General Opening Session

General Opening Session

Welcome to the VML Annual Conference

NLC Update for Virginia Localities

Resources & Materials

About the NLC – Get Involved, Get Engaged: The National League of Cities is the voice of America’s cities, towns and villages. Membership is composed of over 2,700 municipalities; of this, 80% of our members are small cities (municipalities in population of 50,000 and below). As an affiliate member of NLC and a small locality, here are a few opportunities that NLC offers:

Small Cities Council: The small cities council is composed of local elected leaders and staff from municipalities of 50,000 and below in population. Consisting of over 70 members from across the country, this group provides a space to share ideas and solutions to challenges affecting small municipalities. On average, the council meets every other month- either in person at NLC conferences or virtually. Recent topics covered at the small cities council include: affordable housing, revitalizing main street businesses, grant opportunities for small communities and economic development.

The Local Infrastructure Hub is a technical assistance program for small to midsize cities, towns, and villages to craft and respond to the numerous grant opportunities in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This program is a bootcamp for city staff and includes training with NLC staff and experts, peer to peer learning and assistance with writing grants in order to craft a strong proposal. The second round of enrollment for the program should be open in late Fall 2022.

Savings and Solutions Programs: NLC members are able to participate in savings and solutions programs which are offered to municipalities and their residents at no cost. A few of our more popular programs include:

• Grant Access: database with over 10,000 federal, state and foundation grant opportunities; each municipality is given one log-in.

• NLC Prescription Discount Program: helps residents save on average 24% off the cost of prescription medication for those who lack insurance or insurance doesn’t cover the cost of the medicine that they need, there are more than 68,000 pharmacies nationwide that participate in the program. Medicine for pets is also covered.

• NLC Service Line Warranty Program: offers homeowners affordable coverage options for emergency home repairs and is an educational tool for cities to inform residents about their service line responsibilities and provide a resource to cope with emergency repairs when they crop up.

Finally, NLC Committees, Councils, and Constituency Groups are great ways for everyone to get involved and the voices of smaller municipalities are always needed!

Questions about getting involved or engagement opportunities, please contact Katie Colten, Member Engagement Manager for the South Region. She can be reached at kcolten@nlc.org 202-626-3160 or can schedule a meeting at your convenience here: https://calendly.com/kcolten

Speakers