Williamsburg will serve as a venue for a series of important conversations on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, ranging from the opioid epidemic to stormwater management.
The city is set to host the 2017 Virginia Municipal League conference, an annual opportunity for representatives of local government to connect and discuss the issues facing their communities, according to a City of Williamsburg news release.
The conference will be held in Colonial Williamsburg, the release said. Williamsburg last hosted a Virginia Municipal League conference in 2012.
The main topics of the conference are cybersecurity, the opioid epidemic, “managing conflicting public perspectives,” next generation emergency services and stormwater management, the release said.
“All we heard at last year’s conference was how everyone was looking forward to coming back to Williamsburg in 2017,” City Manager Marvin Collins III said of the 2016 VML conference held in Virginia Beach. “We look forward to not only hosting the conference, but showing them the treasure we call Williamsburg.”
Gubernatorial candidates Democrat Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie are slated to speak at the conference, as well as state Senators Tommy Norment, R-James City County and Monty Mason, D-Williamsburg.
Founded in 1905, the Virginia Municipal League is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization comprised of representatives from 38 cities, 160 towns, and eight counties in Virginia, according to the release.
“Innovation in public service is imperative to meeting the demands of each new generation of constituents,” the news release reads. “The VML conference is an opportunity for local governments to gather and share in innovation and debate best practices for common problems.”
