CHICKASHA – Mayor Zach Grayson was nominated by the City Council for appointment to the District 9 seat on the board of directors of the Oklahoma Municipal League.
The city “realizes many benefits from the policy and legislative work” of the OML and supports its mission, “which is to provide services and programs to its members to assist them in better serving their citizens,” the council declared in a resolution.
Nominating Grayson “would benefit the City of Chickasha and the other municipalities within District 9 by serving as the individual and collective voice of local government officials in interaction at both the state and national levels,” the resolution states.
On its website the OML says it is recognized as “the unified voice” of Oklahoma cities and towns, and is “the collective voice of local government at the state and national levels.”
The OML provides training for city officials; lobbies at the state Capitol on legislation that affects municipalities; supplies handbooks for city officials, including planning commissioners and city councilors; compiles a salary and benefits survey and a municipal utility costs survey; and participates in legal and regulatory proceedings and filing legal documents on behalf of OML members.
OML’s Board of Directors includes 11 district seats plus one from Towns East of Interstate 35 and one seat from Towns West of I-35, as well as the president, vice president and past president. In addition, every city with 100,000 population or more – Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Norman, Edmond and Broken Arrow – automatically has a seat on the board.
The directors serve three-year terms, and will be elected by the OML members who attend the organization’s annual business meeting during the OML annual conference scheduled Sept. 12, according to Leslie Blair, the organization’s communications director.
Currently, Lawton Mayor Stan Booker represents District 9 and Amber Mayor Craig Parham represents towns West of I-35.