{"id":7850,"date":"2021-02-25T17:31:55","date_gmt":"2021-02-25T21:31:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.mml.org\/wp\/inside208\/?p=7850"},"modified":"2021-02-25T17:31:55","modified_gmt":"2021-02-25T21:31:55","slug":"mml-president-mayor-wild-fellow-board-members-fighting-for-michigan-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mml.org\/inside208\/2021\/02\/25\/mml-president-mayor-wild-fellow-board-members-fighting-for-michigan-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"MML President Mayor Wild, Fellow Board Members Fighting for Michigan Communities"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MML President and Westland Mayor Bill Wild (second row left) attends a Zoom meeting with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen (bottom of frame) earlier today.<\/p><\/div>\n

Michigan Municipal League Board President Bill Wild, mayor of Westland, and other board members were actively fighting on behalf of Michigan communities in recent days on a number of fronts. There was so much going on that we’ve decided to post this blog detailing it all.<\/span><\/p>\n

Earlier today, Mayor Wild met with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen about the need for a new federal stimulus package that provides direct, flexible support for communities battling COVID-19 on the frontlines. While this meeting that wasn\u2019t recorded, we are able to share on social media how successful the League Board President Wild felt the meeting was. Here\u2019s how Mayor Wild summarized the meeting for us:<\/p>\n

\u201cI think today\u2019s meeting was very productive and remarkable in the Secretary\u2019s understanding of the effect the pandemic has had on Local Government and the importance of allowing flexibility in the utilization of this funding.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I left feeling that the Administration was fully committed to moving this COVID-relief funding to communities very quickly and was encouraged that the line of communication will remain open to the White House post pandemic as we work to reopen our local economies, get Americans back to work and begin to rebuild the nation\u2019s infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Westland Mayor Bill Wild, MML board president, attends a Zoom meeting with U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen earlier today.<\/p><\/div>\n

The League is very appreciative of Mayor Wild\u2019s work on our members\u2019 behalf in trying to secure a COVID-related stimulus package that provides direct, flexible funding to local governments of all sizes from around the nation.<\/p>\n

The meeting between Secretary Yellen, Mayor Wild and several other city leaders was requested by the White House through the National League of Cities. The NLC reserved a spot for the MML and we secured Mayor Wild\u2019s participation. Other officials on the call included Council Member Kathy Maness, Lexington, SC, NLC President; Mayor Vince Williams, Union City, GA, NLC First Vice President; Irma Esparza Diggs, of NLC; Mayor Nic Hunter, Lake Charles, LA; Mayor Walter Eccard, Shallotte, N.C.; Mayor Patricia Branson, Kodiak, AK; and Mayor Charlene Lovett, Claremont, N.H.<\/p>\n

Mayor Wild represented not just Michigan on the call, but the entire Midwest. The League provided Mayor Wild with talking points that he was able to share with Secretary Yellen. The current $1.9 trillion COVID-19 stimulus package being supported by President Biden includes a $350 billion emergency aid reconciliation package<\/a> that provides flexible aid for our states, cities, counties, tribes, and territories. This package is on track to be approved in Congress, but the strong advocacy effort by the League and the NLC to garner support continues.<\/p>\n

Helping Our Members in Various Ways<\/strong><\/p>\n

But Thursday\u2019s meeting wasn\u2019t the only way Mayor Wild and other MML board members were fighting for our membership in recent days.<\/p>\n

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Sunday’s Michigan Matter program featured League Board President William Wild, mayor of Westland, and League Board Vice President Deirdre Waterman, mayor of Pontiac. as well as the mayors of Rochester Hills and Warren.<\/p><\/div>\n

On Sunday, both Mayor Wild and League Board Vice \u00a0President and Pontiac Mayor Deirdre Waterman appeared on the Michigan Matters news program on CBS Detroit. You can watch it here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

They were joined by fellow mayors Bryan Barnett of Rochester Hills and James Fouts of Warren to talk about the impact of COVID-19 on their communities.<\/p>\n

Anything League members can do, such as media interviews like this one, to raise awareness over the need of direct funding for our communities battling the coronavirus is vital in getting the next stimulus package across the finish line.<\/p>\n

Organizational Sign-On Letter Still Open<\/b><\/p>\n

And here’s another way League members can help. As NLC and the MML prepares for the COVID Relief Package to head to the Senate – the coalition we are working with has reopened the sign-on letter previously distributed. Over 320 groups have already signed!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span><\/b>If you are a member of an organization that supports this effort, please have the organization’s representative sign the letter.<\/span>\u00a0If you work with other groups\u00a0who might want to sign, we’d love to have them as well.<\/span><\/p>\n


\nAs a reminder, the NLC is not seeking individual government entities to sign this letter at this time \u2013 only organizations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

TwitterStorm<\/strong><\/p>\n

The MML and many of our supporters also joined in the NLC’s TwitterStorm event today. In this social media campaign, people were encouraged to use the hashtags #AmericaRescuePlan and #AmericanRescuePlan to keep the pressure on federal lawmakers to pass the new stimulus plan. Here are some of the Tweets by the NLC and shared by the League and our staff:<\/p>\n