Kicking Off Small Cities Month in Wyoming with Ashley Harpstreith

June is Small Cities Month at NLC! With 40% of the National population coming from cities with a population of 50,000 or less, small cities play a significant role in strengthening local government and shaping NLC’s initiatives, opportunities and federal advocacy. Ashley Harpstreith is the Executive Director for the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, which serves all of Wyoming’s 99 municipalities. She joins CitiesSpeak to share the unique strengths of small cities and towns in Wyoming and across the country.

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Transcript

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Welcome back to City Speaks. I'm your host, Shante Byers. I'm the Senior Executive and Director for Member and Partner Engagement at the National League of Cities. CitySpeaks gives listeners an insider's view of what local leadership in America means today and features conversations with government leaders and policy experts regarding the biggest issues and challenges facing America's cities, towns, and villages. We have on the pod today an executive director from one of our 49 state municipal leagues, the Wyoming Association of Municipalities. The State Municipal Leagues founded NLC and our state-level associations for local government. We coordinate and work closely with municipalities throughout the nation. Ashley Harpstreet is the executive director for the Wyoming Association of Municipalities, which serves all of Wyoming's 99 municipalities. Prior to joining WAM, she was the Executive Director for Wyoming Taxpayer Associations, where she advocated for sound tax policy for a healthy Wyoming economy. Ashley also has additional experience in business and economic development and is joining us to talk about partnerships, small cities month, and leadership. Ashley, welcome to Citiespeak. Thank you for having me. We are so grateful that you are here and that you took the time to do this as you are leading your conference for all of your local municipalities right now. So thank you so much for your time. We're going to jump right in because I know that you're an extremely busy woman and you got stuff to do, okay? So for the listeners who may not be familiar, can you share a little about the Wyoming Association of Municipalities and the communities you represent across your state? Sure. Thank you so much, Shante, and all everyone at NLC for the opportunity to talk about the Cowboy State. Wyoming Association of Municipalities is a 501 private nonprofit association, which has been the foundation of support for all Wyoming's 99 municipalities since our organization in 1928. We play a pivotal role in providing vital educational resources that enhance the capabilities of all local leaders. With our mission centered on advocating for the collective interests of cities and towns, WAM tirelessly promotes policy that prioritize local decision making, ensuring that the voices of our 68% of citizens who reside within these communities are heard and respected. Through our efforts, WAM not only fosters a spirit of collaboration among municipalities, but also inspires a brighter, more engaged future for all residents and businesses in Wyoming. We are not a government entity. We are not created by statute. We do not exercise sovereign power, and we are not founded by any state appropriations. Our operations are supported by membership dues and non-due revenue, and we are governed by nonprofit law. Wham believes that the best government is one that governs closest to the people. And we probably say that this principle is enshrined in Article 13, Section 1 of the Wyoming Constitution, which affirms home rule and empowers municipalities to make decisions tailored to their communities. Our advocacy is an extension of that constitutional right, ensuring that local voices are present and heard when state legislation is crafted. And with NLC, of course, with our federal legislative goals. Our goal is not to grow government, but to protect local autonomy, reduce taxpayer burden, and ensure that policies reflect the realities on the ground, whether it's infrastructure, emergency services, or land use, local governments are where policy meets people. Ashley, thank you so much for what you just uh mentioned as it relates to all the work that you're doing and what your state league does. We're super excited because this year, your state league has officially become an affiliate member of NLC. One of the benefits is that the state league pays for your smaller cities with population under 20,000 to be members of NLC. What made this the right time to strengthen that partnership with us? Well, Shantae, this is a no-brainer as 95 of our 99 communities meet that requirement. And so honestly, out of all the states, we're probably getting the best bang for our buck for what NLC has to offer, coupled with the representation in DC on issues that represent all of our 99. Wyoming is notorious for leveraging our federal dollars over the amount of population uh we boast or lack thereof. So federal policy and funding at the um at the national level is super important and to have the resources that National League of Cities provides is is uh is an extreme benefit for all of us. Um not only that, with the the policy and advocacy arm of NLC, but we appreciate um the ability to network and be exposed to 48 other states. And it seems like no matter where you are in the country, all of the issues seem to be very similar. So it's nice to talk to people um outside of our state and um network and provide that to our members. I love to hear that, and I'm so grateful that we can deepen that partnership. When I think about this how special the month of June is, it's not just because uh it's the summertime, and I love the summertime, Ashley, with my whole heart, but it's also because it's Small Cities Month, and we're kicking off this month with a year-long celebration of small cities, towns, and villages across the country. And so we're really grateful that we can celebrate this month with you as well. And in order to give some of our listeners just a little bit more insight as it relates to the uniqueness of small cities, can you share some of the unique strengths of small communities in Wyoming and across the uh America? Sure. We say in Wyoming it is just one small town with one very long main street. And even our big first-class cities and in our more metropolitan areas um would qualify as small towns with less than 50,000 in population. Uh, and so we feel the beauty of quite that quaint feeling is connectivity and the ability to get things done. So in small towns and small cities, you're gonna see us be able to react and pivot uh to the needs of our constituents or what's going on, I think, really quickly, um, and be very in tune uh with the grassroots um needs of the viability of each community. I really think we need to put that on a t-shirt. One small town, one very long Main Street, okay? So put that on a t-shirt, sell that, don't worry, you don't have to give me any of the proceeds, you know what I'm saying? But that was very uh poetic and it makes so much sense. As you're talking about just some of the uniqueness of small cities, I would also love if you could take a little bit of time and just talk about what are some of the biggest challenges from your your perspective that small cities are navigating right now. So we talk about infrastructure, workforce, housing, economic development, and access to funding. And I would say yes to all. And that's why we all need each other to work through these issues, uh, whether it's you know connecting statewide or at the national level with NLC, um, because we are all basically solving for X together, especially in housing. I know I just boasted about um I about our small communities, but housing is for sure a real issue. Um Jackson, often known as Jackson Hole to uh rest of uh the this the country and world outside of the state of Wyoming, but the town of Jackson is the epicenter of work workforce and attainable housing needs, um, having one of the highest per capita uh areas to live in. Um, even though I was bragging about our ability to pivot quickly and that we are small and mighty, uh, we still have to keep up with all the growing cost with inflation and trying to keep up with our economy that costs the same no matter the size. Teton County, in which Jackson is the only municipality, boasts the highest GDP of residents in the United States. This creates a challenge of everyone wanting to be there and the service industry that needs to serve. So, yes, any way we can collaborate to learn and um face our unique challenges from a thousand square foot costs in Jackson to our busting um micro uh metropolitan of Cheyenne, Wyoming on the front range. We are all ears and ready to collaborate and learn more. And NLC is positioned to help us in all of those things by bringing in those subject matter experts. I love that, Ashley. And you mentioned a bit about the collaboration and how it's so vital and important. And I want to stay kind of in that lane just a little bit. You and I both know that small cities are often, they often operate with very lean staff and limited resources. Because of that, could you talk a little bit more about how essential it is for some of the collaborations that you just mentioned? Sure. I mean, I think it ends up saving on everybody's budgets uh when we collaborate and try to solve for X together, instead of uh all doing it independently. It seems like we get a lot more done when we're all kind of rowing in the same direction and idea sharing and streamlining that um that cost together. Uh just like uh we were talking about unique challenges of housing, it's it's just the collaboration, the idea sharing, resource sharing is invaluable when working on hard problems that require a lot of brain power and connectivity. I appreciate that. How does partnering with NLC specifically help open doors for Wyoming cities and towns? So the National League of City provides a broad network of peers, policy research, model ordinances, training, and guidance on federal programs, which helps WIM extend our capacity beyond what we can do, even with our own internal staff alone. By leveraging NLC's resources, we can share best practices with other jurisdictions, coordinate advocacy at the national level, and deliver high-quality services to all 99 member municipalities while preserving local control and fiscal responsibility. We are just so happy that we don't have to do this alone or reinvent the wheel. Wyoming loves talking about small towns as we are the least populated in the state. So we should probably be the ambassador for small towns, and we are happy to support Small Town Month because that's pretty much all of us. I love to hear that. And shout out to the plug for us because we're excited about really deepening our relationship with you and all of your cities, your towns, and your villages. From your perspective, Ashley, what kinds of resources or opportunities through our partnership do you think will make the biggest difference for your cities, towns, and villages? Like I said before, I love coming to your conferences and it is type of a type of one-stop shopping on policy discussion. Uh, specifically when we come to DC for the Congressional Cities Conference, and I recommend all of my uh communities at least try to get one person there or try to do it one time because it's it's where all you guys do a great job of bringing all the agencies to come to us, and that just really saves on time, logistics, money, energy. I mean, just getting around DC is a feat in itself. So to be able to like hit your vendor fair with all the federal partners is uh we found a ton of value there. Uh, and then again, like just the the topics, it's really fun. Whatever is happening in um Lusk, Wyoming can be the same issue that we are seeing in maybe Tampa, Florida, even though they're they're so uh diverse. Uh, it seems like local elected officials and communities are still facing similar issues that uh it's nice to learn from one of one another and have the ability um and resources from NLC to pull uh those type of uh strategic partners together to discuss complex issues. We love bringing folks together, especially uh states such as yours and amazing leaders such as yourself because we know how hard you work every single day for all of your members. And we know that that's not an easy feat because you definitely recognize uh the day in the life of a local leader, what that looks like. So the fact that we can coalesce these partnerships and these opportunities and to find levels of synergy, it's really encouraging for both parties. So thank you for that. And I want to switch gears just a little bit because not only are you fighting every single day on behalf of all of your members, you also have a greater insight into what does leadership truly mean. And so let's just say that we were talking to some folks, or we have some listeners, I should say, that are very much interested in, you know, wanting to be or to serve as an elected official. What advice would you give to a newly elected official serving in a small community for the very first time? We're about to go through this in a big election year, and what I'm um telling people that are interested in running or that are or that are running right now and are looking to serve is if you get elected, it's to get involved early and build a broad network. You do not have to navigate this alone. And I think that's what I've said over and over in this uh interview is collaboration is is key. Uh, even if the community that you're partnering with is very different, we can all learn from each other. Not only that, um, engage with, of course, fellow officials, staff, and mentors across the state and um beyond, seek that training, join committees, attend meetings, and learn from peers who have faced those similar challenges. Um, but most importantly, you have to listen to your constituents, communicate openly and collaborate across silos to deliver the results that are best for your uh uh best delivering results for your community. Thank you for that, Ashley. And as you were kind of speaking to the newly elected official, you know, that's coming into uh uh leadership within your state. Let's take a quick second and just look ahead just a little bit. As we celebrate Small Cities Month, what message would you like to leave the local leaders across the country serving in small towns and rural communities? That is so simple. Thank you. Thank you for serving to all the local leaders and small towns and rural communities across the country. Thank you for your tireless service, your commitment to family and community, and for strengthening our shared future. We stand with you and are inspired by your dedication and service. Well, listen, Ashley, if I could do anything for you, okay? If you need anything ever, a lung, a kidney, I have two of them. Anything for you, because you took the time out of your day as you are running back and forth through your conference. So we know how busy you are right now as you're still serving all of your local municipalities, but you took this time out to be able to share this very important message of how important small cities are, not just in Wyoming, but across the country. And we cannot thank you enough. And so again, for joining us today here with City Speaks, please know that your voice is absolutely empowering and powerful, and we're grateful to be able to have it. Your knowledge and your experience as an asset to every single one of your 99 cities and towns, super invaluable. I am so proud to call you not only a friend of NLC, but a friend to all local municipalities across the country, more specifically within your state. And we are honored to be able to have you as a partner to kick off our Small Cities Month here in Wyoming. We wish you all the best for your conference. I hope that you have the opportunity to take a breath from time to time. Uh, and even if you cannot, we're going to breathe for you because we know how important the work that you do every single day is. And so we're grateful to have you as one of our 49th State Municipal League executive directors. And please know you're welcome to on CitiSpeak absolutely anytime you want to come. Free reign, okay? You just come on back. Thanks for having me. Thank you, Ashley. Thanks for listening to City Speak with Clarence Anthony. If you like the show, let us know. Share this episode with your friends, and make sure to subscribe. We're curious to hear what you think, what you want more of, and how we can improve. If you have feedback or an idea for a guest you'd like Clarence to sit down with, send us your thoughts at Cityspeak Podcast at nlc.org. Join us next month for a new episode. Like and subscribe here or wherever you get your podcast. See you next time.