continue approving variances, conditional uses, special exceptions, site plans, subdivisions, and other land use applications from the comfort of their living room? What should local government attorneys consider when advising clients on whether virtual processes satisfy constitutional muster? This presentation will look at how different states are currently handling virtual hearings in the land use context and identify issues that attorneys should explore when advising local governments on best practices.
Speaker: David Warner

Environment Webinar
2022-11-22 13:00 - 14:00
Citizens’ Suits & You: A basic understanding of the Private Enforcement mechanism under The Clean Water Act
This presentation will discuss how does a citizen suit work under 33 U.S.C. § 1365. The presentation will also discuss how to defend against a citizens’ suits and a survey of federal case law.
Speaker: Thomas E. Powers III

Construction Webinar
2022-11-17 13:00 - 14:00
2022 Global Construction Disputes Report
Current events have introduced a high degree of anxiety and uncertainty to the construction industry across the globe. This webinar focuses on the top causes of disputes in 2021 and provides tangible actions to mitigate disputes on projects. After attending this presentation, participants should be able to describe the current events and challenges affecting the construction market; describe the top techniques for mitigating disputes; explain potential solutions for avoiding disputes; and discuss the top causes of disputes and methods for effectively avoiding them.
Speaker: Roy Cooper, Bryan Payne & Ben Eiss

Technology Webinar - Free Live For IMLA Members
2022-11-10 13:00 - 14:00
Biometrics and the Potential for Local Government Liability
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
New privacy laws about biometrics (fingerprints, retinal scan, facial recognition, voice recognition, the way a person walks, their keystrokes) require notification or protection for individuals, but do those laws affect local government? Are there liability issues for local government for use of biometric markers in regard to employment or other claims? This presentation explores those issues and maps out recommendations for best practices in this emerging area.
Speaker: Cathy Cunningham

Climate Change Working Group Call
2022-10-26 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-09-28 15:00 - 16:00

2022 IMLA 87th Annual Conference
2022-10-19 08:00 - 2022-10-23 12:00
2022 IMLA’s 87th Annual Conference
Portland, Oregon: October 19-23, 2022
Hilton Portland Downtown & The Duniway, A Hilton Hotel
Click here to learn more about the conference.

Federal Webinar
2022-09-29 13:00 - 14:00
Seismic Shifts: SCOTUS, Religion & States and Local Governments
In the past few years, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued several significant decisions regarding its legal doctrines involving religion. Most notably, local governments lost two cases last term for applying incorrect legal tests! Last term SCOTUS embraced a narrow view of the Establishment Clause in a tuition assistance case and a public forum case and overturned Lemon in a public employment case. Recently, SCOTUS has embraced a broad view of the Free Exercise Clause in a series of COVID cases and a case involving the City of Philadelphia. And it may continue this trend in the upcoming term in a case involving a web designer who objects on religious grounds to making custom wedding websites for same-sex couples. The presentation will discuss these cases, trends, and practical guidance on SCOTUS and religion.
Speaker: Lisa Soronen, Erin Murphy & Joshua Matz

Land Use Webinar
2022-09-22 13:00 - 14:00
Equity in Property Assessments and Zoning
Real estate taxes are an important source of income for most local governments. Property assessments should be fair and equitable in order to ensure that all property owners pay their fair share, but no more. This program will include discussion of historic and current inequities in property assessments, and current thinking on ways to reduce these inequities.
Zoning codes and decisions by zoning boards have a significant impact on the lives and livelihoods of residents. Because of this widespread impact, it is important that a variety of stakeholders have access to the zoning process in order to provide input on issues in their communities. This presentation will first review the various stakeholders in zoning matters and how they are impacted, followed by a discussion of the challenges to equitable access and outcomes in zoning.
Faculty members are an attorney who counsels the Philadelphia Office of Property Assessment, in addition to defending assessment appeals; and an attorney who is counsel to the Philadelphia Zoning Board of Adjustment.
Speaker: Amy Galer & Hilary Emerson

Telecommunications Webinar
2022-09-20 13:00 - 14:30
Cell Tower Lease Rates and Sales Prices
In the world of telecommunications law, one question consistently rises to the top of the list: What is the going rate for lease or rent of a cell tower lease? This program will answer that question for cell leases, particularly for the tens of thousand of leases coming up for renewal.
It will also provide municipalities (and all property owners) with the basics of leasing land for a cell tower (or space on a building roof or other structure) for cell antennas, including why 5G has little impact on cell lease rents or the sales prices. It is presented by two attorneys with decades of experience representing municipalities and other property owners on cell leases.
The program covers key business issues in cell site leases, including lease rates, who gets the revenues from additional antennas or carriers being co-located at a site, and the major rent increases possible at renewals. It then shifts to avoiding lease terms which can prevent a landlord’s use or development of the property with the lease, and adding lease terms which help preserve these rights.
After covering some more conventional lease terms the program addresses the sale of cell leases and future leasing rights. This includes typical sale prices (often around 19 to 20 times annual revenues); when to sell and when it is not advisable to sell; how to get the best price and terms in a sale; and again avoiding provisions that restrict the development or use of the property. On both cell leases and the sale of leases the program addresses key items that are unique to municipalities. More generally, the program covers such topics as lease term and terminations, access requirements, radio frequency interference, design and camouflage, and radio frequency emissions safety.
Speaker: John Pestle & Jonathan Kramer

Small/Rural Communities Working Group Call
2022-09-19 15:00 - 16:00, 2022-08-01 15:00 - 16:00

Preemption Webinar - Free Live For IMLA Members
2022-09-15 13:00 - 14:00
Protecting Abortion at the Local Level
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
This session examines the current patchwork of state laws governing of abortion following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This session will discuss what can be done at the local level to protect abortion access, both in states have restricted the right and those that have moved to enshrine it. Finally, this session will discuss how to integrate local communities into local efforts to further abortion justice.
Speaker: LiJia Gong, Jenny Dodson Mistry & Winnie Ye

Personnel Webinar
2022-09-13 13:00 - 14:00
Employment Law Workplace Investigations
This presentation will provide strategies and tips for workplace investigations, including: the investigative process; escalation and timing issues; retaliation and whistleblower protections; privilege issues; training; conducting interviews; and drafting and preparing reports.
Speaker: Trina Chernos

IMLA International Comparative Law Program
2022-09-12 08:00 - 2022-09-17 17:00
IMLA International Comparative Law Program
September 12-17, 2022
Seville, Spain
Click here to learn more.

Counties Working Group Call
2022-09-07 15:00 - 16:00

General Webinar
2022-09-06 13:00 - 14:00
New Municipal Attorney Essentials
Municipal attorneys need to handle a wide variety of legal responsibilities, some unique to local government. The number of issues and topics requiring legal proficiency can be overwhelming. This presentation will help city and county attorneys develop a plan for navigating their initiation into local government law. While this webinar is designed for attorneys who are new to local government, experienced municipal attorneys can also benefit from a review of the basics of municipal law.
Speaker: Roger Horner

Super Saver Rates for the Virtual Annual Conference End
2022-08-31
2022 87th Annual Conference

October 19-23, 2022 | Virtual

Animal Law Webinar
2022-08-30 13:00 - 14:00
Herding Cats: Legal Issues Involving Cats in Your Communities
The legal and practical management of cats has experienced significant development and advancement at the local level in recent years. City and county governments have the power to make important changes with respect to the treatment of cats in their communities – changes that will provide great benefit to both the human and animal populations, and lead to long-term solutions to current concerns. This session will describe the contemporary situations that local governments face with respect to cats, and provide scientific data and legal support for programs that represent the only real potential for success when dealing with these issues.
Speaker: Ledy VanKavage & Bruce Wagman

Homelessness Webinar
2022-08-25 13:00 - 14:00
Case Study: A Capital City’s Approach to Unsheltered Homelessness
In the wake of Martin v. City of Boise (9th. Cir. 2019), and the effects of the pandemic, Sacramento, California like many communities, experienced an overwhelming homelessness crisis that depleted public resources and overwhelmed business and neighborhood corridors. The recent Point in Time Count demonstrated that the Sacramento region experienced a 67% increase in its unhoused population since 2019. This webinar will explore the efforts employed by the City of Sacramento to mitigate the adverse effects of public encampments, address lawsuits brought by both homeless advocates and affected businesses, all while undertaking multiple efforts to shelter the unhoused. These efforts included actions by the Sacramento City Council to enact ordinances aimed to protect the city’s critical infrastructure, establish a new city department to provide a social-service-oriented response to noncriminal calls for services, and develop a comprehensive siting plan to shelter the unhoused in partnership with community organizations and individuals. The City Council has also placed a measure on the November ballot to accelerate increased shelter capacity and prescribe conditions subject to enforcement. The speakers will address each of these and other approaches and strategies taken not only to reduce the effects, but also to reduce and ultimately resolve unsheltered homelessness.
Speaker: Susana Alcala Wood, Aaron Israel, Gustavo Martinez & Beau Parkhurst

Personnel Webinar (Originally Scheduled For July 7th)
2022-08-23 13:00 - 14:00
Every Breath You Take, Every Move You Make: The Legal (and Practical) Aspects of Supervising Telework
This presentation will address some of the more common pitfalls associated with remote work. The legal aspects include Title VII, FLSA, Workers’ Comp, employee benefits, privacy rights and federal tax treatment. The presentation may also include practical solutions from savvy HR directors.
Speaker: Robin Cross

Diversity/Equity/Inclusion Book Club Meeting
2022-08-17 15:00 - 16:00
If you care to take part in this call, please email cstorer@imla.org.
Join us August 17th from 3-4 pm ET to discuss Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliott. It is BYOB—bring your own book, booze, or both.
Synopsis: In Invisible Child, Pulitzer Prize winner Andrea Elliott follows eight dramatic years in the life of Dasani, a girl whose imagination is as soaring as the skyscrapers near her Brooklyn shelter. In this sweeping narrative, Elliott weaves the story of Dasani’s childhood with the history of her ancestors, tracing their passage from slavery to the Great Migration north. As Dasani comes of age, New York City’s homeless crisis has exploded, deepening the chasm between rich and poor. She must guide her siblings through a world riddled by hunger, violence, racism, drug addiction, and the threat of foster care. Out on the street, Dasani becomes a fierce fighter “to protect those who I love.” When she finally escapes city life to enroll in a boarding school, she faces an impossible question: What if leaving poverty means abandoning your family, and yourself?

First Amendment Webinar
2022-08-02 13:00 - 14:00
Protest and Demonstration Permits
A presentation discussing key considerations for governmental entities creating regulations that require permits for public protests and demonstrations. The webinar will cover the First Amendment standards for prior restraints – including strict scrutiny, intermediate scrutiny, limiting the discretion of government officials, justifications supporting the regulation, narrowly tailoring the permit requirements, content neutrality, and permit conditions.
Speaker: Ian Williams

Climate Change Meeting
2022-07-27 15:00 - 16:00
