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Photo: Mayor Rutledge is shown receiving the award from W.L. Pate, the outgoing President of the Texas Association of Mayors, Council members and Commissioners and a Beaumont City Council member.

Mark Dunn

For The Record

Bridge City Mayor David Rutledge, in recognition of his commitment to continuing education, was recently awarded the Texas Municipal League Institute (TMLI) Certified Municipal Official designation. Mayor Rutledge was also elected to the TMLI board of directors.

This is Mayor Rutledge's fourth straight year to receive the award. This designation was presented at the TMLI Awards Ceremony at the Texas Municipal League and Texas Association of Mayors, Councilmembers and Commissioners’ Elected Officials’ Conference in San Marcos in February.

The recognition honors individuals who completed 72 or more continuing education units (CEUs) during the 2018 calendar year, and is the top award in the TMLI program. The 72 CEUs must include two hours of open government training. Forty-five Certified Municipal Official designations were earned statewide.

"Obtaining the necessary hours for receiving the Certified Municipal Official award takes a lot of time, but the knowledge gained is so beneficial for both the elected officials and the city as a whole," Rutledge said.

The TMLI program is designed to enhance the leadership and problem-solving capabilities of Texas' elected city officials. Participants are offered educational sessions on social media, city revenue, ethics, governance, leadership, legislative issues, and more.

"Texas Municipal League offers a lot of great courses for newly elected council members as well as those with several years of experience" Rutledge said. "They're a great way to learn about, among other things, how to govern effectively, laws that apply to city councils in Texas, and interacting with the public we represent as well as state and federal government officials."

More than 200 elected officials from all over the state attended the three-day conference. The Texas Municipal League is a voluntary association of 1,158 Texas cities. The City of Bridge City is a member of the Texas Municipal League.

During the business meeting at the conference, Mayor Rutledge was elected to serve on the Texas Municipal League Board of Directors to represent the Texas Association of Mayors, Councilmembers and Commissioners (TAMCC), an affiliate organization of the Texas Municipal League (TML).

"I was surprised and humbled that the Board of Directors asked me to stand for election to the Board," Rutledge said. "I will try to make sure their trust was well-placed and will work hard on behalf of all the citizens and cities of Texas."

The purpose of the TAMCC is to promote the proficiency of elected municipal officials and encourage and improve the cause of good and efficient municipal government in the State of Texas.