City officials advance education at municipal conference
Several El Dorado city officials have been recognized for completing the Arkansas Municipal League’s Voluntary Certified Continuing Education Program
Mayor Paul Choate, El Dorado City Council Member Dianne Hammond, City Clerk Heather McVay and other municipal officials and personnel around the state were honored for their completion of the annual program during the 2023 AML Winter Conference.
The conference was held in January in Little Rock and included a banquet in which municipal officials received their certificates.
Choate, Hammond and McVay all advanced to Level 2 Certified Municipal Personnel by completing 15 hours of coursework that included Municipal Finance 201, Disaster Preparedness and Leadership 101 on the Local Level.
In 2021, midway through his first and only term as a city council member, Choate reached Level 1 status as a Certified Municipal Official with 15 core, Level 1 hours and six continuing education hours of study in subjects that included budgeting, personnel management and methods of effective leadership.
“Each time I go to one of these sessions, I learn something that helps to better the city of El Dorado. It gives me the opportunity to network with someone who is in the same position,” Choate said then.
In 2020, the AML expanded the certification program by adding Advanced Level 2 workshops for municipal officials who have achieved Level 1 status.
Hammond, who has served on the city council since 2004, said AML officials felt the Level 1 classes had become repetitive and she felt that subjects, such as Disaster Preparedness, better equipped city officials to serve the community.
McVay has held her Level 1 certification since 2014, a year after she was appointed to fill an unexpired term following the resignation of her predecessor, and she is looking forward to the opportunity to advance to the next level of certification.
Advanced Level 3 calls for 20 hours of study in courses that include Personnel Management, Technology/ Cybersecurity, Conflict Management and Leadership 201 at the Local Level.
To maintain certification, graduates must complete six hours of continuing education workshops each year.
The AML Voluntary Certified Continuing Education Program is continuing throughout 2023 with workshops that are scheduled at AML headquarters in North Little Rock and at the league’s 89th Annual Convention, which is set for June 14 - 16 in Little Rock.