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County Board of Equalization Workshop
May 9, 2013
Younes Conference Center
Kearney, NE
Highway Superintendents, Surveyors, Engineers Workshop
June 11-13, 2013
Niobrara Lodge
Valentine, NE
Clerks, Election Commissioners, Register of Deeds Workshop
June 12-14, 2013
Sandhills Convention Center
North Platte, NE
Nebraska State HIstorical Society Preservation Conference
June 14, 2013
Metropolitan Community College
Omaha, NE
Treasurers Workshop
June 18-20, 2013
Holiday Inn
Sidney, NE
Clerks of the District Court Workshop
June 19-21, 2013
St. Benedict Center
Schuyler, NE
To view 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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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. |
Legal Line |
Editor's Note: Legal Line is a feature that will periodically appear in NACO E-Line. This edition has been prepared by Beth Ferrell of the NACO legal staff. Legal Line is not intended to serve as legal advice. Rather, it is published to alert readers to court decisions and legal or advisory matters important to county government. For a specific opinion on how the information contained in this article or that which will be discussed in future issues relates to your county, consult your county attorney or personal counsel.
Postage Meter Qualifies as Postmark
A postage meter stamp qualifies as a postmark for purposes of filing appeals with the Tax Equalization and Review Commission (TERC) pursuant to a Nebraska Supreme Court decision.
In Lozier Corp. v. Douglas Cty. Bd. of Equal., 285 Neb. 705, ___ N.W.2d ___ (2013), Lozier hired an accounting firm to file three appeals to TERC. The deadline for filing appeals was Sept. 12, 2011. On Sept. 1, the accounting firm mailed the envelope by certified mail to TERC. It was returned to the accounting firm on Sept. 15 and re-mailed in the same envelope with additional postage. TERC received the envelope on Sept. 20.
In response to a TERC order to show cause as to why it should not dismiss the appeals as untimely, Lozier and the accounting firm cited language from Neb.Rev.Stat. sec. 77-5013(2) providing that an appeal is filed timely "if placed in the United States mail, postage prepaid, with a legible postmark for delivery to [TERC] on or before the date specified by law for filing the appeal." TERC concluded that the envelope arrived at their office "without a legible postmark" and dismissed the appeals. Lozier appealed.
The Supreme Court focused on whether a postage meter stamp qualifies as a postmark under 77-5013(2) and concluded that the term is not defined in statute. The court applied the plain and ordinary meaning of the word "postmark" and reviewed definitions in the USPS Domestic Mail Manual, Black's Law Dictionary, and Webster's dictionary before determining that the term is ambiguous. It construed the statutes to give effect to their underlying purpose and concluded that a postage meter stamp, when viewed in the context of pertinent USPS regulations, meets the definition of postmark within sec. 77-5013(2). The Court reversed TERC's dismissal of Lozier's appeals as untimely. |
Notice of Supreme Court Comment Period: Proposed Capital and Class I & II Felony Case Standards |
The Supreme Court is requesting input regarding the substance of proposed standards, as well as the mandatory applicability of such standards. To view the Supreme Court notice, click here. |
Walk For Your Life Challenge 2013 |
Walk For Your Life Challenge 2013 will begin June 3 and end September 1. An e-mail with the details of this year's challenge was sent to all county clerks and to the contact person for counties who participated in last year's challenge. If your county is interested in participating, please contact your county clerk or designated contact person, or Wendy Kelly at the NACO office. |
County Government Day PowerPoint Available |
The PowerPoint presentation is 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 CD order form is available here. |
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The NACO 2013 Directory of County Officials is 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 Available |
The 2012 County Board Handbook and related revisions are available. The cost for a current handbook, including legislative information from the 2012 session, is $80.00/book plus $17.00 shipping and handling 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 |
 President's FY2014 Budget Request
The National Association of Counties (NACo) has released a presentation on the President's FY2014 budget request. The presentation includes a summary of the President's budget as well as an in-depth look at federal programs important to counties.
Click here to view the presentation.
To read more news from National Association of Counties, click here. |
NACo Web-based Education | |
Justice Webinar
Thursday, April 5, 2013
1:00 p.m. - 2:15 p.m. CDT
How can counties safely reduce jail populations and save county taxpayer dollars? During this webinar, learn how counties have successfully developed and implemented risk assessment instruments in the pretrial decision-making process and how risk assessments have made positive impacts on their justice systems. Find out how your county can create and validate a risk assessment instrument tailored to your jurisdiction's needs and discover some best practices counties have used to overcome common implementation barriers.
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News Across the State | |
Links are to outside sources and may not be available indefinitely.
The Grand Island Independent, 4/15/2013
The Chadron Record, 4/16/2013
The Grand Island Independent, 4/16/2013
Columbus Telegram, 4/18/2013 |
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