Opa-locka Mayor Joseph L. Kelley attended the Florida League of Cities 84th Annual Educational Conference and Business Meeting on August 19-21, 2010, an event held in Hollywood, Florida to provide opportunities for Officials to share innovations and best practices for improving City government.
“The Florida League of Cities is a service- based organization that serves as a catalyst for providing excellence in public service,” said Mayor Kelley. This Annual Conference provided a forum for sharing innovations that can be incorporated into our city’s program at low-to-no-cost. Moreover, we focused on the elements within our cities that bring our citizens together and keep them together,” he added.
This year’s conference theme “Creating Community in Tough Times,” showcased the conference program which was designed to educate and provide costcutting ideas which could make a vast difference for Florida’s citizens.
As a member of the Florida League of Cities Finance and Taxation Policy Committee, Mayor Kelley noted, “I have the opportunity of finding out what State Legislation will impact our city and budget. It gives me an opportunity to focus on possible funding opportunities which will help my city, as well as legislation that can have a negative impact.” He continued, “Sometimes your best asset is knowing and preventing unfair burdens on our citizens”.
There were numerous educational seminars and round table discussions, including, When Disaster Strikes; Have Budget Cuts impacted Your Ability to Recover?; How Tough Times will Change Your City; Red Light Cameras; Increasing Your City’s Sense of Community and more.
As this is an election year, the conference also featured key political forums that allowed City Officials to hear from the candidates on issues of concern to the citizens. Headline speakers for this educational conference were Bill Nelson, U.S. Senate; William (Bill) Hudnut, former four-term Indianapolis Mayor, congressman, consultant and author; John Avlon, author and senior political columnist of the Daily Beast; Ronald O. Loveridge, Mayor of Riverside, California and President of the National League of Cities along with a list of other presenters. The three-day meeting culminated with the election of League Officers and Board Members and the adoption of resolutions related to the member’s positions on key Federal issues.
“Like millions of Florida families weathering these tough economic times, Florida cities must continue to be inventive by achieving more with fewer dollars. This conference provided a critical forum for us to address our unique municipal challenges,” said Mayor Kelley. “I look forward to taking the creative ideas the conference offered and putting those ideas to work for the people of the City of Opalocka.
