Lobbying & Advocacy

Whenever the City enters into a contract with a lobbyist or lobbying firm, the details of this arrangement will be posted to this section. The details will include, at a minimum, the name of the lobbyist or lobbying firm, the amount paid to the lobbyist or firm, and the legislation that the lobbyist is advocating for or against. If the City pays dues to belong to any lobbying associations, full details of these arrangements will be included as well, including the name of the association, the amount paid in dues, and an identification of what positions that lobbying association is taking with the money it has received from the City's taxpayers via the dues paid to it by the city. If the City gives grants to nonprofit organizations, these grants should be disclosed on the city's website with a reason for the grant and information about who in the nonprofit organization is responsible for oversight and administration of the funds received.

Memberships

The City is a member of the Maine Municipal Association (MMA), an organization whose members consist of nearly every city and town in the State of Maine. The MMA advocates and represents the interests of its membership before the State of Maine Legislature, agencies and other public bodies. The positions and advocacy pursued by the MMA on behalf of the City and other municipalities can be found on the MMA Legislative and Advocacy webpage. With the assistance of MMA, the City does closely follow proposed legislation by the state Legislature, specifically legislation that may affect the City. Reports of proposed legislation of concern are provided to the City Council by the City Manager. Membership dues are paid annually to the MMA and are included in the annual budget and recorded as a purchase order. Membership dues paid in FY2016 were $21,677.

Support to Nonprofit Agencies

The City does provide some financial support to nonprofit agencies. This assistance is detailed in the annual budget, as well as through other sources, including the Community Development Block Grant program.