The ICMA Executive Board met in Nashville, Tennessee, on October 18, 2019, and took the following actions:

• Received a report on ICMA’s financial performance and projections for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2019. Despite incurring additional expenses related to the board’s diversity initiative and the development of ICMA’s new suite of local government innovation products, the overall net contribution for FY2019 exceeded budget by approximately $183,000.
  • Membership dues revenue was approximately 1% ($52,000) lower than budgeted. While the trend for growth in dues revenue continues in a positive direction, the growth rate is slower than in the past few years due to a higher number of members who have reached the dues cap. In addition, the net contribution from the 2018 Baltimore conference fell short of the budgeted target by approximately $196,000, primarily due to lower-than-expected registration fees, ICMAtv royalty, and sponsorship revenues, and higher than expected Internet and AV expenses.
  • ICMA’s FY2019 net contribution from grants and contracts and related support activities exceeded budget by approximately $754,000, even though grants and contracts revenue were lower than budgeted. This was due to cost savings related to contract administration and business development expenses.
  • After three consecutive record-breaking years in terms of profitability, ICMA’s net asset balance at the end of FY2019 reached $10.7 million, approximately $3 million higher than the five-year net asset target of $7.75 million. Recognizing the financial impact of the many initiatives and priorities ICMA had undertaken, the board adopted a conservative approach to establishing the next five-year net assets target and set the target for FY2023 at $10.3 million. With the FY2019 net contribution of $294,668, the net assets balance as of June 30, 2019, exceeded $11 million.
• Approved a new, revised investment policy for ICMA. ICMA’s investment policy establishes guidelines for prudent management of ICMA’s cash reserves. The current policy, which was put in place a long time ago, established investment guidelines that prioritized liquidity and low risk over long-term growth. At the suggestion of ICMA’s auditors, ICMA decided to revisit its investment policy to better align it with best practices and the organization’s long-term goals.  
• Approved granting Life Membership to C. Scott Johnson.
• Approved 22 ICMA Credentialed Managers and 8 ICMA Credentialed Manager Candidates. 
• Approved ballot language for four proposed constitutional amendments, which will be placed on a ballot for approval by ICMA’s membership in January 2020.

     The four approved ballot proposals are:

1. Voting Rights: Extend voting eligibility to Affiliate Members in service (entry level, mid-management, and department directors) who have been members of ICMA and have been serving in a local government for five years. Affiliate Members retain voting rights only if they are in service to a local government.
2. Executive Board Diversity: Extend eligibility to serve on the ICMA Executive Board in the designated non-CAO position to Affiliate Members in service who have been members of ICMA and have been serving in a local government for five years.
3. Regional Nominating Committees: Allow any ICMA member serving in a local government and in good standing to serve as the appointed representative to the ICMA Regional Nominating Committee.
4. Implementation: Amend the Constitution to remove the current requirement that amendments take effect 10 days following the vote and replace it with the requirement that any proposed ballot amendment would include an implementation timeline. 

The board also reviewed and gave approval for the communication plan to educate and inform ICMA’s membership in advance of the ballot launch in January.  

•  Conducted the performance review of the ICMA Executive Director and of the 2018-2019 ICMA Executive Board.

The 2019-2020 ICMA Executive Board also met on Saturday, October 18, to conduct a priority-setting session for the upcoming year.