The Local Government Organizations You Need to Follow

During this time of isolation it feels more important to make connections than ever before. If you work in local government, there might be more resources within reach than you realize!

Local Government Organizations to Start Following Today

1. Engaging Local Government Leaders (ELGL) - Engaging Local Government Leaders is an organization that focuses specifically on workers in all levels of local government. It began in Portland, Oregon and currently has over 4,800 members, including people from all 50 states as well as Canada, the UK, Israel, and Australia. One of ELGL’s main provisions is “timely and relevant content through podcasts, blogs, webinars, social media and conference gathering”.

Members get access to all of this content but also invites to ELGL’s online social groups run through Facebook (check out their popular page that even non-members can view here) and Slack as well as local events like its “supper clubs” which aim to bring members in nearby communities together so they can discuss “the issues facing their government specifically” and “government topics and trends.”

ELGL also offers an online job board that can help members search for other jobs in local government. Learn more about joining here.

2. International City/County Management Association (ICMA) - The International City/County Management Association’s main goal is to improve local government as a whole through “leadership, management, innovation, and ethics.” It was founded in 1914 and currently boasts over 13,000 members worldwide, this number being made up of “professional city, town, and county managers who are appointed by elected officials to oversee the day-to-day operation of our communities.”

ICMA provides member support through publications, news and data, peer and results-oriented assistance, as well as via training and professional development to their members. Members include over 11,000 city, town, and county managers, their staffs, and other individuals and organizations. Members gain access to ICMA Connect (a “global community where local government professionals can connect, collaborate, share ideas and expertise, and network around shared topics of interests and issues”), the ICMA Job Center (offers “career support through job postings and resources”), and ICMA University (webinars, workshops, and leadership development programs).

Learn more about joining here.

Bonus Organization

3. National Association of Counties - The National Association of Counties focuses on the county side of local government and can only be joined by entire counties (not individuals) but the organization still provides a lot of free information that anyone in local government can put to good use (www.naco.org).

Topics on their website cover everything from health, housing, and immigration to tax and finance, technology, and the environment. There's also an extensive catalogue of policy briefs.

As a company leading the way in public records management we often look to these organizations to help guide us in best practices and connections to individual governments.

NextRequest is here to help governments, cities, counties, universities, and municipalities of any kind with public records request management. Check us out for any and all public records and/or FOIA needs at nextrequest.com.