Meet me tonight in Atlantic City

The past 3 days were spent down in Atlantic City participating in the NJ League of Municipalities Conference - an annual gathering of all of the governing bodies and Municipal Employees throughout New Jersey.

While I am sure many of the veterans of the conference use this as an excuse to party in Atlantic City, I did my best to attend as many sessions as possible to actually learn (go figure!). I attended sessions on:

• Politics Unusual – The Dollars and Sense of Humor in Government
• Downtown Revitalization in Tight Economic Times
• Avoiding A Collision at the Intersection of Records Management and Technology
• From Maintaining Decorum to Video Taping – Current Issues Affecting Municipal Meetings
• Newly Elected Mayors and Council Members Clinic on Ethics, Open Public Meetings, Open Public Records and Civility in Public Discourse
• Conflict Resolution for Municipal Officials – Managing Conflict Through Negotiations and Collaboration

I actually found the sessions to be rather informative and interesting, particularly to hear about the common issues that many other municipalities share. It was a worthwhile experience and I hope my colleagues on the Board and in Village Hall got as much out of it as I did.