Lead Director, Utah League of Cities and Towns, told attendees at the League's annual meeting that "the state of the league is strong," detailing advocacy, member services and operational work the League has undertaken this year.

The director said the League used data from member cities to change the course of legislation that would have allowed builders to select their own inspectors. He said the League gathered a dataset of about 421,000 residential inspections and reported that 93% were completed within 24 business hours and 99.7% within three business days, and that those figures helped legislators drop the contested provision.

The Hutchinson decision, the director said, frames the League's advocacy in Utah. He explained that unlike the majority of states governed by Dillon's rule, Utah's 1980 Hutchinson decision (Utah Supreme Court) affords local governments broader discretion to provide for the health, safety and welfare of communities unless the state has expressly preempted an action.

The League is continuing year-round member engagement, the director said, including a "faces and places" toolkit, a regular webinar program and an engagement calendar that tracks Association of Governments (AOG) and Council of Governments (COG) meetings. Molly, the League's membership engagement manager, was cited as leading the webinar program and outreach.

The director highlighted the Local Administrative Advisor program, led by McKenna Marchand, as a statewide technical-assistance effort created in partnership with the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget and regional AOGs. He said the program has assisted 123 small cities and towns in the last year and tracked 1,279 projects.

On operations, the director said the League has updated its employee handbook and HR procedures, built internal capacity to administer assistance programs, and maintained a strong sponsorship pipeline: sponsorship revenue has increased by 67% during his eight years as lead director. He said about two-thirds of the League's revenue comes from membership dues and that 99% of Utah cities and towns are League members. The League's board of directors is a public body, he added, and the organization complies with the Open and Public Meetings Act.

The director announced the League will host a state night at the newly opened Museum of Illusions in downtown Salt Lake on Friday, Nov. 21, 2025, as part of activities around the National League of Cities conference; Tim Shriver is scheduled to speak about the dignity index at that event.

He praised municipal accomplishments across Utah'new fire stations, resurfaced streets, new city halls, parks, libraries and redevelopment projects'and cited mutual-aid examples such as Sandy City sending firefighters to California and cities covering police shifts in Tremont. The director also recounted challenges local officials face, including tragic events and catastrophic wildfires, and related a personal anecdote from a retiring official about receiving misinformed criticism.

The director closed by recognizing staff and thanking outgoing League president Mayor Troy Walker for his service. "Because of you," he said, "the state of the league is strong."