Below are a few key takeaways from the panelists:
RELATIONSHIP BUILDING IS KEY
With most elections now concluded at the federal, state and local levels, former state Sen. Denise Grimsley emphasized the importance of local government officials building relationships with newly elected state legislators to discuss potential project funding.
“Hopefully, by the time that person’s been elected, you’ve established that relationship during the campaign period, which is ideal,” Grimsley said. “The first thing I would do is make an appointment, sit down with them, maybe or maybe not, depending on the time frame, with an agenda, introduce yourself, talk about your background, and see if you can find some commonalities. I always say when you go in to see a legislator for the first time, you may be nervous, but they’re nervous too because you’re the expert in whatever the issue is, and they’re not. So always try to find some commonalities.”
Another tip Grimsley shared is to form relationships with legislative aides to help maintain open lines of communication with state officials.
“Break the ice in a way that somehow bridges you to that legislator, whatever that might be, because when you’re first elected, it is like drinking from a fire hose,” she said. “I wish I knew then what I know now about local government because if you don’t come from a local government background, you don’t have any idea.”
BUILD YOUR CASE ON THE FRONT END
Another panelist shared a similar message to Grimsley, emphasizing the importance of meeting with and supporting legislators.
“Just two weeks ago, I had one of my delegation members here at my office just because of a personal invitation,” said Terry Atchley, county manager for Hardee County. “It was a sit down to show them how item A is connected to item Z and what, how, and why it needs to benefit the community.“
Based on that discussion, the “legislator can start visualizing how it will impact their region. The relationship has got to be built to the point where you can pick up the phone and either send a text message, an email or call their legislative aide,” he said.
Doing this, Atchley said, helps provide more clarity to those who can help make local government projects a reality.
However, he said, “We need to remember that we as local government are there to support our legislators. They need to know that they can pick up a phone or have an aide pick up a phone and call and say, ‘Terry, if we do this, what’s it going to mean to us and our community or our district?’ Sometimes, we as leaders at the local government level just assume they know it all (and) have it under control because they’ve been elected, but that’s usually the furthest thing from the truth. We need to work together.”
DISCUSS YOUR STRATEGIC PLANS
Several panelists also advised local government officials to share their strategic plans to better illustrate how each project ties into the community.
“You have to take your lead from that legislator because they’re going to know better about how their internal operations run and what pots of money could help fund one thing but couldn’t help fund something different,” Atchley said.
Once that’s understood, a discussion about how potential funding can improve a community’s well-being can occur.
“For example, for one of our priorities for next year, I sat here and went through it with our legislator and helped them understand how this is going to impact the overall economy of this community, not just Hardee County, but the municipalities in it as well,” Atchley said. “It moved to be one of my top priorities because she got so excited about it and helped provide guidance to me and our team. So, it’s a team play. You’ve got to make your priorities known, and then they need to help you figure it out.”
As for nailing down a timeline for this process, panelists agreed that local government organizations should start reviewing their strategic plans during the summer and identify potential projects. After that, city and county managers should meet with House and Senate staff to discuss these projects and prepare for delegation meetings in the fall through January.
During these meetings, Grimsley said, “You’re not speaking as much to the legislators at that point because you’ve already met with them. It’s more about speaking to the press and the public, but again, just be succinct and don’t ramble on forever.”
Marty Mielke, legislative aide for Senator Erin Grall, echoed a similar message to Grimsley.
“We’re hearing and seeing different things during this process, but I think you need to go to delegation meetings,” Mielke said. “They [legislators] don’t want to sit there and hear about every project you have on the worksheet,” especially since the goal is to meet with legislators beforehand to discuss different projects, but maybe “you’ve got more information in the delegation book, and they can ask you questions about that, either during or after your presentation.”
More information, along with a recording of the webinar, can be found online.
