Episode 99: Clerks
Municipal Equation Podcast
This historic, fascinating and expansive world of municipal clerks is the focus our latest episode. Folks who believe clerks mostly just serve to prepare agenda packets and record council vote outcomes might be surprised by how far and wide the job goes. It’s one of the most public-facing roles in town hall; generally, the clerk is the one employee that law requires municipal governments to have. Municipal Equation traveled to Cherokee recently for the annual conference and 50th anniversary of the NC Association of Municipal Clerks to record perspectives, wisdom and nuance that people might...
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Episode 98: From the 'Top of the Arc'
Municipal Equation Podcast
Cary Town Manager Sean Stegall is on the podcast discussing his new book, "." From the book's promotional materials: "Instilling a 'people first' philosophy, Stegall and the elected Cary Town Council are reshaping local government through collaboration, experimentation, innovation, and adaptation. Cary remains an exceptional place to call home, an inspiring destination for visitors, and a compelling case study for helping keep cities strong."
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Episode 97: Renew NC, Rebuilding from Helene (One Year Since the Storm)
Municipal Equation Podcast
We're joined by Stephanie McGarrah of the NC Department of Commerce for a discussion of resources to rebuild homes that Hurricane Helene damaged or destroyed in the North Carolina mountains exactly one year ago. We cover the Renew NC initiative, its Single-Family Housing Program (https://renewnc.org/), and other relief, including free assistance that NCLM offers, for the people of western NC.
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Episode 96: Building a Town Center
Municipal Equation Podcast
As with other episodes of Municipal Equation, this one originated from a casual, hallway conversation with a local government official. In this instance, podcast host Ben Brown was chatting at a League event with Mayor TJ Cawley of Morrisville, who'd noted the progress there in a major project to essentially build a downtown from scratch, as Morrisville up to this point hasn't had one. The idea is to create that convergence of residence, business variety, fun and identity that can bring locals together and give outsiders a new destination. Several years ago, we'd looked at how Kannapolis...
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Episode 95: Municipal EVs
Municipal Equation Podcast
Are electric vehicles, or EVs, right for your municipal fleet? They've surged in everyday popularity over the past 20 years and now are available from most of the mainstream automakers. Increasingly, governments and agencies are bringing on EVs, and peers are researching the merits. But EVs have evolved a lot, and it's easy to talk about them in general conversation with outdated info. So, we reached out to an expert to better understand today's context and possibilities with municipal government use. On this episode, guest John Bonitz of the NCSU Clean Energy Technology Center helps us out...
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Episode 94: Civic Trust, Together (With Matt Lehrman)
Municipal Equation Podcast
Public leaders often find themselves in situations of disagreement -- and that's not inherently bad. "Effective leadership isn't about avoiding disagreement," says Matt Lehrman, a civic facilitator and past CityVision keynote speaker. He adds: "Disagreement isn't just natural; it's necessary." On this half-hour episode, Lehrman of Social Prosperity Partners circles back with Municipal Equation to go over the overarching importance of a shared sense of purpose and effective communication points so leaders can discuss disagreements and other intersections productively and fulfill the reality...
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Episode 93: Marion's GEM, Sanford's RISE
Municipal Equation Podcast
One of Municipal Equation’s favorite topics to cover is the kind of partnership and idea-sharing that can make success easier for everyone. When the City of Marion learned about a commerce-boosting concept that seemed to work for other cities, they tried it, and it worked for them. When the City of Sanford learned about it from Marion, they tried it, and it worked for them, too. In this instance, it was two cities in separate parts of the state with the initiative to directly trade know-how, and it went so well that Sanford circled back and helped Marion with resources. On this episode, we...
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Episode 92: For the COOP (Continuity of Operations)
Municipal Equation Podcast
Emergencies happen, and sometimes at scales that surprise us. We can shrug, or we can invest that sensitivity. That goes for all of us, and our shared stakes in the kind of local governance that can keep vital functions going for communities amid disruptive wildcards like hurricanes or other natural disasters. More than a basic conversation for our cities and towns, it's filled with varying nuance, science and new technologies for better outcomes. Deeply familiar with the subject is Bill Hollingsed, the former Waynesville police chief and current executive director of the , who joins us on...
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Episode 91: Municipal Community
Municipal Equation Podcast
With any profession, hobby, cause or life experience, there's community. The NC League of Municipalities itself is an expression of that, and so are the many affiliate groups and friend organizations that seek to advance focus on nuanced issues as specifically understood by, for example, municipal clerks, or local government attorneys, or budget officers, or women serving in public office, or the many other groups that represent distinct communities or expertise. These groups create important opportunities for profession-boosting, idea-sharing and individual input that can enhance group...
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Episode 90: WNC Recovery Communication
Municipal Equation Podcast
In mid February, the League and its longtime friends at the N.C. Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) and western North Carolina region Councils of Governments held a second, large convening of governments -- local, state and federal -- in storm-hit Asheville to go over the latest in the post-Helene recovery work for western North Carolina, demonstrating again the power of same-page communication in a shared comeback that ultimately involves the entire state. The multimedia teams from the League and NCACC captured the full day's speakers and panels on video (). The League assembled...
info_outlineYou’ve heard of “artificial intelligence,” or AI, in one sense or another; we’ve been reckoning with the concept through books, movies and academic discussions since its earliest mentions in the 1950s. When you hear about it today, though, it’s typically in the context of “generative AI,” the rapidly evolving web-based tool that humans are using right now to enhance their worlds. Generative AI (like the popular ChatGPT engine, among others) writes up entire documents, draws up complex images, researches historical issues, drafts organizational plans, and even provides advice on complicated scenarios, pretty much on its own, hence the "generative" term; all you have to do is type in what you're looking for. It's pretty amazing. If you work in local government, you might be thinking about where and how it fits in; perhaps your city already has an AI policy on the books, or has used it to help draft or enhance language in public documents. But, like with any transformative technology, it comes with all kinds of cautions and ethics worries. Are we comfortable with it essentially learning how to do jobs we've always entrusted humans with? Already, we’ve seen trust in generative AI lead to embarassing, avoidable public blunders and messes. It brings privacy and authenticity issues, too. Did you know generative AI can sample a recording of your voice and learn how to speak as if it's really you, potentially faking out anyone who hears it? Take this episode of Municipal Equation, the podcast about cities and towns from the NC League of Municipalities, as a sort of primer on the generative-AI conversation in the context of local government at the moment. What’s the potential? What are the dangers? How can cities and towns use generative AI safely and for the best? It’s not going away. // Municipal Equation is a production of the N.C. League of Municipalities, https://www.nclm.org. Contact host/producer Ben Brown at bbrown@nclm.org.