HELPFUL MATERIALS FOR
LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS

Champaign, IL — New materials and programs of interest to local government officials in Illinois are now available through Community Information and Education Service (CIES) which is a joint project of the University of Illinois Office of Continuing Education and Public Service and the Illinois Cooperative Extension Service.

Local government issues such as economic development, budget management, meeting management, and using a consultant are covered in the following brief descriptions of the materials and programs available through the CIES Local Government Series.

Building Your Community's Future, a series of six videotaped programs on small and rural community economic development was developed collaboratively by CIES and the Illinois Institute of Rural Affairs at Western Illinois University. This series was developed to acquaint leaders in small communities with basic steps involved in continuous and successful economic development programs. The topics selected address the central steps necessary to begin and to sustain effective programs that involve a large segment of the community and produce positive results.

"While this series can be used alone for its informational value, we recommend that it be used as the starting point for discussions of steps that can be taken in your community to promote local economic development," says Charles Kozoll, director of the CIES program. Individual programs and accompanying workbooks can be purchased for $19.95 each. All six programs in the series, their workbooks, and an overview and moderator's guide can be purchased for $101.70 which is 15% less than purchasing the tapes individually.

The six programs in the series include the following:

Getting Started in Economic Development features Vicki Luther, co-director, Heartland Center for Leadership Development who introduces the skills and information needed to begin the process of economic development in a community.

Seven Steps to Building an Action Agenda, presented by Glen Pulver, professor emeritus. University of Wisconsin, outlines the steps involved in creating an economic development action plan.

Retaining and Expanding Local Businesses is presented by George Morris, professor and extension economist, University of Minnesota who explains the essential components of successful programs for effective business retention and expansion (BR&E) efforts.

Stabilizing and Revitalizing Downtowns, by Kennedy Smith, National Center for Historic Preservation, outlines the steps to build successful downtowns, emphasizing public-private partnerships, the need for a long-term commitment to development, the value of building on existing assets, and the need for self-help programs.

Financing Economic Development, by Fred Walton, vice president of PGAV-Urban Consulting of St. Louis, examines practices and strategies for finding economic development funds including existing community and state sources, how to assemble an attractive financial package, what to include in a realistic prospective business incentive package, and guidelines for pursuing financial assistance from private and public sources.

Strategies for Marketing Your Community, by Milan Wall, co-director of the Heartland Center for Leadership Development, includes examples of communities with successful marketing efforts, and covers the essentials of a well-conceived and executed marketing plan.

Also newly added to the CIES Series are the Management Updates which are short documents on topics of interest to local government officials. There are currently three Updates available:

Administrative Decision Making in Public Funded Organizations: A Threat to Fiscal Decline by Robert F. Long, Jr., professor. University of Northern Iowa, is,

June 1994 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 19

useful reading for any elected official who is faced with the responsibility of exercising fiscal restraint. Those decisions involve setting clear priorities and developing budgets based on those priorities. This Update emphasizes the importance of a systematic process for deciding which programs to maintain and which to cut, and three case studies demonstrate what happens when different decision-making approaches are taken.

A Guide to Managing Meetings in the Public Sector by Charles E. Kozoll, professor and associate director of Continuing Education and Public Service, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, provides suggestions for effectively organizing and efficiently running a meeting. The Update contains practical suggestions for working with the media, the basics of parliamentary procedure, and a summarization of the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

How to Select and Use a Consultant in a Local Government Operation by Charles E. Kozoll, professor and associate director of Continuing Education and Public Service, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, addresses how local government officials can determine the role a consultant can play, how to select the most appropriate consultant for the assignment, and how to make sure the work is done satisfactorily.

Also available is Economic Development In Small Illinois Communities edited by Norman Walzer. This is a Joint publication of the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. Included are 12 case studies of economic development efforts in small communities that achieved varying degrees of success. An analysis of what can be learned from these case studies is provided.

For a free catalog, for more information, or to order material from the CIES Local Government Series, write or call Community Information and Education Service, 302 E. John Street, Suite 202, Champaign, IL 61820, (217) 333-1444, or FAX (217) 333-9561.

Page 20 / Illinois Municipal Review / June 1994