Municipal constituents, partners, and other stakeholders are bombarded with communications every day. How do you ensure that your message really reaches the people who need to see it when they need it? This presentation will explore the facets of communication that need to be considered and will touch on the best methods of communication for common types of messages.

If you are an experienced township employee starting to think about retirement, this webinar is for you. You will hear from representatives of PNC about a four-step checklist for planning your retirement income, and how to protect your retirement assets by safeguarding personal data.

Attendees will learn about the various Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional (CBLP) certifications that are available to township officials and public works staff. CBLP, developed by a consortium of cross-Bay partners, teaches best practices for designing, installing, and maintaining the stormwater practices needed to meet MS4 requirements. This presentation will explain the benefits of CBLP, share success stories, and give a sneak peek into some of the class materials and lessons.

Weather events can negatively impact all areas of township operations, from emergency management to road crew readiness. There is no reason these days to not be fully prepared for oncoming weather. In this webinar, presenters from the National Weather Service (NWS) in State College will discuss how your township can take advantage of NWS resources to be better prepared for the weather challenges you are sure to face, whether it be severe rainfall, high winds, extreme cold or snowfall. Register your road crew and emergency management teams to attend this webinar so they can be ready to use the cutting-edge resources from the NWS to keep your township safe from whatever weather comes your way.

Traditional public outreach efforts often fail at soliciting input from every segment of the community. As a result, municipal projects may not meet the true needs of their constituents. This session will explore which groups are often under-represented in traditional outreach programs and provide creative engagement strategies to ensure all voices are heard. Participants will also hear real-world success stories from local municipalities that have used these strategies.

In this webinar, you will learn the best practices for using the COSTARS program, which is the statewide cooperative purchasing program administered through the Department of General Services. You will learn more about the deadlines and terms and conditions of the Road Salt program, the importance of your township’s member profile, how to gain the best value during the quote process, and much more.

This webinar will show participants how to use low-cost/no-cost tools to create engaging municipal newsletters. The primary focus will be on Microsoft Publisher (part of the Microsoft Office Suite) and Canva (free version). Stephanie Olszewski from Pine Township, Allegheny County will show the participants how to use each platform to create their newsletter format and information-packed graphics. The participants can use the graphics across communication streams, including newsletters, social media, and websites. She will also show the first-tier paid version of Canva, which offers several additional tools for a low annual cost, including QR codes. Webinar registrants are encouraged to review Microsoft Publisher and Canva (www.conva.com) before the webinar.

This webinar will help guide local governments at all levels to develop comprehensive strategies to build high-speed broadband networks in areas where they do not yet exist and help residents subscribe to broadband where it does exist while maintaining public confidence by spending funds wisely and optimally.

If your township has a NPDES MS4 permit, you are required to update your stormwater ordinance for consistency with the DEP's 2022 Model Stormwater Management Ordinance. This presentation will review the updates required and considerations for improving your stormwater ordinance and streamlining the process. MS4s with general permits must adopt the updated ordinance and submit it to DEP with an Annual MS4 Status Report by September 30, 2022.

Supply chain issues and staffing shortages have created challenging conditions when bidding and awarding municipal projects. This thought-provoking session will provide strategies to help your township realize time and cost-efficiencies during the bidding process, all while putting in place practices that reduce the need for headache medicines. The presenter is Freddy Lutz, who serves as Director of Strategic Planning and Client Development for Berks County based PennBid/Apex PM Solutions. With nearly 25 years’ experience in municipal operations, project management, communications & marketing and capital project implementation, Mr. Lutz specializes in consensus building, creative thinking, and moving public sector clients forward with cost effective and practical solutions.