Panhandle District County Officials Meeting
March 27, 2013
Community Center,
Bridgeport, NE
West Central District County Officials Meeting
March 28, 2013
Grey Goose Lodge,
Ogallala, NE
Nebraska Weed Control Superintendents' Spring Training
April 2-3, 2013
Central Community College,
Hastings, NE
CVSO Spring Annual Training Conference
April 15-19, 2013
Sandhills Convention Center,
North Platte, NE
NACO's Counties' Legislative Day
April 18, 2013
State Capitol
Lincoln, NE
County Board of Equalization Workshop
May 8, 2013
Younes Conference Center
Kearney, NE
To view all upcoming events click here.
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 Associate and Sustaining Members
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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.
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Education 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 deductible and will be 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 Larry Dix / 402-434-5660 ext. 226. |
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Mark Your Calendar For NACO's Counties' Legislative Day |  Make plans now to attend NACO's Counties' Legislative day on April 18. County officials will have an opportunity to view the Legislature while in session as well as meet with state senators. A luncheon will be served at the Cornhusker Marriott hotel and all senators will be invited to attend. This is a great opportunity to discuss issues affecting county government with your senator. To view a tentative program click here. There is no fee to attend, however, registration is required. To register, click here. |
April is National County Government Month |  Smart Justice: Creating Safer Communities is this year's theme for National County Government Month in April. Additional information and a booklet full of ideas to celebrate NCGM is available on the NACo National County Government Month webpage. Counties are encouraged to participate in NCGM by hosting a variety of community outreach events and activities. These include tours of county facilities, distribution of information about county programs and services, sponsoring student essay contests, meeting with business and community leaders, and adoption of resolutions. NACo will again present valuable awards to six counties for their outstanding NCGM activities. For information contact Jim Phillips, jphillipps@naco.org or 202-942-4220. |
NACO Salary Survey to be Conducted | |
Neb. Rev. Stat. 23-1114 provides that County Boards must set the 2015 through 2018 salaries for all elected officials prior to January 15, 2014. The decisions made by County Boards not only have an impact on the local level, but also have an impact on county government statewide.
The Nebraska Association of County Officials has established special Salary Committees in 1981 and every four years thereafter to assist County Boards in setting salaries. Leon Kolbet, 2013 NACO President, will be appointing a similar committee this year. The purpose of this 12-member committee will be to examine 2013 county salaries and benefits, anticipated 2014 county salaries and benefits, and other related state and regional salary and benefit data. From their examination, committee members will make minimum salary recommendations for each county for the 2015 through 2018 term. These recommendations will come in the form of a published report that will be distributed to County Board members, among others, and discussed at the October 10, 2013 NACO legislative conference in Kearney.
The 2013 committee will consist of six County Board members (a chairman and one commissioner or supervisor from each of the five NACO districts) and one representative suggested by the presidents of the NACO affiliate associations of assessors, attorneys, clerks/election commissioners/registers of deeds, clerks of the district court, sheriffs and treasurers. The committee members will meet this summer to review information and develop recommendations. Surveys have been sent to county clerks asking for their assistance in providing NACO with information about salaries and benefits. |
County Board of Equalization Workshop to be Held in May |
NACO's biennial County Board of Equalization Workshop will be held in Kearney on May 9, 2013 at the Younes Conference Center. County board members, county clerks and county assessors who haven't already registered should be sure to mark this date on their calendar because they won't want to miss this educational opportunity. Over six hours of educational sessions have been planned for this workshop of which 4.75 hours have been approved for continuing education credit for assessors with the Nebraska Property Tax Administrator. The workshop will provide an overall review of the equalization process. To view the tentative agenda for this workshop, click here. There are two different options to register.
1) The first option includes all breaks, a luncheon, all hand out material and a printable CD of the the recently revised County Board of Equalization Handbook. The fee for this option is $50.00 for early registration and $60.00 for registrations received after April 26, 2013.
2) The second option includes all breaks, a luncheon, all hand out material and a hard copy of the recently revised County Board of Equalization Handbook. The fee for this option is $65 for early registration and $75 for registrations received after April 26, 2013. You may register for this workshop on-line at NACO's website www.nacone.org or by clicking here | | A block of rooms has been reserved at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Convention Center and the Hampton Inn. Rates for lodging are $86.95 single/double. Reservations at the Holiday Inn can be made by calling (308) 237-5971. Reservations at the Hampton Inn can be made by calling (308) 234-3400. Be sure to mention that you are with the NACO Board of Equalization Workshop to receive the reduced rate. |
Nebraska Access Program | |
The Federal Lands Access Program (Access Program) provides funds for work on public highways, roads, bridges, trails, and transit systems that are located on, are adjacent to, or provide access to Federal lands. These facilities are owned or maintained by a state, county, town, township, tribe, municipal, or local government. This program is a new program, being created under Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21). This program places emphasis on projects that provide access to high-use recreation sites or economic generators.
Administering the Program
In the coming months, Central Federal Lands highway Division (CFLHD) will be working with each of the states under its jurisdiction to develop each state's Programming Decisions Committee (PDC). The PDC will be responsible for selecting projects for each state's Access Program. the PDC will establish project selection criteria and administering calls for projects.
Call for Projects The Nebraska Access Program is administering a Call for Projects through May 15, 2013. For more information, or to submit an application, please click here. |
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This exciting educational event will take place April 17-19, 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska. Hosted by the University of Nebraska, Omaha and Peter Kiewit Institute, the Symposium will provide 1 ½ days of intensive, focused learning opportunities for local elected officials and IT staff regarding cybersecurity.
There will be a number of panel discussions, as well as keynote speakers, who are national experts on cybersecurity. Throughout the program, attendees will learn about cyber policies at the local level, mitigating cyber threats, how to respond to an emergency as well as best practices and solutions that counties can adopt. This will be an event that you do not want to miss! The Cyber for Counties program is in conjunction with NACo President Chris Rodgers' 2013 Presidential Initiative.
To learn more, click here. |
MIPS Bytes | |
Getting To Know Windows 8
Windows 8 was released on October 26th, 2012. With this release, Microsoft wanted to make a more universal operating system that can run on PCs, tablets, and phones. In order for this to happen, the Windows operating system needed to change.
The most noticeable change is the replacement of the start menu with a tiled start screen. The user can no longer click on the start menu to browse installed programs and options. The replacement is a tiled start screen that works similar to most modern day tablets or smart phones. A Windows store is available to add programs and features to the start screen like weather, news, shopping, or search engines. Many of these apps are optimized to run full screen and take advantage of touch screen capabilities. User installed programs will also show up on the start screen and are searchable.
The start screen can take some time to get used to since users had a start menu for decades, but all the functionality still exists. On the start screen, there is a desktop tile that opens the Windows desktop. Once the Windows desktop is opened, everything looks and runs like the Windows to which users are accustomed. There are other third-party alternatives to simulate the start menu but give the new look a chance before jumping ship.
Windows Explorer was also replaced with File Explorer. File Explorer uses a menu ribbon at the top instead of a menu bar. The ribbon incorporates a tab-based interface with related commands which allows the user hundreds of different options without having to search through nested menus. Moving or copying files using File Explorer is more intuitive. Now, when transferring multiple files to multiple locations, only one progress window is displayed. In this progress window, files being transferred can be paused, cancelled, or resumed. Each transfer location shows a graph of the file transfer speed, number of files, time and estimated completion time. File Explorer also handles transfer conflicts (files with the same name being moved or copied to the same directory) more efficiently. A window will display a list of all the conflicts and allow the user to select how to resolve them all. In the old Windows Explorer, each unique transfer location would open another window taking up valuable space on the screen and task bar. Each conflict was prompted individually requiring many clicks to complete the transfer.
Another new feature of Windows 8 includes the ability to sync user settings across multiple Windows 8 computers using a single Microsoft ID. Any computers, including brand new ones, running Windows 8 will update themes, settings, address books, photos and data just by signing into a Microsoft account. Windows 8 also syncs to Microsoft's cloud based storage called SkyDrive.
Windows 8 changed many things from performance to visual settings. Many changes are not noticeable while others may be alarming. This article addresses three of the most noticeable changes to Windows 8. With a little practice and patience, the user will find the tiled start screen, File Explorer and the ability to sync to be improvements in productivity and efficiency. |
County Government Day PowerPoint Available |
The PowerPoint presentation is now available electronically at no charge (sent via e-mail) for use by Counties during their annual County Government Day. The PowerPoint provides a comprehensive look at county government functions in the State of Nebraska and can be customized by each county. CD's are also available for $10.00 each to cover processing, shipping and handling. To request the County Government Day PowerPoint electronically, please e-mail your request to larrydix@nacone.org. The order form is available here. |
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The NACO 2013 Directory of County Officials is now available. The directory is an annual publication that provides names and addresses for elected and appointed county officials in the state. A directory is available for $17.00 if non-taxable and $18.00 if taxable. To order, click here. |
2012 County Board Handbook and Revisions Now Available |
The 2012 County Board Handbook and related revisions are available now. The cost for a current handbook, including legislative information from the 2012 session, is $80.00/book plus $17.00 shipping and handling (this amount increased from $15.45 due to USPS postage rate increase in January) per book. The 2012 Supplement to the County Board Handbook is available for $20.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling. The order form is available on the NACO website here. For questions, contact Wendy Kelly by clicking here or call her at (402) 434-5660 ext. 223. |
News From NACo |
 'Don't Mess With Our Bonds,' LocalsTell Washington
Chris Rodgers, NACo president, and leaders from the National League of Cities (NLC) and the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) called on Congress and the Administration to reject proposed changes in the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds at a recent news media briefing in Washington, D.C. Those changes would cost counties billions of dollars and hurt their ability to finance local infrastructure projects, they said. To read more, click here.
To read more news from National Association of Counties, click here. |
News Across the State | |
Links are to outside sources and may not be available indefinitely.
Omaha World Herald, 3/19/2013
Omaha World Herald, 3/21/2013 |
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