5 Myths & Misconceptions About Boards & Councils

Serving on a board or town council is a great way to get involved with your community. But there are some common myths and misconceptions about what boards and councils do — and being a member of one. Midwest Assistance Program staff identified five including:

Myth #1: All that board/council does is talk and drink coffee.
Mythbuster: The majority of boards/councils are hardworking groups, volunteering more time than they expected to help solve a problem for their community and contribute to its survival.

Read the rest of MAP’s myths about boards and councils by clicking here.

You also can learn how serving on a board or council benefits you and your community, tips for better board/council meetings and what makes a good board/council member in the Spring issue of MAP’s Source newsletter.

Training

In all areas of our expertise, MAP provides training at a variety of levels including:

  • Developing capacity for town councils, rural water/sewer districts and tribal entities to operate their utilities more effectively;
  • Preparing water and wastewater system operators for certification;
  • Planning for emergency response and disaster prevention.

Whether the community issue is infrastructure, housing, enterprise development or aging, MAP provides access to training resources to help address and resolve that need.

Training is done one-on-one as well as in groups. Annually, MAP conducts nearly 100 training sessions, reaching more than 2,000 participants from communities and tribal nations. Most training sessions are free of charge.