National League of Cities meets with P.R. mayors, offers towns free membership
NLC CEO Clarence Anthony and City of Orlando Commissioner Tony Ortiz see the damage caused by Hurricane María with officials from the town of Bayamón. (Credit: Meri St. Jean/NLC)
The National League of Cities (NLC), a non-partisan organization that promotes the interests of cities across the United States, offered Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities free NLC membership for two years to help the island during the recovery and reconstruction after Hurricanes Irma and María ravaged the territory nearly seven months ago.
NLC recently sent a delegation to Puerto Rico to meet with mayors and commonwealth officials, and saw firsthand the infrastructure needs and rebuilding efforts currently underway.
Membership for all 78 municipalities is worth $285,345 per year, which translates to $570,343 for the full two-year offer. This effort, supported by the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration, will raise the voice of Puerto Rico’s municipalities at the national level in front of federal government officials, NLC officials said.
“City leaders across Puerto Rico continuously demonstrate strength, courage and resilience,” said NLC CEO Clarence E. Anthony.
“We are proud to offer NLC membership to Puerto Rican municipalities to help give them a voice in Washington and connect them to a network of city leaders throughout the country,” he said.
Among the benefits NLC offers, the interests of Puerto Rico’s municipalities will be defended by the organization’s lobbyists in Washington, D.C.; municipal officials will be able to serve as delegates to the Congressional Cities Conference; local leaders will gain access to the Youth, Education and Family Institute; and municipalities will have access to cost-saving benefits such as Grant Access, a resource to connect cities to more than 7,000 financing opportunities.
“This remarkable partnership will create meaningful connections and alliances with other city and municipal officials from across the country”, said PRFAA’s Executive Director, Carlos R. Mercader.
“With this generous opportunity from the National League of Cities we hope to empower our municipal leaders and officials to further integrate them into our national conversations at the federal level,” Mercader said.
