katrina gives naco fall · ity for those with substantial home equity were increased from $500,000...

“The wisdom to know and the courage to defend the

public interest”

National Association of Counties • Washington, D.C. www.naco.org • www.countynews.org

Vol. 37 No. 22 • November 28, 2005

Inside this issue ...

Quik Takes

■ See BUDGET on page 5

■ See CONFERENCE on page 5

BY JEFF ARNOLD

DEPUTY LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR

The House-passed budget recon-ciliation bill would slice nearly $50 billion from the defi cit by the end of the decade by curbing benefi t pro-grams such as Medicaid, food stamps and student loan subsidies. Republi-cans said reining in such programs, whose costs spiral upward each year automatically, is the fi rst step to re-storing fi scal discipline.

Of interest to counties, Medicaid nominal co-payments will remain the same for non-mandatory populations.

Budget reconciliation bill squeaks by in House

The limits on long-term care eligibil-ity for those with substantial home equity were increased from $500,000 to $750,000. In Food Stamps, the House restored categorical eligibility for some TANF non-cash assistance recipients based on the poverty level.

However, the deep cuts in foster care, child support enforcement ($4.9 billion) and the TANF reauthorization remained in the bill. Since these pro-visions are not part of the Senate bill,

BY JEFF ARNOLD


You can call it a “bait ’n switch.” The draft rewrite of the telecommuni-cations law of 1996 — BITS II — the subject of a hearing on Capitol Hill Nov.9 —bore little resemblance to an earlier version — BITS I — which had been negotiated for months by a cadre of state and local government repre-sentatives, bi-partisan Hill staffers and telecommunications industry reps.

BITS II is at odds with NACo’s policy on video franchising and could potentially create havoc with local governments’ ability to appropriately manage the local rights-of-way.

Telecom rewrite breaks faith with earlier version

The new draft “breaks faith with those deal points” about county of-fi cials’ willingness to negotiate a streamlined nationwide franchising process, said Montgomery County, Md. Councilmember Marilyn Prais-ner in her testimony before U.S. House Subcommittee on Telecom-munications and the Internet.

“This is an inappropriate federal and private industry intrusion into our streets and sidewalks,” she added.

Local governments’ “deal points” in any new telecommunications law include:

BY DAN MILLER

STAFF WRITER

The wrath of Hurricane Katrina not only provided a new venue for NACo’s 2005 Health, Human Services and Workforce Development conference, but it also provided a new perspective. Moved from New Orleans to the City and County of San Francisco, the conference included a spotlight ses-sion by Harris County, Texas Judge Robert Eckels on the health and human services implications of Katrina relief. In addition to learning about Katrina’s repercussions, conference participants learned about the health, human ser-vices and workforce spheres through speakers and workshops.

Katrina gives NACo fall conference new perspective

SpeakersDr. Bruce Perry kicked off the

Opening General Session with his speech covering the neurological im-portance of relationships and social interactions for infants and young children. Perry, a senior fellow at the ChildTrauma Academy, claimed that the number of high-risk kids is increasing with each generation.

“We live in a child-illiterate society,” he said. “We have lost our effi cient mechanisms for trans-generational passage of child-rearing beliefs and practices.”

Perry lamented the lack of quality relationships and increase in mate-rialism in today’s youth, calling it

a poverty of relationships. Children today, he said, have fewer emotional, social and cognitive interactions, resulting in a poverty of social and emotional opportunities.

According to Perry, a lack of social interaction reduces youth’s capacity for future social learning, and when the social fabric frays it increases the rates of violence and suicide.

For the county offi cials in atten-dance, Perry stressed that getting kids out of a bad situation as young as possible was vital. In fact, spending more money to help young children

■ See TELECOM on page 2

Collier County, Fla. 10.7 %Cumberland County, Va. 9.3 %Hudson County, N.J. 9.0 %Henrico County, Va. 8.4 %Rock Island County, Ill. 7.7 %

Counties with Highest Counties with Highest Percent Change Percent Change in Weekly Wagein Weekly Wage(1st Quarter 2005)(1st Quarter 2005)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

Photo by Dan Miller

Cook County, Ill. Board President and NACo Past President John Stroger (l) chats with (l-r) Tom Joseph, National As-sociation of County Human Services Administrators consultant; Angelo Kyle, NACo immediate past president; and Eric Coleman, NACo fi rst vice president. Stroger received the Distinguished Service Award for County Elected Offi cials, as did Bill Kennedy, president of the Montana Association of Counties and Yellowstone County, Mont. commissioner.

County exec explains health care reform in King County. Wash. See page 2.

Montgomery County, Md. challenges FDA ruling on imported drugs. See page 2.

New York county may regulate ‘hotspot’ security. See page 4.

NACo now accepting applications for 5 Star grants. See page 2.

2 County News, November 28, 2005

BY DAN MILLER

STAFF WRITER

Facing the prospect of his county’s annual health care costs doubling to $300 million by 2012, King County Executive Ron Sims recognized that cutting benefi ts and shifting costs to workers would not fi x the problem.

Using the guiding principle that normal market forces do not operate in health care, Sims launched the King County Health Reform Initiative, which he discussed with workshop participants at NACo’s Health, Hu-man Services and Workforce Devel-opment conference. The goal of the reform to reduce waste, curb costs and improve health outcomes.

The initiative is two-pronged, with the Healthy Incentives program addressing the demand side of the issue and the newly-created Puget Sound Health Alliance addressing the supply side.

The Healthy Incentives program is at the core of the reform initia-tive. The program gives incentives for employees and their spouses or domestic partners to take ownership of their own health.

Participants in the voluntary pro-gram can reduce their out-of-pocket

King County reforms health care

expenses by taking steps to better their own health. Participants who complete a wellness assessment will receive a lowering of their monthly expenses while employees who com-plete the assessment and follow their individual action plans will receive the greatest discount.

The county hopes that healthier lifestyles will lessen catastrophic

claims, saving money for both the county and the consumer.

To address the supply side of health care, Sims joined with health care providers, business leaders, economists and others to create the Puget Sound Health Alliance. The alliance is a collaborative ef-fort involving the region’s employ-ers, providers, health plans and patients to change the current market

conditions by decreasing system fragmentation and fostering higher performance.

The Alliance aims to measure, report, reward and improve health care in the region by creating a regional data and reporting system using uniform performance measures of quality, rewarding high-performing health care professionals, among other strategies.

Participating organizations in-clude King County, Starbucks Cof-fee Company, Boeing, Aetna and the State of Washington.

BY ALLISON MALL

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Montgomery County, Md.’s continuing battle with the FDA has escalated now that the FDA recently denied the county’s formal request for a waiver to import prescription drugs from Canada.

County Executive Douglas M. Duncan announced that he will ap-peal the FDA’s ruling. This decision is the latest in the county’s fi ght to save residents and county employees money on prescription drugs by im-porting them from Canada, which the county cannot do without a waiver from the FDA.

Duncan made the formal request for importation of prescription drugs from Canada on Oct. 10, and asked Maryland’s Attorney General to as-sist in making sure the request was not dismissed outright.

In a press release, Duncan said he “[was] disappointed, but not sur-prised, that the Bush Administration would deny hard-working people ac-cess to cheaper prescription medica-tions. It is fundamentally unfair that people living in Canada pay a fraction of what Americans pay for the same prescription medications.”

The county has been fi ghting the rising cost of prescription drugs for years — in 2003 the County Council passed resolutions to explore allow-ing county employees to purchase cheaper prescription drugs from Canada, and in December 2004, Montgomery County implemented Montgomery Rx in a joint effort with NACo to reduce the cost of prescrip-tion drugs for citizens.The card is free and available to all county residents and more than 280,000 cards have been distributed so far, saving resi-dents more than $1 million. But, the county believes residents would be able to save even more money if they were permitted to import prescription drugs from Canada.

David Weaver, a spokesman for Duncan, said there is a provision un-der the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act (MMA) which would allow the FDA to grant a waiver, and as a result Duncan is planning to fi le an appeal.

The FDA maintains its position that importing drugs from Canada is illegal because of the agencies’ lack of control over the safety and quality of the drugs.

Md. County to appeal FDA ruling on Canadian drugs

Praisner testifi es on behalf of NACo, others■ TELECOM from page 1

• Universal service, E-911, local emergency alerts and the nation’s homeland security in an IP era must be preserved.

• State and local governments’ property rights and authority for managing the nation’s rights-of-way must be kept whole. Private, for-profi t, and quasi-permanent oc-cupancy of the most valuable real estate held by government must be fairly compensated — both through social obligations to the community served and in rental fees.

• Local governments must have the right to provide broadband trans-port and communications services to themselves and to their constituents to further important community in-terests.

• The local telephone company franchise should be comparable to the terms and conditions applied to their cable competitors.

• Consumers need choice of broadband providers with guaran-teed network neutrality. The owner of the broadband pipe should never

discriminate among service provid-ers nor limit the consumer’s access to those services.

Michael Willner, chief executive offi cer of Insight Cable, represent-ing the National Cable and Telecom-munications Association, blasted the nationwide franchise concept contained in BITS II, which would replace the current system of local franchises under which the cable TV sector operates.

“I am concerned that Congress is becoming dangerously close to wearing black-and-white striped shirts ... as referees of this game of competition between the Bells and cable companies,” he declared.

Not unsurprisingly, top offi cials from Alcatel North America, SBC Communications and Verizon Wire-less praised the new draft, which would favor Bell fi rms such as SBC and Verizon more than the previ-ous draft released in September. A witness from Microsoft focused his criticism on network neutrality. Entities that provide subscribers with information derived from the Internet “should adhere to the core

principles of net neutrality,” said Paul Mitchell, general manager of Microsoft TV.

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton, (R-Texas), said the proposed changes on net-work neutrality were occasioned by concerns of content providers such as Hollywood-based fi rms. “If we didn’t make some sort of a change, the content providers would be sus-ceptible to Internet viruses, and the content providers wouldn’t provide us with content,” Barton said.

The Chairman of the Subcommit-tee, Fred Upton (R-Mich.) said the committee was anxious to move the legislation quickly, but made clear that any action would come after Thanksgiving at the earliest.

Praisner, who chairs NACo’s Telecommunications and Technol-ogy Steering Committee, testifi ed on behalf of NACo, the National League of Cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Association of Telecommunications Offi cers and Advisors, and TelecommUnity , a lo-cal government telecom advocacy group.

BY ERIK JOHNSTON

COMMUNITY SERVICES ASSISTANT

NACo and the Five Star Res-toration Challenge Grant Program project partners are currently ac-cepting applications for the 2006 grants. The Five Star Program pro-vides modest fi nancial assistance on a competitive basis to support community-based wetland, ripar-ian and coastal habitat restoration projects that build diverse part-nerships and foster local natural resource stewardship through education, outreach and training activities. Project sites can be pub-lic lands, such as parks, streams and school campuses, or private lands, such as corporate facilities.

In 2005, 53 projects, out of approximately 220 submitted, re-ceived grants averaging $10,000. Examples of entities that received funding and assistance through the Five Star Program include: county and city governments, nonprofi ts, local cooperative extension dis-tricts, schools and school districts and local environmental groups.

The stars in “Five Star” repre-sent the diverse group of partners, funders and participants who offer the cash and in-kind services nec-essary to complete the restoration project including:

Wetland restoration grants now available

• local or tribal governments (e.g., boards of county commission-ers, departments of planning, envi-ronment or parks and recreation)

• universities and local coopera-tive extension districts

• schools or youth organizations (e.g., state or local youth conserva-tion corps, county job training pro-grams)

• local businesses or corpora-tions

• conservation organizations or local citizens groups

• state and federal resource man-agement agencies, and

• foundations or other funders.Begun in 1997, the Five Star Res-

toration Challenge Grant Program is a partnership between NACo, the National Fish and Wildlife Founda-tion, the Wildlife Habitat Council and made possible with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The deadline for applica-tions is March 10, 2006.

For more information on the Five Star Restoration Challenge Grant Program, how to apply, and examples of past Five Star projects, visit www.naco.org/techassistance and click on “water quality,” or contact Erik Johnston at 202/942-4246 or [email protected].

Photo by Dan Miller

King County, Wash. Executive Ron Sims describes his county’s efforts to curb rising health care costs.

County News, November 28, 2005 3

Bill HansellNACo President

BY BILL HANSELL

NACO PRESIDENT

The Thanksgiving season is one of my favorites. I think it may be a holiday somewhat unique to our country, where we set aside a day to be thankful. When we stop to think about it, I think most of us can come up with a sizable list of things for which to be thankful. I know I can, especially within the NACo family.

I am thankful for the great group of individuals who make up the NACo Executive Committee. We come from dif-ferent parts of the country, with different backgrounds and experi-ences. But one thing we certainly have in common is serving the best interests of the nation’s counties. Colleen, Eric, Don and Angelo are wonderful people, and I am very thankful to be able to serve with this tremendously talented group of individuals.

I am thankful for the NACo staff. Most of you will never get to know all of these hard-working people. It is a pleasure for me when I have the opportunity to spend some time at our headquarters on 440 First Street, to spend time with our staff. The support they provide for all of us is exceptional. Larry Naake, our executive director, is very capable, and desirous to continue to make NACo the strong and solid organization it is. Under

his leadership, NACo is an effec-tive and strong or-ganization in our nation’s capital. When you are in Washington D.C., please stop by and visit your headquarters.

I am thankful for the state as-sociations and their staff. One of my priorities as a NACo offi cer has been to visit state association conven-tions. As I write this, I have been to an even dozen since taking offi ce in Hawaii. Including my previous years, I have been privileged to speak at 28 state association meetings, with four more on the docket before the end of 2005. There is not a dud among the group!

It has been wonderful to see both the unique and different as-pects of each. They are all strong, with dedicated staff, serving county governments in their states. A huge reason NACo is strong on the national level is the strength of the state as-sociations.

I am thankful for the many elected offi cials I have had to op-portunity to meet. What a privilege it has been to spend time with so many folks from all over this great land. Wherever I have gone, I have always met high-quality individuals who are serving their constituents in their counties. “Public servant” is the

best way I have to describe those of you I have met.

I am thankful for what we are able to accomplish working together. Even in the few months I have served as president, we have accomplished several things to-gether.

Our legislative agenda con-tinues to move forward; we are working on the Katrina relief on several fronts including raising tens of thousands of dollars; the meth initiative continues to have a major impact; we have a place at the table in the congressional deliberations on issues important to counties; and our membership continues to climb, having already met the goal for this year.

Lastly, I am thankful for the honor you have given me to serve you this year as NACo president. It is a position I take very seriously, and it is my desire that in all I do, I might make a contribution to help you in your service to the citizens of your county. I want to help you make a difference in the lives of the people you serve. Working together, I think we are doing just that, and for this I am very thankful.

Have a wonderful Holiday Season.

meetings, where he served for many years, this December and in future years.”

Jennifer Wilson, associate legis-lative director and the NACo staff liaison for the Health Steering Com-mittee, said, “Bill Sturtevant was wonderful to work with and very supportive as I struggled through my early days as a NACo employee. He was very committed to his work and a strong voice on my committee and in my leadership on behalf of long term care issues.

“My fi rst state association meeting happened to be in New Hampshire early in my NACo days, and Bill took care of me, jumping at my every need

and whim. I wouldn’t have survived that trip without him! He truly was a pleasure to work with and he will be sorely missed by me as well as the Health Steering Committee.”

The eldest of four children, Stur-tevant leaves behind one brother, Daniel Sturtevant of Epping; two sisters, Anne Greaney of Groveland, Mass., and Lisa Soiett of Strafford; six nieces and nephews; and two grandnieces and grandnephews.

In lieu of fl owers, memorial donations may be made to the Wil-liam F. Sturtevant Memorial Fund, c/o Rockingham County Nursing Home, 117 North Road, Brent-wood 03833.

NACo Board member William Sturtevant dies Nov. 7William Sturtevant, 58, a mem-

ber of NACo’s Board of Directors since 2000 and the Health Steering Committee since 1996, died Nov. 7 in Boston. He had been the Rocking-ham County, Mass. Nursing Home Administrator since 1979.

Sturtevant was born Dec. 21, 1946, in Haverhill, Mass., son of the late Harold F. and Arleen M. (Murphy) Sturtevant. He was raised in Groveland, Mass., and was a 1963 graduate of Pentucket High School in West Newbury, Mass. He served in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War, and in 1973, he graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Boston before join-ing Rockingham County Nursing Home.

Sturtevant was active on many boards. In addition to serving on NACo’s Board of Directors and Health Steering Committee, he was on the executive committee

of New Hampshire Association of Counties.

He also served as president of the New Hampshire Nursing Home Ad-ministrators, chairman of the board of New Hampshire Nursing Home Administrators Board of Examin-ers, New Hampshire Certifi cate

of Need Board, and vice-chair of New Hampshire Public Television’s Board of Directors.

“Bill Sturtevant was a friend of mine and a friend of NACo’s who will be sorely missed by all who knew him in his county, in his state and throughout the country,” said NACo Executive Director Larry Naake.

President-elect Colleen Land-kamer, NACo staff members Tom Goodman and Kaye Braaten, and Naake happened to be in New Hamp-shire and meeting in the Rocking-ham County Nursing Home that Bill was the administrator of the day after he passed away, Naake added.

“I can tell you that he was re-spected and loved by the staff in the nursing home, his colleagues in Rockingham County, and county of-fi cials throughout his state.

“We at NACo will particularly miss this kind, gentle and dedicated man at our Board of Directors

BY JEFF ARNOLD


A federal appeals court ruled Nov. 15 that voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) telephone compa-nies must comply with a May 2005 FCC order barring new phone ser-vice unless the fi rms also can offer technology to pinpoint the locations of callers who dial 911.

NACo, along with a unifi ed pub-lic safety community, supported the FCC’s order to require VoIP provid-ers to link to public safety “answer-ing points” (PSAPs).

The U.S. Circuit Court of Ap-peals for the District of Columbia rejected an effort by Nuvio, an Overland Park, Kan. based Internet phone company, to halt enforcement of the FCC’s emergency dialing re-quirement.

The appeal court’s decision was made on procedural grounds. Nuvio had challenged the FCC’s original order. They argued that the company would suffer the “irreparable dam-age,” and that required the court to stop government action.

Although the Senate Commerce Committee earlier this month unani-mously passed a bill, S. 1063, that addresses whether VoIP providers must support E-911, the measure does not appear to be on a fast track in the House. The legislation would waive the E-911 requirement on VoIP providers for up to four years. The appeals court’s refusal to intervene could pressure Congress to act sooner rather than later.

After two well-publicized inci-dents where people tried to call 911 on their VoIP phones to get emer-gency help — only to fi nd that the calls could not go through because

Federal court weighs in on VoIP, E-911

VoIP providers were not required to interconnect with public safety call centers — the FCC, in May 2005, adopted rules that respond to the threat that such misunderstandings pose to public safety.

The FCC adopted rules requir-ing providers of interconnected VoIP services to supply 911 emergency calling capabilities to their custom-ers as a mandatory feature of the service by Nov. 28.

“Interconnected” VoIP services are VoIP services that allow a user generally to receive calls from and make calls to the traditional tele-phone network.

Under the FCC rules, intercon-nected VoIP providers must:

• deliver all 911 calls to the local emergency call center

• deliver the customer’s call back number and location informa-tion where the emergency call center is capable of receiving it and

• inform their customers of the capabilities and limitations of their VoIP 911 service.

NACo supports the FCC May order.

The FCC announced on Sept. 27 that it would not require Internet telephone companies to discon-nect customers who have failed to acknowledge limitations in the emergency 911 dialing capabilities of Internet telephony.

Demonstrating fl exibility after imposing a hard-line requirement that providers of VoIP obtain replies from all customers by Sept. 28, the FCC said no customer cut-offs will be required of companies with 90 percent compliance. They did leave in place the Nov. 28 full compliance requirement.

William Sturtevant


JackHernandez

NACo Senior Graphic Designer

PRO FILESIn Service...

“The wisdom to know and the courage to defend the public interest”

President: Bill Hansell • Publisher: Larry NaakePublic Affairs Director: Tom Goodman • Executive Editor: Beverly Anne Schlotterbeck

Staff Writer: Dan MillerGraphic Artist: Jack Hernandez • Editorial Assistant: Allison Mall

Advertising Staff:Allison Mall: Job Market/Classifi eds representative

Beverly Schlotterbeck: national accounts representative

(202) 393-6226 • FAX (202) 393-2630

Published biweekly except August by: National Association of Counties Research Foundation, Inc.440 First Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001

(202) 393-6226 • FAX (202) 393-2630E-mail: [email protected] • Online address: www.countynews.org

The appearance of paid advertisements in Coun ty News in no way implies support or en dorse ment by the National As- so ci a tion of Counties for any of the products, services or messages advertised. Pe ri od i cals post age paid at Wash ing ton D.C. and other offi ces.

Mail subscriptions are $100 per year for non-mem bers. $60 per year for non-members pur chas ing mul ti ple cop ies. Ed u ca tion al in sti tu tion rate, $50 per year. Member county sup ple men tal sub scrip tions are $20 each. Send pay ment with order and address chang es to NACo, 440 First St. N.W., Wash ing ton, D.C. 20001.

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If you have a com pli ment, com plaint or dif fer ent point of view, let us know.

County News invites Letters to the

EditorPlease in clude a phone num ber with your letter. Mail, fax or

e-mail to: Coun ty News, NACo, 440 First St., N.W., Wash ing ton, DC 20001-2080; (202) 393-2630; [email protected].

Number of years working in NACo: 4 and a half years

Occupation: Senior Graphic Designer

Education: Some formal education, lots of experience and a bit of luck

Three people (living or dead) I’d invite to dinner: Neil Gaiman, Jon Stewart and Howard Dean.

A dream I have is to: Return to Europe or Japan to live and open an artsy café / dessert bar.

You’d be surprised to learn that I: Was a religious program specialist in the Navy (if you knew me, you’d be very surprised) and bartended and managed nightclub security in Japan for several years.

The most adventurous thing I’ve ever done is: It sounds lame ... leaving everything behind in Japan to follow my wife to the last place on earth I expected to end up in: Maryland. All the crazy stuff I did when I was younger seems trivial when I consider the risk I took.

My favorite way to relax is: Killing bad guys on my computer, sketching or cooking.

I’m most proud of: My wife. I know it sounds cliché, but through a harrowing divorce and coping with a system that doesn’t do much to help single mothers (much less foreigners), she pulled through — working full-time, fi nishing her degree and fi nding a job that respected her for her abilities and did not profi le her by her accent. You gotta respect that.

Every morning I read: My e-mail and online news from CNN and the BBC.

My favorite meal is:Unagi-don (grilled sweet eel on rice), calamari fritas or any Spanish tapas and mojitos!

My pet peeve is: Hypocrisy, ignorance and self righteousness — people who live their lives without ever desiring to experience the world beyond their backyard but think they know what the world needs.

My motto is: “Practice what you preach.”

The last book I read was: I’m working on Imajica by Clive Barker and Guns, Germs and Steel, by Jared Diamond. It’s really weird switching from book to book.

My favorite movie is: Bladerunner, directed by Ridley Scott.

My favorite music is: Industrial, trance, goth and ’80s new-wave.

My favorite president is: Bill Clinton or David Hasselhoff.

BY DAN MILLER

STAFF WRITER

As the number of wireless Internet “hotspots” continues to swell, West-chester County, N.Y. is taking action to make sure that business owners and consumers protect themselves from ex-posing their personal information.

County Executive Andy Spano has proposed a new law, purported to be the fi rst of its kind in county govern-ment, to protect the public from crimes such as identity theft.

“People don’t realize how easily their personal information can be sto-len,” Spano said. “All it takes is one unsecured wireless network. Your credit card number, social security number, bank account information – it’s all vulnerable if a business that collects that information hasn’t taken the proper steps to protect it.”

The proposed legislation would require commercial businesses pro-viding public wireless Internet (or Wi-Fi) access to install a fi rewall to

Westchester County, N.Y. plans security for Internet hotspots

prevent unauthorized access to pri-vate information. In addition, the business must conspicuously post a sign warning users of the dangers of Wi-Fi use.

“Wi-Fi is a wonderful technology, no one is trying to prohibit it,” said Andrew Newman, Spano’s senior assistant. “The idea here is to do it at the front end – by putting in some minimum security safeguards you can thwart potential hackers. This is not a silver bullet, but we think if businesses do this you could prevent people from accessing your systems.”

In an effort to demonstrate how easily personal information can fall into the wrong hands, a team from the county’s Information Technology Department performed a survey of vulnerable networks around down-town White Plains. The team found 248 wireless hot spots within a half hour. Of that number, nearly half lacked any visible security.

BY ABIGAIL FRIEDMAN PROGRAM DIRECTOR

To better serve county offi cials’ technical assistance needs in the areas of water quality protection and land use planning and manage-ment, NACo conducted an informal survey of members or the Environ-ment, Energy and Land Use Steering Committee, the National Association of County Planners, past Five Star Grant recipients and others. Even though the survey results are not statistically signifi cant, the infor-mation does provide a snapshot of perspectives on the issues.

Out of 245 surveys e-mailed, 44 people responded, for a rate of 18 percent. Nearly all respondents were elected or appointed offi cials with about the same number of county elected offi cials (16) and county planners (14). Slightly more than half of all of the respondents were from counties with populations under 150,000 that are growing at a rate of one percent to fi ve percent per year. Of the 31 respondents who identifi ed their counties, the most were from the West (13) and the fewest were from the Southwest (2) with close to equal representation from the Midwest, Southeast and East coast regions.

Most of the respondents (84 per-cent) stated that land use decisions are linked to water resources protec-tion, and 70 percent use geographic

Some networks made themselves easy targets by failing to change the network’s default name to something unique.

“Protecting your computer in-volves little to no cost,” said Nor-man Jacknis, Westchester County’s chief information offi cer. “Setting up a Wi-Fi network with basic se-curity takes just a few minutes and there are available free or low-cost personal fi rewalls to stop intruders from gaining access to your personal computer.”

As part of the legislation, the county plans to provide ongoing public education, outlining steps residents should take to protect themselves.

“It is very much a local issue,” Newman said. “We anticipate that more and more governments are going to take notice of this.”

After fi ne-tuning the legislation, Newman hopes to bring the legisla-tion to the table early next year.

Water quality linked to land useinformation system (GIS) tools and models to understand how different land use decisions may maintain, improve or negatively impact water quality.

Eighty-six percent of the respon-dents have county land-use plans in place. Floodplain management and septic system management were the primary water resource issues ad-dressed in land use plans, followed by wetlands protection, watershed management and stormwater man-agement. State regulations were cited

as the primary reason water resources were addressed in land use plans.

Federal regulations, citizen con-cern and fl ooding issues were also reasons that ranked high. More than half of the respondents said their counties used zoning to address wa-ter resources issues, and fl oodplain and subdivision codes and ordinances were used by more than 75 percent.

There were a wide range of rea-sons why respondents said it was

■ See WATER on page 5


deliberations in the conference com-mittee will be diffi cult. Some other cuts in the bill include $796 million from food stamp programs and $14.3 billion from student loans.

Leadership was forced to make concessions in the Medicaid and Food Stamps cuts to secure moder-ate Republican votes. The budget plan squeaked through early in the morning Nov. 18 after a week-long search by Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) and Acting Majority Leader Roy Blunt, (R-Mo.) for votes from reluctant moderates uneasy with the bill.

House leaders now face possibly

House leaders face Senate negotiations■ BUDGET from page 1

County Input Needed!

Please share your county’s experiences, needs, success stories and lessons learned on tools and techniques, (such as GIS) to link land use and water resources issues. Contact Abi-gail Friedman at 202/942-4225 or [email protected].

drawn out talks with the Senate, which passed a much more modest plan earlier this month. Negotiators face diffi cult negotiations over arctic drilling, Medicaid and student loans, among other issues.

It is too early to know whether the two houses can work out their differences before they adjourn in December. The budget reconcilia-tion bill is not mandatory, but the Congress felt it was necessary to meet the rising costs of Katrina and the confl ict in Iraq.

The victory on the defi cit-control bill came hours after an embarrass-ing and rare defeat on a $602 billion spending bill for education, health care and job training programs this year.

diffi cult to address water resource issues in their land use plan, and those reasons listed below were cited more than once:

• The municipalities within the county control land use.

• Citizens do not want any regulations.

• Issues covered by state and fed-eral laws and regulations or natural resource districts cover all of the issues.

• Water quantity is more of an issue than water quality.

• Water quality is not an issue; and

• The comprehensive plan is out of date.

These responses refl ect the diver-sity of county authorities, state laws and geography across the country.

Meanwhile, concerns about unplanned or unmanaged growth were raised by just over half of the respondents, who said both elected county offi cials and citizens were very concerned. Similarly, both elected county offi cials (48 percent) and citizens (44 percent) perceived the term “smart growth” somewhat positively in terms of land use.

When asked “How often do you use the term ‘smart growth’ when dis-cussing land use issues?” the highest ranked response was “rarely” at 34 percent followed closely by “at least once a week,” with 30 percent, and “once or twice a month,” with 23 percent. The lowest ranked response was a tie between “every day” and “never,” at 7 percent.

For more information about the survey results, please contact Abi-gail Friedman at 202/942-4225 or [email protected]. To learn about NACo’s water resources and land use programs, visit www.naco.org/techassistance.

(Erik Johnston, community ser-vices assistant, compiled the survey data cited in this article.)

Diverse laws make water quality diffi cult issue to address■ WATER from page 4

would be cost-effective if it helped prevent future problems.

Perry said any program that decreases physical, social and emo-tional isolation would be effective in

creating the community that is vital to neurological development.

“People, not programs, change people,” Perry said. “Our job is to fi gure out how to create opportu-nities that express the best in our species.”

He also mentioned that the trauma experienced by Hurricane Katrina victims would have a multi-genera-tional effect.

Later that day, Harris County Judge Robert Eckels spoke at a spot-light session on his county’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Working under the slogan of “Leadership is doing what is right,” Eckels helped coor-dinate a multiple-agency response to the disaster.

“I’m big on coordinating, not re-inventing the wheel,” he said about his efforts.

In its response, the county opened up Reliant Park (renamed Reliant City for the purposes of sheltering evacuees) and provided approximately 25,000 beds as well as blankets and other supplies. Com-plete with its own zip code, the site

Speakers address childhood development, Katrina relief efforts■ CONFERENCE from page 1

■ See CONFERENCE on page 7

Photos by Dan Miller

Bill Perry (l), senior fellow at the ChildTrauma Academy, spoke at the confer-ence’s opening general session. Perry spoke about the importance of relationships and social interactions for young children. Laura Birkmeyer (r), director of the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Children, led a workshop on how to organize collaborative teams to come to the aid of children who have been endangered by drug use around them.


“Counties must be next,” Sims said. “We can’t avoid this challenge and we must step up to the plate. I en-courage all of you to consider Kyoto-level emissions for your counties.”

WorkshopsDrug endangered children (DEC)

are those who have suffered physical or psychological harm resulting from exposure to illegal drugs, to people under the infl uence of drugs or to the dangerous chemical environments created by drug production. Laura Birkmeyer, director of the National Alliance for Drug Endangered Chil-dren, spoke to workshop participants about strategies for accommodating the children’s needs.

Birkmeyer said the fi rst step to assisting DEC is to recognize them as crime victims. After that, multi-agency cooperation is needed to properly care for them. DEC teams should include law enforcement, county attorneys and prosecutors, child protective services, medical and mental health services, building and fi re code enforcement, court systems and court-appointed special advocates.

These teams must work together to form an alliance for each community and standardize practices for every child rescued from a drug environ-ment. Birkmeyer stressed that all drug environments posed risks for children.

“All drugs can endanger chil-dren, it’s not only meth,” Birkmeyer said.

Debra Zanders-Willis, assis-tant deputy director of San Diego County Child Welfare Services, joined Birkmeyer by presenting San Diego’s model for DEC. The model, established in 2003, involves a joint

also provided numerous medical services.

According to Eckels, the county’s Citizen Corps volunteers were critical to providing an adequate response.

Eckels also said that management style was important to addressing large-scale disasters. Top-down management is not appropriate, he said. A localized bottom-up style will help address needs on the site.

Additionally, he said that since di-sasters take many forms, the proper response infrastructure must be in place before it takes place. Leaders should have an end-game strategy from the beginning.

King County Executive Ron Sims addressed conference attendees on at a breakfast general session on Satur-day, discussing the issues of global

warming, health care and land use. Sims said that while the issues may seem unrelated, they all serve as parts of a larger puzzle.

According to Sims, better land-use planning will give way to better transportation options, such as adding bike lanes.

Better transportation options give way to several health benefi ts. For instance, if citizens are able to walk or ride bikes, this will lead to better health. Additionally, walkability will allow for a better sense of community in neighborhoods and less time in the car will mean that parents can spend more time with their families.

Sims also discussed Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels’ call for the nation’s cities to voluntarily bring their emis-sions to the levels established by the Kyoto Protocol. Sims urged counties to follow suit.

Conference workshops focus on drug-endangered children, youth leadership■ CONFERENCE from page 5

Award WinnersWorkforce Development Award for Excellence

Anne Arundel County, Md. – Anne Arundel People Acquiring Skills for Success (PASS)

Distinguished Service Award for County Elected Offi cials• John H. Stroger, Jr. – Cook County, Ill.

• Bill Kennedy – Yellowstone County, Mont.

Joe Cooney Award: Excellence in Workforce DevelopmentKevin Bulifant – Washtenaw County, Mich.

Directors Award for Individual Achievement in a CountyDannetta Graves – Montgomery County, Ohio

Innovation in Human Services Award

• Biotechnology Workforce Network – San Mateo County, Calif.• Retention, Expansion, Attraction Program (REAP) for Regional

Employers – Montgomery County, Ohio

response to the narcotics scene, a risk assessment by a social worker and a medical evaluation and placement of the child.

Conference attendees attend-ing the “Preparing Our Youth For the Future” workshop experienced an interactive session conducted, in part, by youth volunteers from Sacramento County. The workshop presented a model for youth develop-ment designed to mold young people into economically self-suffi cient con-tributors to the community who can maintain healthy familial and social relationships.

While Sacramento established a free camp based on the model, Marilyn McGinnis, program manager for the Oakwood Park Neighborhood Multiservice Center, said that it could be applied to a variety of settings and situations.

The model aims to instill feelings of emotional and physical safety,

teach how to maintain healthy rela-tionships and encourage youth par-ticipation. By demonstrating a variety of interactive games with the par-ticipants, workshop leaders showed how the model developed academic, creative and social skills.

AwardsSeveral individuals and coun-

ties walked away from the confer-ence with awards (see sidebar for a full list). Two individuals won the Distinguished Service Award for County Elected Offi cials. John Stroger, president of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and former NACo president, and Bill Kennedy, Yellowstone County commissioner and president of the Montana As-sociation of Counties, won awards for their exemplary performance in the promotion and continuous improvement of county workforce development programs.

Photos by Dan Miller

NACo President Bill Hansell (center) speaks with Dona Ana County Commis-sioner D. Kent Evans (right) and his wife Anna Mae Evans (left) following the conference’s awards luncheon.

Cook County, Ill. Board President John Stroger (second from left) and Yellowstone County, Mont. Commissioner Bill Kennedy (third from left) won the Distinguished Service Award for County Elected Offi cials. Pictured are: NACo President Bill Hansell, Stroger, Kennedy and Orrin Bailey, chief executive offi cer, Six County Employment Alliance.

Dannetta Graves, director of job and family services for Montgomery County, Ohio, won the NACHSA Directors Award for Individual Achievement in a County. Pictured are: NASCHA President Robert Suver, NACo President-elect Colleen Landkamer, Graves and NACo President Bill Hansell.


unreasonably low and put unneces-sary restrictions on fi xtures.

Assistant County Attorney Eliza-beth Blair told Tampa Bay Online that the amended regulations would require the dealerships have timers installed on the light poles so they can be turned off by 9 p.m.

• PALM BEACH COUNTY Commissioner Burt Aaronson is urg-ing his colleagues to push the state of Florida and the Florida Power and Light Co. to bury power lines, despite high cost estimates.

Aaronson supports burying the lines due to two straight years of power outages and the prospect of more hurricane damage, according to the Sun Sentinel. Last year, Aar-onson said, the cost was estimated at $52 billion.

Furthermore, Aaronson predicted that the county’s economy would suffer if the lines weren’t buried because people would move away or not migrate to the area.

“There is no doubt if the state does not bury the power lines, the state will suffer,” Aaronson said. “We must bury power lines for the future of Florida.”

KANSASRENO COUNTY has spent

so much time successfully fi ght-ing meth, that crack cocaine has seen a resurgence, according to Howard Shipley, head of the Reno County/Hutchinson Drug Enforce-ment Unit.

Local drug investigators claim that the manpower and resources invested in the fi ght against meth has allowed crack dealers to sell large amounts of crack.

“I had a coke dealer tell me once that they loved meth labs, because it created a windfall for other drugs,” Shipley told The Hutchinson News.

Reno County Sheriff Randy Hen-derson said the Drug Enforcement Unit hadn’t seen his many cocaine cases since the early to mid-1990s.

LOUISIANAThe Federal Emergency Manage-

ment Agency and ST. BERNARD PARISH offi cials have set up a temporary hospital in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart in Chalmette.

Parish and medical leaders hope the hospital will help bring people back and provide assistance for those who are trying to recover in the heav-ily damaged area, according to Knight Ridder Newspapers.

The facility is made of 26 separate buildings that take up an area half the size of a football fi eld. According to Doug Garman, spokesman for the Army Corps of Engineers, the site

NEWS FROM THE NATION'S COUNTIESNEWS FROM THE NATION'S COUNTIES

■ See NEWS on page 13

ARIZONA• GRAHAM COUNTY is vy-

ing for the attention of the state of Arizona.

A coalition of county offi cials traveled to Phoenix to make a pre-sentation to the Arizona Offi ce of Tourism. The trip, which has been in the works for more than a year, aimed to make the state more aware of what the county has to offer and to let it know that state tourism dollars have been spent wisely.

Part of the presentation, accord-ing to the Eastern Arizona Courier, included a section showing off how tourists in Graham County could embrace the statewide theme of “Seize the Day.”

“We took that concept and showed the [department] how tourists can have that experience in Graham County,” Bill Civish, Graham County Visitor and Tourism Council Chair-man, said. “For example, they can go birding in the day and enjoy our mineral baths in the evening.”

• With help from suspects like these, how could you go wrong? A three-month long investigation by MARICOPA COUNTY Sheriff’s deputies and U.S. Secret Service agents has so far resulted in 10 ar-rests and the seizure of $56,000 in counterfeit money, according to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Ar-paio.

Deputies seized computers, print-ers, a cutting table, ink, paper, as well as fi rearms, several luxury cars, and narcotics such as methamphetamine, ecstasy, steroids and marijuana. They also collected counterfeit money in various stages of production. One suspect owned a daycare center. Several other suspects worked at a Wal-Mart.

Among those arrested: a woman who sent a printer for repair that was jammed with counterfeit bills.

FLORIDA• Offi cials in PASCO COUNTY

may change an eight-month-old or-dinance pertaining to car dealerships after a local engineer complained that parking lot lighting standards are too diffi cult to meet.

The ordinance, adopted in March, regulated car, truck, motorcycle and recreational vehicle dealerships in response to complaints about noise, lighting and lack of landscaping. According to the engineer, the old ordinance’s limits on lighting were

will be fully operational as a 70-bed hospital by the end of November.

Hurricane Katrina leveled Chal-mette Medical Center, a 200-bed hos-pital and parish offi cials are skeptical as to whether it will reopen.

MARYLANDIn a decision closely watched

by disability groups and educators across the country, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the MONTGOM-ERY COUNTY school system did not need to prove the adequacy of its instructional plans for special education students. Rather, the court said, the burden of proof falls on the parents to prove that an in-structional plan does not meet the needs of their child.

Parents who were displeased with the school system’s education plan for their son brought the case. They removed their child from the public school system and enrolled him in a private school. They were seek-ing reimbursement of the private school’s tuition from the county, and in the course of the case argued it was up to the Montgomery County public schools to defend its instructional plan for their son.

A federal law guarantees disabled students an education tailored to their individual needs and gives families a right to a formal hearing if they believe school offi cials have

not come up with a good enough plan.

MICHIGANKEWEENAW COUNTY of-

fi cials plan to create an educational area at the site of a bat closure in Seneca Mine Number Three.

The closure lets bats enter the mine to hibernate but prevents people from getting in, according to the Associated Press. While the structure is hard to miss, there is no obvious reason for its existence to passers-by.

The educational area would ex-plain the closure in addition to the area’s mining history. The county has requested that Louisiana-Pacifi c donate fi ve areas around the site for the construction of an access road, educational kiosk and picnic area.

MINNESOTAThere were no roadblocks in the

way for the JACKSON COUNTY Highway Department in raising $10,340 for the victims of Hur-ricane Katrina in Jackson County, Miss. The Minnesota county ad-opted its Mississippi namesake and set off on a countywide fundraising challenge. Five teams, each headed by a county commissioner, com-peted over a month to raise the most money. Commissioner Craig Rubis led the Highway Department team to victory.

The Department of Human Services and Family Services Net-work, led by Commissioner Loren Tusa, took second place by raising $6,666. Altogether the Jackson County employees raised $29,713 for Jackson County, Miss.

The winning team captured two extra days of paid leave for its members.

“It wasn’t about the time off,” said Jan Fransen, Jackson County coordinator, in a report in The Jackson County Pilot. “It was more about helping those people in Jackson County, Miss. I was really overwhelmed by the teamwork and camaraderie shown in this event. I thought we would raise $5,000 but we blew that away.”

NEW JERSEYThe SOMERSET COUNTY,

N.J. Board of Freeholders will give up to fi ve county employees permission to take a two-week paid leave of ab-sence to volunteer with the American Red Cross in the ongoing relief effort following Hurricane Katrina.

“Many more volunteers are needed over the next several months to assist with recovery in the Gulf Coast region,” Freeholder Director Rick Fontana said. “We’d like to give interested county employees the opportunity to work with the Red Cross as disaster volunteers on a short-term basis.”

Employees must apply to the county administrator to be approved for the special leave. Any participat-ing employee must be willing to com-plete the Red Cross disaster training program on his or her own time prior to being sent to the Gulf Coast.

NEW YORK• DUTCHESS COUNTY law-

makers have tapped the county’s fund reserves to fuel the county’s fl eet and buildings for the remainder of the year, according to the online publication, DailyFreeman.com.

Members of the county Legis-lature voted to take $268,000 from contingency accounts to pay for gasoline for the county’s automobiles and for fuel and electricity costs. Of that amount, $75,000 will be used to purchase fuel for the county’s au-tomobile fl eet, $38,00 will be used for gasoline for the Department of Public Works, $75,000 will be used for fuel oil, and $80,000 will be spent on electric bills.

• It ain’t over until the fat lady sings, and it only takes one vote to win. In the case of a WAYNE COUNTY Township supervisor,

ILLINOISIt takes a generous spirit to enter a contest where the “Biggest Loser”

will get all the attention. But that’s exactly what happened in PEORIA COUNTY as four courthouse leaders competed to raise the most money for the local United Way campaign.

County Administrator Patrick Urich, Circuit Clerk Robert Spears, Super-visor of Assessments Director Dave Ryan, and IT Services Director Russell Haupert diligently encouraged employees to donate to the campaign in an effort to top last year’s total of $14,781.

What they didn’t know until the end the campaign was that whoever raised the least amount would fi nd himself dressed in a clown suit work-ing at a desk on the roof of the courthouse sally port during the lunch hour — which is why Circuit Clerk Robert Spears, despite a valiant effort, is pictured here showing off magic tricks to some young county citizens who came to watch the show. Escaping lunch hour on the roof was the winner, Dave Ryan, supervisor of assessments director.

Photo courtesy of Peoria County, Ill.


IN THE NEWS

• A story in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune mentioned NACo. The Nov. 8 article entitled “County to update cable law” addressed a lo-cal law that would allow competition among cable providers. Deputy Legislative Director Jeff Arnold was quoted in the story.

NACO OFFICERS AND COUNTY OFFICIALS

• President Bill Hansell took part in his home state’s 100th state association meeting this month. The Association of Oregon counties meeting took place in Lane County (Eugene) Nov. 15–18. He also gave a speech on what NACo can do for counties at the Kansas Association of Counties Annual Conference and Exhibition in Shawnee County (Topeka) Nov. 20–22.

• President-elect Colleen Landkamer traveled to the County Commissioners of Pennsylvania’s annual conference in Dauphin County (Hershey) Nov. 20–22 and discussed the benefi ts of NACo membership with county offi cials. Landkamer also attended the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., Nov. 13–15. There, she joined university offi cials in a panel entitled “A Conversation on Engagement.” The panel held a conversation with approximately 300 university leaders on ways to strengthen partnering and collaborating with state and land grant universities.

• First Vice President Eric Coleman spoke at the opening general session of the Kentucky Association of Counties annual meeting in Louisville/Jefferson County Nov. 15–17. He provided an update of NACo’s services.

NACO STAFF

• Paul Beddoe, associate legislative director, represented WIR and NACo at the 98th Annual Winter Conference of Colorado Counties, Inc. in El Paso County (Colorado Springs), Nov 28–30.

• Jacqueline Byers, director of research, participated in a “Think-ers Session” on Local Property Tax and its Role in State and Local Finances at George Washington University’s Institute for Public Policy Nov. 21.

• Erik Johnston, community services assistant, attended the Kansas Association of Counties Annual Conference and Exhibition in Shaw-nee County (Topeka) Nov. 20–22 with President Hansell and Andrew Goldschmidt, director of membership and marketing. Johnston discussed the recently announced availability of Five Star Restoration Grants and presented an overview of the program to the Kansas County Highway Association.

• Jacqueline Byers, director of research, attended the National Tax Association’s Annual Conference in Miami-Dade County, Fla. Nov. 16–19.

• Dalen Harris, associate legislative director, traveled to Maricopa County, Ariz. for the International Association of Emergency Manag-ers Annual Conference Nov 12–17. During the conference, he spoke at their Government Affairs Committee Meeting and attended various workshops and general sessions.

(On the Move is compiled by Dan Miller, staff writer, and Allison Mall, editorial assistant.)

NACO ON THE MOVENACO ON THE MOVE

Thousands of viewers across the Charlotte-Mecklenburg County area tune in Sunday evenings to their PBS affi liate, WTVI, and watch the latest antics of “The Mecklenburgers” — a zany cast of family characters and an even zanier TV crew charged with producing a show about a fi ctional family in Mecklenburg County and how county programs and services affect the family’s everyday lives.

The show, now in its second sea-son, has proven to be a hit — doubling the viewership for its time slot in the fi rst season, and winning four Telly awards this year in a national compe-tition that honors outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, as well as video and fi lm productions.

The Mecklenburgers even has its own Web site, www.themecklenburgers .org, where you can order a just-re-leased CD of the show’s theme and other tunes, all created by Mecklen-burg County employees or preview upcoming episodes.

Jointly produced by the county and WTVI, The Mecklenburgers tackles topics from “neat things to do in the county’s parks and recreation centers to more hard-hitting shows about HIV

next spring. Diehl said the episodes cost about $30,000 each. He works on marketing the series and developing additional funding sources to offset the costs of production.

The Mecklenburgers is “admittedly an ambitious undertaking,” Diehl said, yet “It’s lots of fun, so different, so unique, that it’s worth doing.”

(Focus on Achievement highlights NACo Achievement Award Winners. To learn more about other winners, the program or how to submit your county program for an award visit the NACo Web site at www.naco.org/awards or contact Jackie Byers, research direc-tor at [email protected] or 202/942-4285.)

FOCUS ON ACHIEVEMENTFOCUS ON ACHIEVEMENT

‘Th e Mecklenburgers’: County Show Makes Prime-Time Viewing‘Th e Mecklenburgers’: County Show Makes Prime-Time Viewing

In Service to CountiesIn Service to CountiesAccela, Inc.Corporate Member

Location/HQ: Dublin, Calif.

Primary Business: Government Software Solutions

CEO: Dr. Robert P. Lee

Name of NACo Representative: DeAnne Simon; 925/560-6577, ext. 129; [email protected].

Why we joined NACo: Accela provides government enterprise software solutions to hundreds of cities and counties across the U.S. Our partnership with NACo provides access, opportunity and information about the concerns facing county organizations. NACo provides an effective forum to communicate with counties, allow-ing Accela to deliver solutions that better meet the unique needs of these agencies.

What we can do for counties: Accela is a leading provider of govern-ment enterprise management solutions for state and local agencies. Our products allow agencies to reduce workload, increase effi ciencies and provide citizens and businesses with easier, more convenient access to governmental services.

Accela Automation™ is an enterprise application that provides government agencies with a complete solution to automate workfl ow, forms management, activity tracking, cashiering and other important daily tasks.

Today, Accela provides software solutions that serve more than 500 jurisdictions, including more than 100 counties. Visit www.accela.com or call 888/7-ACCELA (888/722-2352) to learn more about Accela.

Contact: Laura Myers, marketing manager; 925/560-6577, ext. 133; [email protected].

Photo courtesy of Mecklenburg County, N.C.

Brady Lewis (played by Robert D. Raiford) is visited by the ghost of holidays past, present and future (played by Roger Kortekaas) in a take-off from the Dickens classic holiday show. This episode of “The Mecklenburgers” empha-sizes the spirit of giving to the less fortunate and highlights County programs that assist the disadvantaged.

or mental health,” explains Danny Diehl, director of public service and information for the county and the show’s godfather. In the pipeline are shows that deal with aging and foster care issues, Diehl says.

Its ensemble cast, struggles each episode to decide: what do we do a story about this week? Their trials and

tribulations about doing that is what sets the theme, Diehl said. The show’s characters include the Mecklenburg family – a mom, dad and two kids — plus the production and manage-ment crew, whose characters provide fodder for subplots throughout the season.

The cast is drawn from local celebrities and actors. A former Charlotte anchorwoman plays Trish Mecklenburger, the show’s purported star and diva to boot, and a popular local radio talk show host plays the show’s resident curmudgeon.

So how did The Mecklenburgers come to Channel 14? Diehl explained that like many local government pub-lic information offi ces, his offi ce pro-duced shows about county programs and services for its government cable channel in traditional talk show for-mats or “fake” news magazines.

“Everyone does these,” Diehl says, “but no one watches them.”

Unlike many local governments, though, his county had a PBS affi li-ate in its back pocket. The county, it turns out, owns the building and the equipment, and provides funding to the station, Diehl said. It wasn’t too much of a stretch for him to come to the conclusion that “Instead of doing fi ve or six shows that nobody watches, let’s do one show that they will watch.”

Diehl approached WTVI about co-producing and airing a show that both entertains and shows Mecklen-burg residents how their tax dollars are spent. WTVI agreed and the fi rst season of The Mecklenburgers — seven episodes in all — hit the airwaves.

This year, the cast and crew is fi lming 10 new episodes for airing


NACo has been doing all the work for you and you may not have even known it. The Grants Clearinghouse is one of the many services NACo offers to its members. It is a list of grants complied by the Research Department, and is available on the NACo Web site, www.naco.org.

The listings are updated weekly and include the deadline, a description of the grant and a link to the application. Only grants that are relevant to county needs are included.

Best of all, you don’t have to go looking for the grants; the grants can come to you! Members can sign-up to receive an weekly e-mail of all the grants posted that week or sign-up to only receive e-mails when grants are posted in an area of interest to them.

Stop searching for grant money and let NACo do it for you! Visit www.naco.org, click on the Grants Clearinghouse link, and sign-up to receive email notifi cations of grants. Then conduct business as usual and let the information come to you.

It’s that easy.

BY JUSTIN CARMODY

COMMUNITY SERVICES ASSISTANT

Physicians across the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts believe a new condition they have dubbed “Katrina Cough,” is related to the exposure of mold and dust in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. With county residents returning to flood-rav-aged homes, buildings and schools, particularly those from counties in and around New Orleans, there has been a notable increase in the num-ber of respiratory illnesses, coughs, sore throats and congestion. The antagonist behind these increased ailments? Mold.

Molds are forms of fungi found inside and outside, all year round. Its growth is fostered in dark, humid environments. Mold spores are likely to grow where there is high humid-ity or an existing moisture problem indoors, like water damage from fl ooding. Molds are usually visible and accompanied by a recognizable moldy or musty odor. Often, mold may not be visible as it may be grow-ing under or behind water damaged materials like wallpaper, cabinetry or carpeting.

Soon after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, health offi cials were concerned about potential typhoid or cholera epidemics due to water con-tamination. Although these possibly

catastrophic scenarios never played out, other culprits spread across the parishes and counties and affected the indoor air quality of buildings, schools and homes: dust and mold.

One concern over mold is the structural damage it can cause to a building or home. However, the more immediate concern is the health and safety of individuals exposed to it. In a recent Los Angeles Times article, “Katrina Cough Floats Around,” Dr. Kevin Jordan, director of medi-cal affairs at Touro Infi rmary and Memorial Medical Center in New Orleans, said that doctors in the city have observed at least a 25 percent increase in incidences of congestion, coughing, sinus headaches and sore throats since Katrina swept through the city.

Dr. Dennis Casey, an ear, nose and throat specialist in New Orleans, also said doctors in some hospitals have reported “Katrina cough” is be-coming a prevalent health concern. Exposure to high levels of mold can cause allergic reactions, respiratory illnesses and trigger asthma attacks. Those with underlying health condi-tions, such as allergies, asthma, other breathing conditions and compro-mised immune systems are more sensitive to mold exposure.

Such individuals who are more sensitive to mold and who develop

symptoms related to Katrina Cough are more likely to develop infections in the lungs and other chronic or po-tentially critical health problems.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), these individuals, particularly children, with pre-existing health conditions should avoid contact with damaged indoor environments in which they may be exposed to mold and dust. They also should not get involved in the cleanup process in any capacity. Among healthy individuals, Katrina Cough can usually be treated with antihistamines or nasal sprays, or, in the case of a bacterial infec-tion, with antibiotics. For more information, see the CDC Guide-lines at www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/workers.asp.

The CDC recommends that people who are taking part in home cleanup or demolition projects, whether it be residents or recovery workers, should wear protective eye-wear, a HEPA-fi ltered half-face res-pirator mask, and long sleeves when coming in contact with mold.

A number of organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the CDC along with state and county health departments are trying to get the word out about taking the proper safety precautions in the cleanup process and which individuals should avoid contact with any flood-damaged indoor environment.

Such guidelines on the health effects of mold exposure and mold cleanup apply to all scenarios where mold is found — not only to victims of hurricanes. You may reference the EPA’s mold information Web site, www.epa.gov/mold or the CDC’s in-formation on personal safety while removing mold at www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/workers.asp.

County offi cials can implement a mold-strategy for their county and network with other members of the indoor air quality community through programs like NACo’s In-door Air Quality Program.

If your county is currently ad-dressing mold problems and would like to share its lessons learned with other counties, please contact Justin Carmody, [email protected] or 202/942.4279.

If your county has any ques-tions on where to fi nd additional resources on mold, how to address an immediate mold problem, or would like to be included in the electronic County Indoor Air Quality Coordinator’s Network, please contact Carmody or visit www.naco.org/techassistance.

Mold exposure leads to ‘Katrina cough’ in hurricane-stricken states

Belknap County, N.H.

• The seal of Belknap County, N.H. was commissioned in the latter part of 1976, the year of the nation’s bi-centennial, and adopted in February of 1977. Designed and executed by Norman M. Dexter of Nashua, who donated his services to Belknap County, the seal includes several symbols important to the county and its history.

• Depicted on the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee, the largest body of fresh water in the northeast (which touches the shores of just about every town and city in the county) is the old paddle wheeler, Mount Washington. The Mount graced the Big Lake until 1939, when it was destroyed by fi re. Yet, to this day it continues to serve as a symbol of the grace, dignity and unique New England character for which the people and the area are known throughout the country.

• It could be said that the Mount stands for the commerce the lake has provided for our people, going back to the fi shing days of the Indians; for the many recreation and leisure time activities the county has offered its many visitors from throughout the world; and for the great creativ-ity with which the people of Belknap County have used these natural resources to their ultimate advantage and prosperity.

• The rising sun — a symbol of hope and renewal as well as the bless-ings of a patient, graceful providence — is shown bursting forth over Mount Belknap, which lies just east of the center in the county. The mountain is named for Dr. Jeremy Belknap, noted historian, clergyman, and naturalist, after whom the county was named in 1840.

• Dr. Belknap wrote the fi rst history of New Hampshire, pastored the First Congregational Church at Dover from 1766 to1786 and founded the Massachusetts Historical Society in 1794.

• Originally part of Strafford County, the county of Belknap was formed by a legislative act in December 1840.

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ARKANSASAUGUSTABENTONCALIFORNIACARROLLDUPLININDIANA

IOWAKANDIYUHIMINNESOTAMISSOURINORTH CAROLINAPENNSYLVANIAROCKINGHAM

SAMPSONSOUTH CAROLINASTEARNSSWIFTVIRGINIAWAYNE

FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWSFINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS

(Ed Note: NACo partnered with Dallas County, Texas to conduct a public bid process to select providers that offered services to save counties money, reduce risk or liabilities and help collect monies owed. Over the next several months we will highlight some of these services.)

Question: Name three inexpen-sive things you can do to avoid hiring problem employees and identify hu-man resources problems before they become disasters.

Answer: 1. Conduct pre-employment

background checks.2. Utilize employee drug testing

services.3. Implement an employee hot-

line service.Human resources problems are

a something that every employer would do just about anything to avoid. They are complicated, divert resources away from core tasks and can end up being very costly. Al-though it’s impossible to completely eliminate these problems, it is pos-sible to avoid many of them with a few simple preventative steps.

Pre-employment background check

This is the single most effective

NACo Cost Containment/Cost Recovery Program

way to avoid hiring the wrong people into your organization. Employers spend an average of $4,000 on a new hire, but few bother to verify that the information an applicant has provided is actually true.

Given that one out of every three job applications and two out of every three resumes contain inac-curacies that could affect the hiring process this is a pretty big gamble. Additionally, employers can be considered liable for the actions of their employees if they knew or should have known that person was likely to undertake conduct harmful to other individuals.

Employee drug testing services

Substance abuse is the number one cause of just about everything bad that happens in the workplace. Em-ployees who abuse alcohol or drugs are twice as likely to be late for work, three times more likely to miss work altogether, four times more likely to injure themselves or others at work, and fi ve times more likely to fi le a workers’ compensation claim than workers who are non-abusers.

According to the National Institute for Drug Abuse, alcohol abuse, the use of illegal drugs and prescription drug abuse cost the U.S.

economy more than $375 billion an-nually in the form of absenteeism, diminished productivity, health care expenses, workplace violence, so-cial services costs and criminal activity. That fi gure is greater than the annual budgets of many indus-trialized countries.

Employee hotline Employees are frequently not

comfortable reporting workplace ha-rassment, discrimination or wrongful acts directly to their supervisors or management. Not having a way for employees to let the right people know when bad things are hap-pening in the workplace leaves the employer vulnerable to potentially enormous losses.

Most of these cases can be prevented if the proper member of management is made aware of the situation. Additionally, many major insurance companies offer discounts on employment practices liability insurance to employers that have a hotline.

Employee Relations Network of-fers all three of these services at dis-counted prices through NACo’s Cost Containment/Cost Recovery Pro-gram. For more information on the program, contact Nancy Irish at 202/ 661-8824 or [email protected].

As many residents of suburban counties know, gangs are grow-ing. They are growing in areas that never had gang activity before. What spurred this growth? Well, it depends on whom you ask.

Most of the growth has been in Hispanic gangs and many experts believe it has been increased by the high level of illegal immigration.

Many law enforcement offi cials are reluctant to mention this new trend because teens and young people from all ethnic groups have been known to join gangs and commit crimes. There are Asian gangs and white suprema-cist gangs and many established black gangs, all of whom contribute to the growth in activity

The FBI reports making 582 arrests of gang members in mid- summer 2005, targeting violent im-migrant gangs. These arrests indicate that gang activity is spreading across the country, moving into the South and the Midwest.

In the past, most gang activity was centered in large urban centers,

but the largest number of suspected gang members, 77, was arrested in North Carolina, more than any other targeted state.

The growth in the Hispanic popula-tion in the Research Triangle has helped gangs to expand. Many displaced and disaffected teens trying to cope with a new lifestyle in a new society meet up with gang members from other states who are looking for opportunities.

Some offi cials in North Carolina admit that the problem has crept up on them, with recent documentation showing nine Hispanic gangs in Durham County public schools and four gangs in Wake County public schools.

Most local law enforcement of-fi cials are unaware of just how per-vasive the problem is, but statistics from Wake County, where Hispanics total about 5.5 percent of the popu-lation and account for 46 percent of the 2002 drug traffi cking arrests, tell the story.

A recent state survey of law en-forcement offi cials by the Governor’s

Crime Commission reports nearly 1,800 gang members in Wake County, with similar numbers in Mecklenburg County and more than 1,600 reported in Durham County.

According to the David Nahmias, U.S. attorney for North Georgia, “as we gain population, particularly when we see illegal immigration increase, we’re also seeing gang activity increase with that.” A chief deputy in Polk County, in north-west Georgia, said that his county of 40,000 has hybrid gangs that include whites and Hispanics who are involved in “everything from the importation of methamphetamine to prostitution, even murder.”

Nahmias states that the growth of meth, exploding in rural areas all across the country, has contributed to gang growth in his region. He says the

gang activity is tied to drug dealing and the drug of choice outside of the cities is meth.

Prince William, Stafford and Fairfax counties in Virginia, as well as Montgomery, and Prince George’s counties in Maryland have all moved in the last few years to establish anti-gang task forces and strategies to stem the growth of these violent Hispanic gangs.

Montgomery County, facing rapidly escalating gang growth and activity, had created a database of pictures and names of suspected members of local gangs. Offi cials in the county estimate there are between 20 – 25 active gangs that include more than 500 members. In recent violence at a local high school and shopping mall, all 12 people arrested were believed to be

gang members. By using surveillance videos, the police were able to match several of these participants to their gang database.

Fairfax County, Va. officials estimate there are more than 100 gangs in their county, with nearly every ethnic group participating. However, the Latino-based gangs are considered the fastest growing and have aggressive programs tar-geting new recruits in middle and high schools.

Gang members often go after new young immigrants who have little parental supervision because both parents work and live near poverty level. These young people are usually easy targets because they are trying to belong and the gang can

Update on Gang GrowthUpdate on Gang Growth

■ See RESEARCH on page 13


■ State Department Helps Citizens Apply for Passports

The State Department Web site has a search feature on its Web site that allows users to fi nd the nearest location to apply for a passport. The search engine also

features additional search criteria that can narrow the results to sites that have photos available on site, photos available nearby as well as handicap access. Use the feature at http://iafdb.travel.state.gov.

■ Site Offers Tips For Saving EnergyClean air fi lters can improve

gas mileage by as much as 10 percent and properly infl ated and aligned tires will improve gas mileage by 3 percent. These are just a few of the energy-saving facts available at the Partnerships for Home Energy Efficiency Web site (www.energysavers.gov). Visit the site for more helpful tips and to learn more about energy-effi cient products.

■ SAMHSA Web Site Offers Online Substance Abuse Treatment Locator

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administra-tion has developed an online locator for substance abuse treatment centers. Visitors can fi nd nearby facilities simply by clicking on their state, enter-ing a city and clicking “con-tinue.” To use the tool, visit http://dasis3.samhsa.gov.

(Web Watch is compiled by Dan Miller, staff writer. If you have an item you would like to see featured, please e-mail it to him at [email protected].)

■ NEWS from page 8

Don Colvin, the fat lady has sung and the one-vote margin bested by 21.

Savannah Supervisor Don Colvin, who ran as an independent and led by 10 votes on election night, fi nished with a 22-vote lead after absentee ballots were counted, according to unoffi cial results from the Wayne County Board of Elections.

He defeated his opponent, 260-238. Colvin, in offi ce for 46 years, is the longest-serving supervisor on the county board, according to the Finger Lake Times Online and may be the longest-serving elected offi cial in the state. He lost this year’s Repub-lican caucus but decided to remain in the race as an independent.

At age 78, he waged a door-to-door campaign.

He now enters his 24th term in offi ce.

OKLAHOMAOn Dec. 13, 22 counties across

the state, including CLEVELAND, GRADY and MCCLAIN, will ask their voters to approve adding an extra 50-cent fee to cell phone bills, according to the The Norman Transcript.

The money generated by the ex-tra fees will be used to upgrade the current enhanced 911 systems. The money will help emergency respond-ers locate where the calls originate as well as which responding units to send out.

PENNSYLVANIAIn response to citizen demand,

NORTHAMPTON COUNTY will offer electronics recycling next year.

Stacy Schlaner, grants administra-tor for the county’s Department of Community and Economic Develop-ment, told Recycling Today that the county hopes to have the program running by April 2006. The county is currently trying to fi nd a location within the county to conduct the col-lection program.

The county’s program would allow residents to dispose of cell phones, microwaves, televisions and other electronics for a fee. The charges would range from 75 cents per pound for batteries to fi ve dollars for televi-sions and photocopy machines.

SOUTH DAKOTAUnless hunters increase the

amount of deer they bag within the next two months, LAWRENCE COUNTY may declare a second-ary deer season. Commissioner Terry Weisenberg said the county could order an emergency declara-tion to extend hunting time.

The county wants to allow more hunting time because of the number of deer encroaching into towns, accord-ing to the Associated Press. Offi cials plan to wait until this season’s deer harvest is complete early next year before taking action.

Deer have been roaming the streets in local towns and eating vegetation, according to the county.

TENNESSEEAn old landfi ll could cost SUL-

LIVAN COUNTY hundreds of thousands of dollars because of environmental damage, according to WJHL-TV.

Offi cials fear that the 60-acre landfi ll, which handled local waste from 1980 to 1994, is contaminating the soil in Blountville. The landfi ll is privately owned.

When the landfi ll was in use, there was no law that required landfi lls to have liners between the garbage and the soil and there was no requirement to have a system to collect leaked fl uids.

The Department of Environment and Conservation claims that state offi cials have been studying the situa-tion, and local wells and springs have not proven contaminated.

VIRGINIAA spike in large development

projects near Smith Mountain Lake has caused FRANKLIN COUNTY supervisors to change how they evaluate rezoning and special-use permit requests, according to The Roanoke Times.

The Board of Supervisors has recently witnessed an increased number of requests for 100-acre-plus projects, including a 476-acre proposal that would include retail stores, housing and open space.

In response to the surge in in-terest, planning staff members brief the supervisors on the projects and the planners provide the board

with binders intended to provide information in a quick and easy-to-fi nd manner. For large projects, the board will hold work sessions for planners to provide an overview of the proposal’s scope and special issues.

“In past months we’ve had a lot of big projects and they tend at times to be confusing,” Franklin County Planner Frank Fiori told the Times. “We want to make it more understandable.”

WASHINGTONSPOKANE COUNTY Commis-

sioner Todd Mielke is leading an ef-fort to improve the Spokane River’s water quality by banning phosphates in dishwasher detergents and lawn fertilizers.

The state’s Department of Ecol-ogy said local sewage-treatment plants couldn’t be re-licensed, ex-panded or built because of the high level of phosphorus already present

in the river. Between 7 percent and 10 percent of the phosphorous pro-duced by septic tanks comes from dishwashing detergent.

According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Mielke said, “We’re to the point that the technology (in sewage-treatment plants) will get us 95 percent there. We have to really start to challenge ourselves to how we can come up with that last 5 percent.”

The county does not have the authority to enact a countywide ban on phosphates in detergents and fertil-izers, but Mielke is encouraging state and municipality offi cials to explore the benefi ts of the ban.

(News From the Nation’s Coun-ties was compiled by Dan Miller, staff writer. Allison Mall, editorial assistant, and Beverly Schlotterbeck, executive editor, also contributed. If you have news from your county for News From, please contact Miller at [email protected].)

provide that feeling. According to a press release from the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, gangs are in every high school in Fairfax County.

Fairfax, facing the same prob-lem as many others, is establishing programs to combat the gangs. It has established a County Council on Gang Prevention that sponsored a summit to discuss prevention, intervention and suppression in February 2005.

When schools opened in the fall of 2005, violence prevention specialists debuted a new series of gang prevention programs aimed at seventh and eighth graders through-out the system. These programs are included as part of the mandatory health curriculum. Experts say that the middle school years are the per-fect time for this education of at-risk students as they start becoming more independent.

Wood County, Ohio has created a gang prevention program that empha-sizes the risk factors that cause young people to join gangs. A major part of their program is directed at educating parents to recognize the signs of gang infl uence in their children.

Richland County, S.C. created a Gang Task Force that has been recog-nized nationally. The county sheriff believed that community awareness of the growth of gang activity in the county was the fi rst step to preven-tion. He had educated citizens of the county and gathered gang intel-ligence that he uses to combat the further growth of gangs.

Wake County, N.C. conducted two public forums on gangs this month in an effort to raise the aware-ness of this new and growing problem in their area.

Hall County, Ga. has created a Gang Task Force and has targeted among other things, gang graffi ti. Whenever the county law enforce-ment offi cials see gang graffi ti, they

paint it over with white paint. Two rival gangs are often involved in vio-lent activities that draw the attention of the task force. Offi cials say they identifi ed the growing problem as early as 1997 and took steps to curb it. By creating the Gainesville-Hall County Gang Task Force, they were able to stem the growth through pre-vention, enforcement and education, but they readily admit they still have a problem.

Task force offi cials estimate there are currently about 25 gangs in the area, with fi ve prominent gangs. Membership in the gangs in the county is about 90 percent Latino and members refl ect the same char-acteristics as others throughout the South. By using a database of 400 documented gang members, tattoos, and photos of gang graffi ti, they have been able to keep track of the activity in their area.

(Research News is written by Jac-queline Byers, director of research.)

■ RESEARCH from page 11

Spokane County, Wash. commissioner seeks ban on phosphates

Fairfax County sponsors gang prevention summit


NOTICESNOTICES

■ Nominations• Nomination forms for the 2006 National Wetlands Awards Program

are now available. The National Wetlands Awards Program honors individu-als from across the country who have demonstrated extraordinary effort, innovation and excellence through programs or projects at the regional, state or local level.

Program co-sponsors include the Environmental Law Institute, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, USDA Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Federal Highway Administration.

The deadline for submitting nominations is Dec.15. Go to www2.eli.org/nwa/nwaprogram.htm to access the nomination form.

For more information or questions, please e-mail [email protected], or contact Jared Thompson at 202/939-3247.

■ Papers• The American Public University System is accepting papers on the

following topic: “Managing Evacuation: Ripple Effects of Terrorism and Natural Disasters” for its 2006 summit.

The summit, to be held May 3–4, 2006 at the National Conservation Training Center in Jefferson County (Shepardstown), W.Va., will focus on the logistics, politics and consequences of large-scale evacuations.

It will address the many issues facing outlying cities and counties as they prepare to receive evacuees and will bring together disaster management, home-land security, criminal justice and emergency management professionals.

The deadline for papers is Jan.15, 2006. Paper topics could include:• roles of local community emergency response teams, non-governmental

organizations and others• evacuation of “at-risk” and incarcerated populations and others • healthcare trauma center preparations and long-term care• transportation network management overload, including loss of electronic

signaling and communications• outbound and inbound logistics, and• pet and livestock evacuation.Proposals should be one page and include a title, abstract and contact

information. Send to Bob Jaffi n at bjaffi [email protected] (304/724-3723).

(Notices is compiled by Allison Mall, editorial assistant. If you have an item for Notices, you can e-mail it to her at [email protected] or fax 202/393-2630.)

some “Thanksgiving resolutions” and avoid the New Year’s rush. Re-solve not to take things for granted, but rather to fi nd new ways to help at the offi ce and in community leader-ship through charitable giving and volunteering.

The HR Doctor has a lot to be thankful for, including the chance to share information on proactive human resources with each of you regularly. I bet if you stop for just a few seconds and think about it, you also have a lot to be thankful for in your own work life and per-sonal life.

Take the time to do that — and save a slice of pumpkin pie for me.Best wishes.

Sincerely,

The HR Doctorwww.hrdr.net

THE H.R. DOCTOR IS INTHE H.R. DOCTOR IS IN

PHIL ROSENBERG

THE HR DOCTOR

A most wonderful time of the year occurs in late November. Thanksgiv-ing is an HR Doctor favorite because it is centered on the opportunity to step back and view our own lives at work and at home with a sense of perspective.

It’s a great time for an employer to help members of the staff appreci-ate all that they have in the form of jobs, which are generally steady and career-oriented, and include many fringe benefi ts including retirement, health care, time off, educational support and much more.

Thanksgiving is an excellent time to do more than simply eat a tremendous meal with family and friends and maybe watch football. It is a time to ask, “what am I do-ing to make things easier and more enjoyable for my colleagues at work or those in need in the com-munity?” It is not coincidental that United Way campaigns occur during

this holiday time, nor that about one in three persons receives help from such an organization. “There but for fortune,” could be any one of us.

This holiday is also a time to praise and recognize how much easier our own life at work is made by having colleagues who work hard to help you as a county gov-ernment leader and care about your success. Not a bad time to make

Thanksgiving

AFFILIATE SPOTLIGHTAFFILIATE SPOTLIGHT

The National Association of County Human Services Adminis-trators (NACHSA) represents the broad spectrum of social services agencies throughout the country. Because of the varied roles that counties play in social services, NACHSA membership includes agencies that provide public assis-tance, child care, child protective services, adult protective services and everything in between.

Many are umbrella agencies that include workforce develop-ment, some also provide health and mental health services, while others also serve as Area Agencies on Aging. In many counties, the human services departments are in charge of providing shelter and emergency assistance to victims of disasters, and often are also in charge of evacuations.

Staffed by Marilina Sanz, NACo’s associate director for hu-man services and education, and Tom Joseph, NACHSA consultant, the affi liate has had a long relation-ship with NACo and has great ap-preciation for the opportunities its affi liation provides.

NACHSA members are active members in several NACo steer-ing committees, particularly the Human Services and Education

Steering Committee, where some of its members serve in leadership positions. This participation helps NACHSA have a voice in the de-velopment of national policy in social services.

NACHSA members also have been involved in a number of NACo task forces and initiatives. Most recently, they have been in-volved in President Bill Hansell’s methamphetamine initiative, with a NACHSA member sitting on the task force. Additionally, NACHSA was very instrumental in develop-ing the survey on the effect that meth has on children.

NACHSA members helped de-velop the questions, answered the survey and also provided additional information to NACo staff to help prepare congressional testimony. NACHSA president Dianne Ed-wards also presented testimony for the record.

NACHSA takes advantage that NACo provides to help advocate in Washington, D.C. in several ways. Last year its leadership went to Washington, D.C. a day before NACo’s legislative conference to have a series of congressional meetings on welfare and child welfare. Additionally, some of its leaders joined the leadership of the

steering committee later in the week in their own set of meetings.

Most recently, NACHSA has been actively involved in opposing numerous cuts that have been pro-posed to social services cuts as part of the budget reconciliation process. NACHSA wrote a letter of opposi-tion to the House of Representatives similar to the NACo letter.

NACHSA publishes a newsletter, The Networker, three times a year. Each issue has a general theme and feature columns such as the Pres-ident’s Message, the Washington Watch and information on NACo’s conferences. Some of the issues that have been covered recently in-clude the methamphetamine crisis, responding to disasters, protecting elders from fi nancial abuse, refi nanc-ing foster care and interviews with administration and congressional staff on welfare reform.

The Networker is mailed to more than 900 county human services offi -cials. It is also posted on the NACH-SA Web site at www.nachsa.org. The Web site provides policy updates, information on upcoming confer-ences and meetings, information on membership and resource links to NACo and other organizations. Additionally, NACHSA members receive periodic e-mail updates on

late-breaking federal legislative and regulatory developments.

NACHSA also has an awards program. The awards are presented annually at NACo’s Health, Human Services and Workforce Conference in November.

There are three award categories: The Elizabeth Prebich Award for Distinguished Leadership in Coun-ty Human Services; the Director’s Award for Individual Achievement in a county; and the Innovation in Human Services Award.

NACHSA membership is open to county human services agen-cies from NACo member counties, elected county offi cials, state asso-ciations of county human services professionals, county community partner agencies and corporate indi-vidual business that support human services programs. Calendar year dues are based on county population or membership category.

NACHSA is governed by a board

of directors that has approximately 25 members and an executive committee. The board of directors includes county human services professionals, association direc-tors and county elected offi cials and is appointed by the NACHSA president.

NACHSA meets prior to NACo’s Legislative, Annual and Health, Human Services and Workforce Conference. Its annual meeting and election of offi cers occurs at the Health, Human Services and Workforce Conference. Addition-ally, the Executive Committee meets via conference call as necessary.

For additional information on joining NACHSA, please go to the Web site, www.nachsa.org, or call Tom Joseph, NACHSA consultant, at 202/898-1444.

(Affi liate Spotlight was written by Marilina Sanz,NACo staff liaison for NACHSA.)

National Association of County Human Services Administrators


JOB MARKET / CLASSIFIEDSJOB MARKET / CLASSIFIEDS

Headline Update: Every two weeks, we’ll e-mail a short synopsis of the top stories in

County News. Pick your news, click the link and read the story.

Web Site Update: Every two weeks, we’ll e-mail the main page from

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read them when you fi nd time. To sign up for any of these services, go to www.countynews.org/Online_Form.cfm, fi ll out the form, and answer a few questions.

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■ BUDGET/FINANCE DIRECTOR — LAKE COUNTY, OHIO

Salary: $65,000 – $75,000The Lake County Commissioners are

accepting resumes from qualifi ed candi-dates for the position of budget/fi nance director. This position is unclassifi ed and serves at the pleasure of the Board of Commissioners.

Responsibilities of the position include preparing, planning, directing and coordinating fi nancial activities; formulating and administering the county revenue and operating budgets. Responsibilities also include participat-ing in audits of various departments and agencies, participate in and formulate recommendations for the issuance of notes and bonds for fi nancing of county projects, prepares fi nancial statements and reports, oversees payment of bills including self-insured healthcare plans and supervises, plans, and coordinates activities of subordinate personnel. Ex-perience in state and local government and governmental accounting preferred. Ability to communicate effectively with elected offi cials and department heads a must.

Qualifi cations for this position are a bachelor’s degree in business adminis-tration, public administration, fi nance or related discipline or equivalent with three (3) to fi ve (5) years of fi nancing and budgeting experience with govern-mental accounting. Must have working experience with data base systems and application software. Send letter with salary requirements and resume by Dec. 7 to William A. Margalis, Lake County Commissioners, 105 Main St., Painesville, Ohio 44077. 440/350-5855 (fax), [email protected]. EOE.

■ CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER — TULSA AREA WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD, INC. — TULSA, OKLA.

Salary: $85,000 – $115,000, DOQ.Tulsa Area Workforce Investment

Board, Inc. (dba. Workforce Tulsa), a non-profi t corporation, is responsible for implementation of workforce strat-egies, implementing comprehensive workforce systems and supporting economic development for the local workforce area, which includes Tulsa, Creek, Osage and Pawnee counties.

Workforce Tulsa is seeking qualifi ed applicants to fi ll the position of Board Chief Executive Offi cer. The Board CEO acts as chief administrator responsible for the coordination and management of all Workforce Tulsa activities, ensur-ing compliance with regulatory agencies and grant requirements, and planning, organizing and coordinating the City of Tulsa’s Workforce and Economic De-velopment efforts to ensure appropriate partnerships between workforce devel-opment and attraction of new businesses to the City of Tulsa.

Successful applicants will meet the following requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, hu-man resources, public administration, economics, or a related fi eld; master’s degree preferred.

• Minimum of fi ve (5) years related executive managerial experience; with extensive knowledge in the areas of workforce development, economic and business development, and grant program management within govern-ing board environments.

• Strong public relations and com-munication skills to articulate activi-ties of Workforce Tulsa and the city’s

Economic Development efforts to the community partners in a meaningful manner.

• Proven ability to plan, implement, manage, maintain and market successful workforce and economic development plans; experience with workforce devel-opment quality principles and improve-ment techniques desirable.

Interested applicants should submit resumes to www.cityoftulsa.org/jobs, File Code: Chief Executive Offi cer. Resumes will be accepted through Dec. 23. An Equal Opportunity Employer.

■ COUNTY APPRAISER — BUTLER COUNTY, KAN.

Salary: $54,880 – $73,807Butler County, Kan. is currently

taking applications for the position of County Appraiser. Butler County is located in the Wichita Metropolitan Area and is one of the fastest growing counties in the state of Kansas with a population of 62,000. A four-year degree in business, public administra-tion or like fi eld is preferred. Applicant must have (1) a general license from the Kansas Real Estate Appraisal Board (KREAB), or (2) a CAE or RES designa-tion from the International Association of Assessing Offi cers (IAAO), or (3) a RMA designation from the state of Kansas. In addition, the appraiser must have passed the eligibility examination administered by the Property Valuation Division (PVD) of the Kansas Depart-ment of Revenue.

To apply, applicants must submit a current resume with references and a completed job application which can ei-ther be obtained from the county’s Web site (www.bucoks.com) or by calling the county’s personnel offi ce at 316/322-4300. A current job description and benefi ts information is available from the same offi ce. Applications for em-ployment will be taken at county’s per-sonnel offi ce until fi lled at the following addresses: Butler County Courthouse,

4th Floor Personnel, 205 W. Central, El Dorado, KS 67042. Current salary for the position is $54,880 to $73,807. Butler County is an equal opportunity employer. For additional information, please contact 316/322-4300.

■ COUNTY ATTORNEY — ARCHULETA COUNTY, COLO.

Salary: $75,000 –$105,000, DOE.Beautiful Archuleta County, Colo. is

seeking a County Attorney. The county seat is located in Pagosa Springs — a paradise of spas/resorts, specialty shops, golfi ng, fi shing, hunting, and skiing, and a relaxed, friendly lifestyle.

The County Attorney assists the Board of County Commissioners with all legal and regulatory matters impacting the county in multiple functions includ-ing, but not limited to: road and bridge, solid waste, planning/community development, veterans affairs, nutri-tion, senior programs, transportation, social services, public safety, human resources, fi nance, fl eet, maintenance, weed and pest control, Extension Ser-vices, engineering, airport and general administration.

Successful applicants must have a law degree with admission to the state bar, 2–5 years of similar public sector law practice experience and the ability to handle a variety of complex projects.

Interested applicants should apply by sending their resumes by Dec. 5 to K.L. Ross, Human Resources Department, Archuleta County, P.O. Box 1507, Pa-gosa Springs, CO 81147. 970/264-8306 (fax). Send e-mails to [email protected]. Archuleta County is an Equal Opportunity Employer

■ ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR — BUTLER COUNTY, KAN.

Salary: $49,777 – $66,945Butler County is currently taking ap-

plications for the position of Economic Development Director. Butler County is

located in the Wichita Metropolitan Area and is one of the fastest growing counties in the state of Kansas with a population of 62,000. The county is seeking a highly motivated individual to interact with the local development and brokerage com-munity along with local businesses in promoting economic development and creating an awareness of the growth po-tential of the county. Three to fi ve years of experience in economic development, along with sales and packaging experi-ence is required. A four-year degree in business administration/management, public administration or other related degree is required and a graduate degree is encouraged.

To apply, applicants must submit a current resume with references and a completed job application which can ei-ther be obtained from the county’s Web site (www.bucoks.com) or by calling the county’s personnel offi ce at 316/322-4300. A current job description and ben-efi ts information is available from the same offi ce. Applications for employ-ment will be taken at the county’s per-sonnel offi ce until fi lled at the following addresses: Butler County Courthouse, 4th Floor Personnel, 205 W. Central, El Dorado, KS 67042. Current salary for the position is $49,777 to $66,945. Butler County is an equal opportunity employer. For additional information please call 316/322-4300.

■ SOLID WASTE DIRECTOR — ARCHULETA COUNTY, COLO.

Salary: $42,000 – $59,000, DOE.Beautiful Archuleta County, Colo.

is seeking a Solid Waste Director. The county seat is located in Pagosa Springs — a paradise of spas/resorts, specialty shops, golfi ng, fi shing, hunting, and ski-ing, and a relaxed, friendly lifestyle.

The Solid Waste Director directs, manages, and supervises the main-tenance and operation of the county landfi ll, transfer station, and recycling operations. He or she also monitors the daily operations of the facilities, public utilization, and revenue collec-tions. Successful applicants must have training/education equivalent to a high school diploma as well as training in equipment operation, supervisory skills, and management, 3–5 years experience in landfi ll operations, and at least 5 years experience in a related fi eld or in the performance of similar duties and responsibilities to include supervisory and administrative experience.

Interested applicants should apply by sending their resumes by Dec. 5 to:

K.L. Ross, Human Resources Department, Archuleta County, P.O. Box 1507, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147. 970-264-8306 (fax). Send e-mails to [email protected]. Archu-leta County is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

(If you would like information about advertising your job openings in County News and County News Online, please contact Allison Mall at 200/942-4256 or [email protected].)


In 2006, the National Association of Counties (NACo) will recognize and promote volunteer programs through the Acts of Caring Awards,

a national ceremony honoring community-based, county government initiatives that provide a legacy for the future of our country.

The Acts of Caring is part of Counties Serve America, a long-term project of the National Association of Counties in partnership with Freddie Mac. It is designed to raise public understanding and awareness about county government.

What is an Act of Caring?An “act of caring” is a community service provided by a county-sponsored volunteer program that enhances or preserves the quality of life.

Who is Eligible to Participate?Any county government that is a member of NACo with an active program that meets the following criteria is eligible to participate in the Acts of Caring Awards. A county program that won an Acts of Caring Award in the past three years is not eligible for an award in 2006.

Eligible Programs Must:• Exist at least one calendar year prior to the

application date • Enlist community participation on a volunteer

basis •• Include the participation of the county (offi cials

and/or staff) in a signifi cant and ongoing role • Serve as a model program and be replicable • • Demonstrate measurable outcomes that benefi t

the community

Acts of Caring AwardsUp to 18 programs will be recognized and deemed examples of outstanding Acts of Caring. Based on county size, as many as three programs will be recognized in each of six categories, including: Community Improvement; Criminal Justice/Emergency Management; Elderly Services; Health/Social Services; Libraries; and Programs for Children & Youth.

The types of programs that can be included in Community Improvement are arts & culture, historic preservation, housing, environmental programs, services to help animals, civic education, and recreation and parks.

The Youth Service AwardThe Youth Service Award is presented to the program that best identifi es a critical need in the youth community and addresses it, in part, by engaging young people in service.

The Legacy Award for Excellence and InnovationThe top award, the Legacy Award for Excellence and Innovation, will be presented to the program that most fully embodies the spirit of volunteerism by addressing a unique need. This program sets itself apart by providing unparalleled service in its community. The Legacy Award winner is selected from all the entries submitted in the contest.

Cash AwardsCash awards will be presented to the volunteer programs that receive the Youth Service Award and the Legacy Award for Excellence and Innovation. The Youth Service Award winner will receive $1,000; the Legacy Award winner will receive $1,500.

Population CategoriesAwards may be presented in each of three population categories to ensure that large and small communities and urban and rural areas all receive the recognition they deserve.

Category Population 1 500,000 and above 2 100,000 - 500,000 3 100,000 and below

Application DeadlineThe deadline for the 2006 program is Jan. 27, 2006. No applications will be accepted or considered after this date. Faxed or e-mailed copies will not be accepted.

Acknowledgment of ReceiptTo ensure receipt, please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope with each submission.

Program JudgingWinners will be selected by an independent panel of judges. These individuals will determine award recipients based on the quality of the application, program category and population category.

Announcement of AwardsAll Acts of Caring honorees will be recognized at a national ceremony that will be held on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. during National County Government Week in April 2006. Additionally, they will be recognized in County News, on the NACo Web site and in all national media releases and promotions.

How to ApplyApplicants should submit two copies of the completed application accompanied by an application form. Each should be typed, double-spaced and 12-point font or larger. Completed applications should not exceed 1,000 words or six typewritten pages (excluding the application form). All seven questions on the application form should be answered. Please note that no application materials will be returned. Supplementary materials will not be considered in judging.

For More Information, contactTom Goodman,

NACo Public Affairs Director,at [email protected]

or 202/942-4222.

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