IMLA

Preemption Webinar - Free Live For IMLA Members
2023-06-22 13:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York)
Post-COVID Equitable Housing Preemption
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
This session examines state preemption of local authority to protect tenants and expand access to affordable housing, particularly following the implementation and expiration of emergency measures passed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many state legislatures, in both “red” and “blue” states, preempt local governments from increasing housing supply, crafting inclusionary zoning, or implementing rent regulations to alleviate housing unaffordability. This dynamic often came to a head during the COVID-19 pandemic as local governments sought to impose eviction moratoriums and extend other support to burdened renters. The sunset of these provisions during a time of high inflation and projected recession has demonstrated the need for continued local government leadership on equitable housing policies, and even where state preemption exists. Local governments may still be able advance housing equity despite preemption and there are ways that municipal attorneys can help local leaders navigate this complex landscape.
Speaker: Nestor Davidson, Berbeth Foster & Marissa Roy

Finance Webinar
2023-06-20 13:00 - 14:00
Fundamentals of Municipal Finance and Borrowing
Municipal attorneys are often asked, “Can we do this?”, when “this” relates to getting, spending, and borrowing money by their municipal clients. This session will consider the essential legal issues attendant to that question. We will discuss basic constitutional issues like public purpose, corporate purpose, and lending of the public credit; the theoretical distinction between taxes and fees; the legal ramifications of that distinction; and other limitations on the ways that municipalities can get and spend money. We will also briefly consider the role and types of municipal borrowing. Because the laws vary widely from state to state, the session will focus on issue spotting and general questions that the municipal attorney should consider when asked financial questions.
Speaker: Eric Shytle

Award Intent to Nominate Forms are Due
2023-06-16 00:00 - 23:30
Intent to Nominate Forms for the below awards are due.

Marvin J. Glink Private Practice Local Government Attorney Award
Daniel J. Curtin Young Public Lawyer Award
Brown, Mulligan, Rocha Distinguished Public Service Award
Bruce A. Noble Distinguished Canadian Municipal Lawyer Award
William I. Thornton, Jr. IMLA Faculty Award
Outstanding State League Counsel Award
Brad D. Bailey Assistant City/County Attorney Award
Burk E. (Buck) Delventhal Legal Advocacy Award
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award

Elected Attorney Meeting
2023-06-12 14:00 - 15:00
If you care to take part in this call or working group, please email cstorer@imla.org.

2023 IMLA in Canada
2023-06-08 09:00 - 19:00
2023 IMLA in Canada
Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
June 8, 2023
David Braley Vaughan Metropolitan Centre of Community
200 Apple Mill Road, 3rd floor in Vaughan, Ontario

Virtual Employment Law Program
2023-06-06 13:00 - 15:15
1:00PM to 2:00PM
The EEOC’s 2023-2027 Strategic Enforcement Plan: Implications for Your Municipality
2:15PM to 3:15PM
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as Fundamental Principles

Virtual Employment Law Program
2023-06-05 13:00 - 15:15
1:00PM to 2:00PM
How to Personally Combat Implicit Bias

2:15PM to 3:15PM
Defending Your Municipality Against Harassment and Sexual Harassment Claims

Virtual Employment Law Program
2023-06-02 12:00 - 15:15
12:00PM to 12:55PM
Informal Networking Lunch
1:00PM to 2:00PM
Great Expectations: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and The Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers (the PUMP Act)
2:15PM to 3:15PM
Navigating the Legal Complexities of Employees with Substance Abuse Issues

Homelessness Working Group Conference Call
2023-06-01 14:00 - 15:00, 2023-05-04 14:00 - 15:00, 2023-04-06 14:00 - 15:00, 2023-03-02 14:00 - 15:00
If you care to take part in this call, please email cstorer@imla.org.

Construction Webinar
2023-06-01 13:00 - 14:00
Sunshine Laws and the Vulnerability of Consultant Work Product in Public Works Construction Disputes
The United States Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and similar state-level open records statutes are intended to promote transparent government operations. However, when public agency owners encounter construction disputes, such “sunshine laws” may become an obstacle to resolving them. This presentation will explore the vulnerability of consultant work product to public records act demands against the intersection of attorney-client and work product privilege.
Speaker: Bryan Payne & Charles Montgomery

Annual Conference Early Bird Rates End
2023-05-26 00:00 - 23:30
IMLA’s 88th Annual Conference
September 27- October 1, 2023
La Quinta, California

Mental Health Webinar
2023-05-25 13:00 - 14:00
“In This Together” – Well-Being Practices for Lawyers
Since 2016 the ABA and the ABA Commission on Lawyer Assistance Programs has heightened focus on Lawyer Well-Being. Often neglected in general “wellness” programs, “well-being” represents not only mental and emotional health, but life satisfaction, purpose, and fulfillment. This presentation explores some of the elements that boost well-being, including Zen and how to incorporate it, as well as a review of habits and practices recommended in the ABA activities workbook published in The Lawyer Well-Being Toolkit for Lawyers and Law Firms.
Speaker: Noreen Braman & Paula Garra Sawyer

DEI Book Club Meeting
2023-05-24 15:00 - 16:00
If you care to take part in this call or working group, please email dshahnami@imla.org.
JOIN US May 10th from 3-4 pm ET to discuss How to Kill a City: Gentrification, Inequality, and the Fight for the Neighborhood by PE Moskowitz. It is BYOB (Bring Your Own Book/Booze). We welcome those who read the book and those who did not have time but are interested in the topic. This book is also available on Audible! Below is the Amazon description of the book:
The term gentrification has become a buzzword to describe the changes in urban neighborhoods across the country, but we don’t realize just how threatening it is. It means more than the arrival of trendy shops, much-maligned hipsters, and expensive lattes. The very future of American cities as vibrant, equitable spaces hangs in the balance. P. E. Moskowitz’s How to Kill a City takes readers from the kitchen tables of hurting families who can no longer afford their homes to the corporate boardrooms and political backrooms where destructive housing policies are devised. Along the way, Moskowitz uncovers the massive, systemic forces behind gentrification in New Orleans, Detroit, San Francisco, and New York. The deceptively simple question of who can and cannot afford to pay the rent goes to the heart of America’s crises of race and inequality. In the fight for economic opportunity and racial justice, nothing could be more important than housing.

Animal Law Webinar
2023-05-23 13:00 - 14:00
Effective Animal Ordinances-Dealing with Nuisances
Safe and humane communities are a priority. Have you examined your animal services ordinances to ensure they effectively address real not perceived nuisances? Are they written so they can’t be weaponized in petty neighborhood arguments wasting the time of your field services workers? We will examine some creative habitual nuisance ordinances and provide examples of creative solutions to your animal issues.
Speaker: Ledy VanKavage & Katie Barnett

Code Enforcement Call
2023-05-22 15:00 - 16:00

Small/Rural Communities Working Group Call
2023-05-15 14:00 - 15:00, 2023-03-20 14:00 - 15:00

New Lawyers Call
2023-05-09 13:00 - 14:00
Claims under the Freedom of Information Act (FIOA) can be challenging to handle. This presentation will go over general FOIA issues and how to avoid them.
Presenter: Lynn Sprately, City of Newport News, Virginia
If you care to take part in this call, please email dshahnami@imla.org.

Annual Conference Super Saver Rates End
2023-04-07 00:00 - 23:30

Mid-Year Seminar Regular Rates End
2023-03-31 00:00 - 23:30
2023 Mid-Year Seminar
April 21-24, 2023
Washington, D.C.

Telecommunications Webinar
2023-03-23 13:00 - 14:00
Square PEG in a Round Hole: Limits on Municipal Use of Public, Education, and Government Fees
This presentation will discuss the federal restrictions on local governments’ use of public, education, and government (“PEG”) fees paid by cable operators to support local government PEG channels, pursuant to the federal Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984. Unlike some types of municipal revenue and funding sources, which carry no restrictions regarding how they may be spent and which are designated for the general fund to be used anywhere needed, the use of PEG fees is limited. Although trying to fit PEG fees into a local government’s budget may be challenging at times, Federal Communications Commission orders and court cases provide guidance on the purposes for which local governments may and may not use PEG fees. This presentation will also cover a series of PEG “FAQs” to assist municipal lawyers in advising local government clients, relative to the limited purposes for the use of PEG fees.
Speaker: David Johnson

Preemption Webinar - Free Live For IMLA Members
2023-03-02 13:00 - 14:00
Curricular Preemption
CLE available to Kitchen Sink Subscribers and in some cases to others but fees may apply.
This session examines state preemption of local school boards with regard to the content of curricula and educational materials. Divisive concepts in schools have been raised targeting the 1619 Project (a New York Times Magazine series reframing American history in the context of slavery and structural racism) and Critical Race Theory. This curricular preemption swept the nation and now the strategy has been expanded to preempt discussion of LGBTQ+ issues as well. This session will examine the trend of curricular preemption, from its origins to current iterations.
Speaker: Steven Nelson, Corinne Green & Marissa Roy

Counties Working Group Call
2023-03-01 15:00 - 16:00

Mid-Year Seminar Early Bird Rates End
2023-02-24 00:00 - 23:30

Diversity / Equity / Inclusion Book Club Meeting
2023-02-23 15:00 - 16:00
If you care to take part in this call, please email dshahnami@imla.org.
The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones. This is a book that speaks directly to our current moment, contextualizing the systems of race and caste within which we operate today. It reveals long-glossed-over truths around our nation’s founding and construction—and the way that the legacy of slavery did not end with emancipation, but continues to shape contemporary American life.

Police Alternatives Call
2023-02-21 14:00 - 15:00

Telecommunications Webinar
2023-02-21 13:00 - 15:00
Cell Tower Lease Rates and Sales
In the world of telecommunications law, one question rises to the top of the list: What is the going rent for a cell tower lease? This program will address that question, with industry statistics, which should be helpful for the thousands of landlords whose leases come up for renewal each year.
The program 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. It is presented by two attorneys with decades of experience representing municipalities and other property owners on cell leases.
In general, 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
