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July 29, 2011                                                                   www.nacone.org   NACO E-Line Archive 

Upcoming Events

Assessors Workshop

Lincoln

August 30-September 2, 2011

 

Northeast District Meeting

Schuyler

September 16, 2011

 

Southeast District Meeting

Mahoney Park

September 22, 2011

 

Central District Meeting

Grand Island

September 15, 2011

 

Jail as Part of County Government

University of Nebraska - Kearney

September 27-29, 2011 

 

Panhandle District Meeting

Bridgeport Community Center, Bridgeport

September 28, 2011

 

West Central District Meeting

North Platte

September 29, 2011

 

Register of Deeds Workshop

Kearney

October 12, 2011

 

Legislative Conference Kearney

October 13, 2011

 

NWCA Fall Training

Hastings

October 25-26, 2011

 

NACO Annual Conference

Kearney

December 14-16, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

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AssocMembersAssociate & Sustaining Members

NACO Associate and Sustaining Members enable NACO to enhance its continuing education programs for county officials across the state. Visit NACO's complete associate and sustaining membership list here.
  
  
  
  

 

 

EducationFoundationEducation Foundation

Memorial Program

A gift to NACO's Education Foundation ensures that the children of county officials and county employees are eligible to apply for scholarships to continue their education at Nebraska's higher learning institutions. Whatever their passion - history, art, music, science, education, sports - the NACO Education Foundation will provide them an opportunity to fund their education beyond the K-12 level. Memorial gifts to NACO's Education Foundation are tax exempt and a lasting legacy in honor of your loved one's commitment to educating the children of Nebraska's county officials and employees. For more information about how to make a memorial gift, please contact Jon Edwards / 402-434-5660 ext. 227.

 

 

 

 

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In This Issue

  
ConferenceConference Matters 

Silent Auction

 

Annual Conference numbers for the Friday General Session and luncheon have steadily decreased for several years now. Subsequently, NACO has decided to change the format for Friday somewhat. As stated in the July 15 issue of E-Line, instead of a formal luncheon, a silent auction and box luncheon will be held. We have decided to forego the General Session speaker on Friday morning so that attendees can get an earlier start for home, if they choose.

 

Soon NACO will be requesting that each county provide an item or items for the silent auction. NACO recommends that each county solicit donations from vendors in their respective county. It is hoped that all 93 Nebraska Counties will be represented.

 

Exhibitors & Vendors

 

County officials who know of vendors that may be interested in participating as an exhibitor in NACO's Annual Conference are asked to suggest they contact the NACO office for details about the conference.

 

Each year the popularity of NACO's exhibition area continues to increase. If you know of possible exhibitors, please suggest to them that they contact the NACO office for further information.

 

Shuttle Service

 

Officials attending the NACO Annual Conference are reminded that continuous shuttle bus service to and from the conference site and contracted hotels will be provided all three days of the conference. The finalized schedule for shuttle service will be published in the conference program.

 

Conference Lodging

 

Readers are encouraged to refer to the July 15 issue of E-Line for information regarding hotel accommodations for the conference. Contracted hotels, reservation phone numbers and reservation policies are listed in this issue of E-Line. NACO will send an e-mail to all county clerks prior to the date for making reservations. Please do not contact any of the contracted hotels prior to this date, as reservations will not be accepted.

 

Conference Site

 

The site for the annual conference will be the Younes Event Center. This is a new structure built on the premises of several hotels. The structure is made up entirely of meeting space. As a result, there is no "host hotel" for the conference. The event center will allow NACO to house many more exhibitors and the meeting space will be adequate.

COYCounty Official of the Year 
2010_COY_Joan_Ackland

Fillmore County Assessor Joan Ackland, 2010 County Official of the Year

Do you know of an elected or appointed county official who you feel serves as the embodiment of a true dedicated public official? If so, nominate that individual for the annual County Official of the Year Award.
The Nebraska Association of County Officials will present its highest honor to one county official at the conclusion of the December 16th NACO Business Meeting.

 

The County Official of the Year Award was created as a means of honoring one individual each year for his or her leadership abilities, high standard of public service and outstanding contributions made to the medium of county government and that person's community.

 

The official nomination form can be found here or on NACO's website. To nominate someone you know, print the form, complete it and return it to the NACO office by November 11. Also, include any supplemental materials you feel would provide additional insight into why this person is deserving of the award. Supporting material may include testimonial letters from peers or other printed matter that highlight his or her record of service.

Each of the 2011 nominees will be introduced and recognized during the course of the conference. At the conclusion of the NACO Business Meeting, the announcement will be made as to who has been chosen by a special selection committee.

The 2011 recipient will join an elite list of county officials who have previously received this award and will receive a handsomely engraved plaque befitting of this prestigious honor.
OpenMeetingActOpen Meetings Act Posters 

Due to two bills that made modifications to the Open Meetings Act during the 2011 legislative session, NACO has reproduced a poster for counties that can be used by your county to full statutory posting requirements.

 

Changes to the Open Meeting Act during the 2011 legislative session include:

 

LB 366 (2011) that amends section 84-1409 and is effective

August 27, 2011. LB 366 provides that subcommittees formed

under section 81-15, 175 (provisions pertaining to the

Environmental Trust Fund Board's grant application committee)

are subject to the Open Meeting Act.

 

LB 390 (2011) that amends section 84-1410 and was effective

May 27, 2011. LB 390 incorporates Community Trust discussions regarding the amounts to be paid to individuals who have suffered

from a tragedy of violence or natural disaster as a reason to hold a closed session under the Open Meeting Act.

 

Copies of slip laws that show the changes may be viewed on the Nebraska Legislature's website.

 

A complimentary copy of the laminated poster has been sent to each county clerk. Additional copies of this poster are also available from NACO in either a laminated or non-laminated form for a small fee plus shipping and handling.

 

For additional information or to place an order, contact De Troxel at the NACO office at 402-434-5660 ext. 223 or [email protected]. 

JailTrainingJail as Part of County Government Training 

Public safety doesn't happen in a vacuum. It requires collaboration and thoughtful, well-informed discussion about key issues: who or what a public safety program is for, how funds in the program will be used, and how local governments and elected officials can support public safety efforts. To discuss those issues when they involve the local jail requires dialogue among stakeholders, including the county commissioner/supervisor, sheriff, and jail administrator. The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) tackles such discussions during its Jail as Part of County Government training, which is now being offered in Nebraska. 

 

NIC's free training is an opportunity for teams of three (consisting of the county commissioner/supervisor, sheriff, and jail administrator) to learn about key issues facing jails today. Topics such as staffing, jail administration, and unique funding needs will be covered. All of these lead to ensuring that jail operations are conducted in a safe, secure, humane, and legal manner.


The training will last three days and will be held at the University of Nebraska in Kearney this September 27-29, 2011. Takeaways from the training include:


�Educating participants about the role of the jail, its operations,

and its resource needs.

 

�Exploring the county's civil liability in operating a jail.

 

�Helping county commissioners/supervisors, state sheriffs, and jail

administrators better understand each other's responsibilities

and challenges.

 

�Building collaboration among jurisdictional team members in addressing jail issues. 


For additional information, view the program description and agenda, or visit NIC online at www.nicic.gov.

MIPSBytesMIPS Bytes 
Backup Your Hard Earned Data
By Joe Power, Operations Manager
 
Counties spend thousands of hours entering and updating government information on their computers, but how many hours are spent backing up that information?  That may seem like a trick question to some because I bet a lot of readers answered with zero.  In the larger counties most of the data is stored on their servers.  These servers are probably kept deep in the bowels of the courthouse somewhere behind lock and key.  In this type of environment, I assume the IT staff is handling the task of backing up your information.

 

What about the other environments where the computers on the desks are not only used for entering data, but to store it as well.  Where are the stacks of backup discs and thumb drives for backing up these computers?  Chances are you will not see all the backup media lying around simply because there isn't any.  Until you are unfortunate enough to lose your computer's data, you cannot fully grasp how important backing up truly is.  Some of the ways you can lose your data files include, natural disasters, power failure/spike, theft, upset employees, hardware failure, malware, viruses, and human error.  There are many ways your data can be lost, but only one way to prevent it.

 

Many years ago I saw a poster in a county that read, "There are two types of people. Those who backup, and those who will".   Please be the type who backs up.
StateNewsNews Across the State

Hall County  sets new policy regarding contracted workers

Grand Island Independent, 7/19/11

 

County considering tobacco-free policy

Gothenburg Times, 7/21/11

 

Clerk pushes merger of services

Omaha World-Herald, 7/22/11

 

Crawford asks Dawes County Sheriff to take over police duties

Chadron Record, July 26, 2011

 

Agreement gives county access to federal road funds

Chadron Record, 7/26/11

 

Police/Sheriff merger proposed

Aurora News-Register, 7/28/11

NACoWebEducationNACO Web-based Education

Using Hazard Mitigation Funding Opportunities to Strengthen Your Community

Wednesday, August 17, 2011
1:00 PM - 2:15 PM CDT
  
The Hazard Mitigation Assistance programs provide funding for your eligible mitigation activities that reduce disaster losses and protect life and property from future disaster damages. Join this webinar to learn how your county can use its Hazard Mitigation Plan to apply for funds to strengthen the community against future disasters. This is a NACo Members Only webinar. You must log in to the Member Center to register.
  
For more information on these and other upcoming or previous webinars, visit the NACo Web-based Education page.
Nebraska Association of County Officials
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