Municipal Advocate magazine

The Municipal Advocate, the MMA’s quarterly magazine, presents in-depth articles about important and timely municipal issues, such as budgeting, technology, management, and legal issues. An emphasis is placed on innovative solutions and problem-solving strategies.

Here are the contents of some recent issues:

Vol. 26, No. 2 - The Census and Changing Demographics

• Demographic Changes Tell a Story of Opportunity

• Correcting Census Counts Can Mean Dollars for Cities, Towns

• How the Census and Other Data Can Be Used to Inform Local Initiatives

• Communities Must Be Ready to Meet Changing Human Service Needs

Vol. 26, No. 1 - Civic Engagement and Civil Discourse

• A Civic Calling: The Municipal Leader’s Role in Rebuilding Trust in Government

• (Un)civil Discourse: Local Officials Share Their Strategies for Dealing With Bloggers, Commenters, and Other Harsh Critics

• COS 2.0: Changing the Way We Do Public Business

• Creating a Civil Dialogue: With Employees, Departments and the Public

• Law: Can Municipalities Afford Not to Mediate?

Vol. 25, No. 4 - Healthy Communities

• Municipal Leaders Can Help to Create Healthy Communities

• Community Design Can Improve Health, Environment and Local Economy

• How Somerville Became ‘The Fittest City in America’

• A Rural, Regional Approach to Building Healthy Communities

• Law: Is There a ‘Smarter’ Way to Build Affordable Housing in Massachusetts?

Vol. 25, No. 3 - Regionalization

• Around the State: Regional Dispatch Becoming Reality on North Shore

• Regionalization Can Preserve Essential Services and Streamline Service Delivery

• It’s Time to Take Another Look at Collaboration

• Mayor Urges Local Leaders to ‘Think Differently’ in Pursuit of Collaboration

• Regionalization: Fairy Tales and Scary Bedtime Stories

• Law: The Legal Aspects of Regionalizing Municipal Services

Vol. 25, No. 2 - Municipal Law Update

• Around the State: Confusion Lingers Around Age-Old Municipal Boundaries

• Local Officials Must Be Prepared for Changes to Open Meeting Law

• Recovering and Preserving Public Records in the Age of Electronic Documents

• Blogs, Social Networks and the First Amendment: Public Employers Retain Certain Rights to Take Action Based on Online Speech

• Communities Should Examine Civil Service Promotional and Layoff Strategies to Avoid Discrimination Claims

• Communities Can Benefit From a Plan to Manage Municipal Real Estate

Vol. 25, No. 1 - Risk Management

• Around the State: Preventive Maintenance Eliminates Costly Surprises

• Preserving Dollars With Risk Management

• Anticipating Risk and Planning Response

• Planning for the Unexpected: Maintaining Key Operations During a Pandemic

• Appropriate Care—and Encouraging Healthy Choices—Can Put a Dent in Workers’ Comp and Health Costs

• Law: Strategies for Avoiding Employment Retaliation Claims

Vol. 24, No. 4 – Leadership in Challenging Times

• Mayor Sees Outreach As Pathway Through Fiscal Challenges

• Drawing Inspiration From Dr. Seuss: Now Is the Time to Revisit His Lessons on Leadership

• Nothing Stays the Same: Leadership Techniques To Empower People During Change Initiatives

• In Face of Staff Cuts, Cities and Towns Need a New Management Roadmap

Vol. 24, No. 3 – Savings and Efficiency

• Around the State: Town Uses Data to Back Money-Saving Decisions

• City Looks to Savings, Efficiency to Persevere in Troubled Times

• A Civil Union: How a Town Government and Schools Consolidated Functions, With Benefits for Both

• How Does a Town Sustain Itself? Tyngsborough Examines Path to the Future

• Local Governments Respond to Fiscal Challenges

Vol. 24, No. 2 – Municipal Web Sites

• Around the State: Municipal Web Sites Lauded for Posting Extensive Public Records

• Striving for Online Excellence: Key Functions, Characteristics and Content Set the Standard for Municipal Web Sites

• What Makes an Award-Winning Municipal Web Site?

• The Continuing Evolution of E-Government: A Look Toward the Future of Municipal Online Services

Vol. 24, No. 1 – Regionalism

• Around the State: Mass. Municipalities Are Working on Numerous Regional Projects

• Strategies for Successful Local Government Collaboration

• In Franklin County, Regionalism Has Been Thriving for 10 Years

• Clearing the Hurdles to Effective Collective Purchasing

• Law: Considerations for Inter-Municipal Agreements