More than 100 municipal employees were trained under the League of Municipalities program

On October 30, 2024, the Alabama League of Municipalities held its annual graduation and awards ceremony at the Perdido Beach Resort. More than 100 municipal employees have graduated from or received awards for their participation in Certified Municipal Official (CMO) program. Perry Roquemore, Jr., ALM’s third executive director, gave the opening remarks and shared his enthusiasm for the growth of the program, which was created under his leadership in 1994.

Officers receive formal classroom training throughout the year, in person and through online courses, on the fundamentals of government and best practices for enforcing state laws. Municipal officials have an incentive to earn three different levels of CMO certification upon completion of 40, 80, and 120 credit hours of training, as well as upon graduation. This year, 50 certified municipal employees, 45 advanced level municipal employees and 17 senior executive honorees received the corresponding titles. Upon completion of the training, more than 5,200 municipal employees have received League training in municipal governance since its inception.

“We are very proud to have the second oldest elected municipal employee training program in the country, and we are even more excited to celebrate 30 years anniversary of this outstanding program,” said ALM Executive Director Greg Cochran. “A core component of the League’s mission is to educate and prepare our new and experienced local elected officials with the skills and up-to-date resources needed to help them serve their communities to the best of their abilities.”

In honor of the 30th anniversary On the anniversary of the CMO program, the League awarded 20 officials with its new tiered lapel pins of honor. On average, it takes five or six years to complete the general requirements for an honorary certificate. Honorary CMO officers who completed 200 to 299 hours of training received a second level and received a new lapel pin with one green stone, those who completed 300 to 399 hours of training received a third level and received a new pin with two green stones; and those who logged more than 400 hours received level four and a new pin with three crystal clear stones.

The League also presented Certified Municipal Achievement Awards (CMAs) to 15 municipalities, the most since its inception. The CMA Awards were created in 2018 to recognize municipalities where the mayor and entire municipal council complete at least 40 individual credit hours, if not more, throughout the year.

Cochran added, “We hope that these new CMO Director Emeritus levels and CMA awards will further encourage all municipal officials to continue to strive for excellence!”

During the 2024 legislative session, Senator Jabo Wagoner and Rep. Jim Hill introduced legislation into the 2024 Alabama Legislature to expand the CMO program from a voluntary program to a mandatory training program. On May 3, 2024, Governor Kay Ivey signed the Alabama Municipal Clerk Training Act into law.

The law specifically requires mayors and council members to complete 10 hours of ALM-provided training each year during their first term. All local elected officials will be required to receive five hours of training annually after completing the 40 hours required to obtain the ALM Chief Marketing Officer Basic Certification. The law comes into force on January 1, 2025.