Upcoming Events
February 29: Strong Towns
Wednesday February 29th, 6:30-8:00 pm
Carver Library, 1161 Angelina (meeting rooms 2 & 3), one mile East of the Texas Capitol, Austin, TX
Strong Towns executive director, Chuck Marohn, during his upcoming visit to Austin on 2/29/12. Strong Towns is a Minnesota-based non-profit with the mission of supporting a model for growth that allows America's towns to become financially strong and resilient. Strong Town's "Curbside Chat" is a thought-provoking discussion about how our current growth patterns are creating major challenges, particularly to the financial health of our communities.
This event is hosted by The Congress for the New Urbanism - Central Texas Chapter and open to the public, and will be of interest to local elected officials, city managers, planners and other community leaders concerned about the future direction of their community.
This event is free and open to the public but space is limited, so we are asking people to register by clicking here.
This is a pivotal time for many communities. Years of unstable property values are now showing up as uncertain revenue streams. Local government aid has been cut, and more cuts are imminent. Budgets are stretched. The shifts and delayed maintenance of prior years are starting to show up on the ground. Local leaders are looking for answers. What they are discovering is that they are largely on their own.
The standard approach emphasizes growth over resilience. This is a key part of our problem. To truly do more with less, we need to understand how we have built ourselves into decline. How local investments have failed to generate prosperity. Why the standard approach is harming our towns and neighborhoods. And, most importantly, how we start a real recovery.
During this presentation, we will explore:
- Background on the current financial crisis.
- The triggers that are forcing changes in the way we inhabit the landscape.
- The “dead ideas” we need to overcome to renew prosperity in our towns and neighborhoods.
- What the coming new economy is likely to look like.
- What local leaders can do to position their communities for success in the new era.
Upcoming Events
March 1 Basic Environmental Law
CAPCOG and the Regional Environmental Task Force (RETF) is offering an upcoming Basic Environmental Law Training on March 1st in Travis County.
Travis County East Side Service Center
6011 Blue Bluff Lane, Austin , TX
9am - 4:30pm
Please register by February 16 here: https://training.capcog.org/viewCat.asp?catid=15
Space is limited, so register soon! Cost is $30. You can pay by credit card on-line or by check at the door (made out to CAPCOG). Sorry we can not accept cash or credit cards at the door. Lunch is included in the price.
Cancellation Policy :
Registration may be canceled without penalty if our office receives a request within 5 business days before the class begins. You or your agency will be invoiced for classes that you have registered for, do not attend and fail to cancel within 5 business days prior to class start date.
If you have questions, please contact Ashley Fisher.
Upcoming Events
March 22 Asking Your Police and Fire Chief the Right Questions
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER BY EARLY REGISTRATION: MARCH 1
Early Registration Cost: $169
Thursday March 22nd, 2012
8:30am to 12:30pm
Capital Area Council of Governments Pecan Board Room
6800 Burleson Road, Building 310, Suite 165
Austin, Texas 78744
For more information please contact Sabina Mora
How many police and firefighters do you really need? How well are your public safety departments performing? Are "officers per 1,000" and "number of calls" really meaningful measures? As a local government manager, you have to make policy decisions based on information you get from the different departments. The toughest departments from which to get accurate, measurable information are the police and fire departments. Police and fire chiefs have their own jargon—and few city managers have training in emergency services management. The key is asking the right questions so that you get the right answers.
In this workshop, you will learn how to: establish goals and priorities and know what you need to analyze; quantify what the workloads are in the police and fire departments—and identify whether personnel are allocated correctly to meet the workload demands; get your police department to be able to tell you what percentage of its officers’ time is tied up on actual calls; identify the number of firefighters and amount of equipment that is really necessary; deal with low use of firefighters; and set measurable goals, identify performance problems, and apply strategies to follow the path of continuous improvement. (Practice Group 3 - Functional and Operational Expertise and Planning.)
Leonard Matarese is the Director of Research & Program Development for the ICMA Center for Public Safety Management. He is a specialist in public sector administration with particular expertise in public safety issues. He has 43 years experience as a law enforcement officer, police chief, public safety director, city manager and major city Human Resources Commissioner. He was one of the original advisory board members and trainer for the first NIJ/ICMA Community Oriented Policing Project which has subsequently trained thousands of municipal practitioners on the techniques of the community policing philosophy over the past 18 years. He has conducted numerous studies of emergency services agencies with particular attention to matching staffing issues with calls for service workload. As public safety director he has managed both police and fire/EMS systems, including ALS transport.
Recognized as an innovator by his law enforcement colleagues he served as the Chairman of the SE Quadrant, Florida, Blue Lightning Strike Force, a 71 agency, U.S. Customs Service anti-terrorist and narcotics task force and also as president of the Miami-Dade County Police Chief’s Association – one of America’s largest regional police associations. He represented ICMA on national projects involving the United States Department of Homeland Security, The Department of Justice, Office of Community Policing and the Department of Justice, Office Bureau of Justice Assistance. He has also served as a project reviewer for National Institute of Justice. He is the subject matter expert on several ICMA / USAID police projects in Central America. He recently presented at an UNHabitat Conference on Community Policing in Barcelona, Spain and met with representatives of the Chinese National Police in Beijing, on police training issues.
He has a Master’s degree in Public Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He is a member of two national honor societies and has served as an adjunct faculty member for several universities. He holds the ICMA Credentialed Manager designation, as well as a Certified Professional designation from the International Public Management Association - Human Resources and the Senior Professional in Human Resources from the Society for Human Resources Management. He also has extensive experience in labor management issues, particularly in police and fire departments and is currently editing an ICMA book on the selection of police chiefs.
Upcoming Events
March 29 Texas Notary Law & Procedures
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW Texas Notary Law & Procedures Seminar
Thursday March 29th, 2012 - 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM
COURSE DESCRIPTION: The Texas Notary Law and Procedure Seminar is a 3-hour notary education course designed for current, new and non-notary applicants that want to become Texas notary publics. This notary training is provided specifically for Texas Notaries. This class is excellent for both current and prospective notaries and will provide you with the most up-to-date information available. In addition to answering your questions, the class will cover: New Legislation from the 81st Legislative Sessions, Current Notary Laws, Proper Record Keeping, Avoiding Official Misconduct, Administering Oaths & Acknowledgments, Legal Procedures & Processes of Notarization and Liability Protection Practices for Notary & Employer.
Contact Us