In 1994 the Center for Public Administration and Public Policy started an innovative and ambitious project.  The Honorable Beryl E. Rothschild, mayor of University Heights in Cuyahoga County, Ohio approached the center with a proposal to establish a Mayors' Think Tank in Northeast Ohio. She organized a group of current elected mayors and recently retired mayors from suburban municipalities and villages to use their combined experience and knowledge to discuss public policy issues facing local government officials today and to develop policy papers on these issues.  The center has worked with these area mayors to cooperatively research one major governmental issue per semester and to develop a policy statement. As a forum for discussion without the pressures of politics, the Think Tank has produced significant policy papers to add to the intellectual knowledge of municipal government, and has been a resource for lawmakers to draw upon in making better decisions regarding municipal government.      

This October the Mayor’s Think Tank made a presentation at the Ohio Municipal League conference in Akron.  The topic of discussion was local economic development and about 60 municipal employees attended the workshop.  By combining the real world experiences of local mayors with research provided by the center, local government officials received a comprehensive examination of this important policy area and hopefully left with some new ideas to take back to their local jurisdictions.

The new policy for the spring semester will be taxation.  During the meeting of the Think Tank on October 5^th, Cleveland State University professor Tom Bier presented his paper on tax disparity and cooperative regional economic development programs. 

This unique nexus between academic inquiry and administrative experience enables policy makers to expand their options, think more progressively, and ultimately, to make better decisions for their citizens. The center is grateful to have been working with the Think Tank for over ten years now and we look forward to many more years of contributing to this productive partnership.

Elected Officials Academy: Managing Services

This program is designed to take participants on an in-depth exploration of the functions and services of local government, including policy-making responsibilities, and to teach them strategies for team building and problem solving. Topics of discussion will include; diversity; economic, demographic, and technological change; implementation of volunteer programs; and community involvement. Consisting of weekly evening class sessions, the program is held biennially ('05,'07, etc.) during the spring semester and complements our other EOA programs.  For more information, or to sign up for the Spring 2007 program, please visit us on the web at: http://www.kent.edu/cpapp.

Ohio Municipal Court Clerks Certification Training

The Ohio Association of Municipal Court Clerks has developed a professional certification program for its members and a very important part of those certification requirements is continuing education. OAMCC recognizes its members' need for education opportunities, and has developed a professional certification course, planned in conjunction with Kent State University's Center for Public Administration and Public Policy.  This program is worth 18 contact hours toward the total 50 points required for certification.

Participants will cover topics relevant to municipal court clerks' technical and legal job responsibilities, and become familiar with current management practices. A variety of professionals in higher education, the public sector, and private consulting and law firms will provide instruction in their fields of expertise.  For more information, or to sign up for the Spring 2007 program, please visit us on the web at: http://www.kent.edu/cpapp.

We would like to request that if any of the agencies or alumni who know of either job opportunities or paid/unpaid internships for which MPA students might apply, please contact the Center at (330) 672-7148 with any information. We will place any notices in our next edition of the MPA newsletter, which is published monthly. Thank you in advance for your assistance.