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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
NACo 78th Annual Conference and Exposition
July 19-22
Fort Worth, TX
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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Clerks, Election Commissioners, Register of Deeds Workshop Scheduled for June 12-14, 2013 in North Platte
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Advance registrations can now be made on-line at NACO's website for the County Clerks, Election Commissioners and Registers of Deeds Workshop scheduled for June 12-14, 2013, in North Platte at the Sandhills Convention Center.
Officers of the Clerks, Election Commissioners and Registers of Deeds Association met in April to establish agendas for their respective organizations. A tentative agenda for the workshop can be found by clicking here. This agenda is tentative because confirmation from all speakers has not been received.
Again this year, the registration fee will be $80.00 for registrations received on or before May 31, and $90.00 for those received after this date. This fee includes a luncheon and a banquet on Thursday, a reception on Wednesday evening, a luncheon on Friday, all breaks and all handout materials. Lodging and other incidental costs are the responsibility of workshop participants. Cancellations must be received in writing no later than June 7, 2013 to receive a refund. Cancellations made on or before this date in writing will receive a full refund. Cancellations made after this date will receive a refund minus a $20.00 administrative fee.
Guest rooms may be reserved by contacting the Quality Inn at (308) 532-9090. Room rates are $72.95 single/double. When making reservations, inform hotel staff that you are attending the NACO workshop to receive the contracted rate.
To register for the workshop click here.
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Conference Matters
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Lodging
Lodging for NACO's 119th Annual Conference became available on May 10, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. CST. The conference will be held in Omaha December 11-13 and this year you will be able to make lodging reservations electronically by visiting the Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau website and clicking on NACO's microsite. The link to the microsite is available here and is also posted on NACO's website. Once you click on NACO's microsite, you will be able to choose the contracted hotel of your choice along with the dates you will require for lodging. Initially, a valid credit card will be required for securing your lodging. Once you have secured your lodging via credit card, you will be able to access a credit application for direct billing and will be required to complete and submit a tax exempt form (all forms will be available on the microsite).
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Public Service Commission Announces Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) Funding for the 2013-2014 Fiscal Year
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The Public Service Commission approved funding amounts for PSAPs for the July 1, 2013-June 30, 2014 fiscal year on May 21. The total amount of funding for which PSAPs are eligible for the 2013-2014 fiscal year is about $4.7 million.
In the process of calculating funding for the 2013-2014 funding year, it was discovered that due to changes in the model in 2012, the PSAPs were overpaid during the 2012-2013 funding year by about 28 percent greater than the forecasted amount. Changes to the formulas to correct the error have been made and additional safeguards have been put in place to ensure similar issues will not happen again.
The Commission made additional funds available through the 911 model during the 2013-2014 funding year in order to minimize the effects on PSAPs of correcting the 2012-2013 payment amounts. As a result of these adjustments, the overpayment in 2012-2013 is recaptured; and PSAPs will receive approximately the same funding as was originally forecasted.
About $6.0 million in funding was approved for PSAPs for 2013-2014, which was reduced by $1.2 million to recapture the 2012-2013 overpayment, resulting in total funding of about $4.7 million. Although the adjusted amount appears to be a nearly 15 percent decrease when compared to the actual amounts paid in 2012-2013, when compared to the original forecasted amount of about $4.4 million for the same period, this year's funding represents about a 9 percent increase.
Additional detail regarding individual PSAP funding amounts and the process of determining funding allocations can be found by clicking here. |
NACO Awards Scholarships
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Twelve children of county officials and employees have been selected to receive $1,000 NACO scholarships to assist with college expenses for the 2013-14 school year. In order to be eligible, students must graduate this spring from a Nebraska high school and attend a post-high school educational institution within the state of Nebraska.
NACO scholarship award recipients for 2013 are: Amy Ahlers, Boone County; Sapphire Andersen, Hamilton County; Nolan Dethlefs, Howard County; Grady Frickey, Buffalo County; Siara Fritz, Knox County; Alex Gurciullo, Lincoln County; Kamara Hackerott, Madison County; Mitchell Heavican, Colfax County; Jordan Hoeft, Phelps County; Ryan Taylor, Box Butte County; Hannah Walgren, Polk County; and Carley Yates, Fillmore County.
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Make Plans Now to Attend NACo's 78th Annual Conference and Exposition
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NACo's 78th Annual Conference and exposition provides an opportunity for all county leaders and staff to learn, network and guide the direction of the association. The Annual Conference, held each July, is hosted by a member county.
This year, the conference will be held in Tarrant County, (Fort Worth) Texas. The Annual Conference provides county officials with a great opportunity to vote on NACo's policies related to federal legislation and regulation; elect officers; network with colleagues; learn about innovative county programs; find out about issues impacting counties across the country; and view products and services from participating companies and exhibitors.
For more information or to register, click here.
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Nebraska Representative to National Association of Counties Board of Directors Position Available
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The Nebraska representative to the National Association of Counties (NACo) Board of Directors is a position that the NACO Board appoints on an annual basis. If anyone has an interest, knows of anyone who has an interest in being considered for this position, or has questions regarding this position, please let contact Larry Dix. Mary Ann Borgeson our current representative has informed Dix of her interest to continue as the Nebraska Representative on the National Association of Counties (NACo) Board of Directors if so appointed by the NACO Board. The NACO Board will make this appointment at its annual meeting on June 21, 2013. This will serve as notice to all elected officials of the appointment process.
The NACO bylaw referencing this position is as follows:
Section 2a. Number, Tenure and Qualifications
The Directors shall consist of the officers enumerated in Article V of these Bylaws, hereinafter called Officers Directors; one (1) County Commissioner or Supervisor from each county with more than one hundred fifty thousand (150,000) inhabitants, as determined according to U.S. Census data; hereinafter called Metropolitan Directors; one (1) County Commissioner or Supervisor from each of the following districts of the State; hereinafter called District Directors:
Panhandle District, Northeast District, West Central District, Southeast District, Central District
and one (1) person from each of the following county officials' affiliate organization, hereinafter called Affiliate Directors:
County Clerks and Register of Deed
Clerks of District Court
County Treasurers
County Assessors
County Attorneys
County Sheriffs
County Surveyors serving as a County Highway Superintendent or County Engineer
"There shall also be one (1) nonvoting ex officio Director: the county official appointed annually by the Directors to serve as the Nebraska representative on the National Association of Counties (NACo) Board of Directors, hereinafter called the Ex Officio Director. The Ex Officio Director shall be in addition to the above defined Directors, unless the person so appointed already serves as an Officer, Metropolitan, District, or Affiliate Director in which event there shall be no Ex Officio Director."
This position has a term limit of 8 consecutive 1 year terms. Mary Ann will have just completed her first term in June of 2013.
Please contact Larry Dix so that he can inform the NACO Board of your interest. |
NACO Salary Committee Members Appointed
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The 2013 NACO Salary Committee Members have been appointed by NACO President, Leon Kolbet. The members include NACO President, Leon Kolbet, a county board member from each of the five NACO districts, and affiliate representatives from the elected county offices.
Members are:
Candace Dick, York County Attorney
Dave Dowling, Cedar County Clerk
Shawn Hebbert, Grant County Sheriff
Pat Hunter, Saunders County Treasurer
Janet McCartney, Cass County Commissioner
Earl McNutt, Red Willow County Commissioner
John Moore, Dawson County Assessor
Chuck Neumann, Adams County Supervisor
Tom Schuele, Boone County Commissioner
Stacy Swinney, Dawes County Commissioner
Susan Thomas, Keith County Clerk of the District Court.
Following the legislative session, the county salary survey results from information that the county clerks provided to NACO will be compiled, analyzed and provided to the Salary Committee. This summer the Committee will meet to make minimum salary recommendations for elected county officials for the 2015-2018 term of office. The Committee's recommendations will be presented in a report at the 2013 Legislative Conference in Kearney on October 10, 2013. A copy of the report and survey results will be sent to the county clerks in each county following the Legislative Conference.
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Legal Line
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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.
Court Determines "Record Owner"
The "record owner" of property for purposes of reacquiring allegedly severed mineral interests can be determined by filings in a county register of deeds office, as well as probate records, pursuant to two Nebraska Supreme Court cases decided this week. In Gibbs Cattle Co. v. Bixler, 285 Neb. 952, --- N.W.2d --- (2103), the Court was asked to decide 1) whether the record owner could be determined only from the register of deeds records in the county where the interests are located or also from other public records, such as probate records and 2) whether an amended complaint adding, rather than substituting, a new party defendant relates back to the original complaint.
In analyzing the first question, the court looked at Neb.Rev.Stat. Sec. 57-229, which requires the record owner of a severed mineral interest to publicly exercise the right of ownership within 23 years to avoid abandonment of his or her interests. In Gibbs, the widow of the owner of the mineral interests asked the court to order that all mineral interests remain titled in the name of her deceased husband. Later, she filed an amended answer stating that she had a life estate through her husband's will and that she should retain the title to the mineral interests. The probate records confirmed her life estate, although none of the records specifically mentioned mineral interests. She argued that probate records could be used to show that she had not abandoned her interest because 23 years had not passed since her husband's death and her acquisition of the mineral interests. The court agreed, finding that the dormant mineral statutes result in a forfeiture of property. It held that "if any doubt remains as to the meaning of "record owner", it should be construed against forfeiture."
The second issue focused on relation-back, and the determination of whether an amendment to the complaint changed the name of a party or added a new party. The failure to include the party in the initial complaint was the result of the title examiner wrongly concluding that Edward Cassells, who was deceased, and Edward Stephen Cassells, who was still living, were the same person. Each was listed as a joint tenant on a mineral interest with Virginia Audrey Cassells. Because Virginia's husband was deceased, it was assumed that Virginia was the sole owner of both interests, when in fact she jointly owned one interest with her son, Edward Stephen Cassells. The Court applied federal case law to find that Neb.Rev.Stat. Sec. 25-201.02(2), which governs whether amendments relate back, applies only to amendments that change the party or the name of the party and that this section refers to a substitution, rather than to an addition, of parties.
The Court used the reasoning from the first question to decide WTJ Skavdahl Land v. Elliott, 285 Neb. 971, -- N.W.2d --- (2013). In Skavdahl, the Court found that the "record owner" of mineral interests included an individual identified by probate records in the county where the mineral interests were located.
Click here for more information.
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Former Scotts Bluff County Commissioner and NACO President Passes Away
|  Clint Morrison, former Scotts Bluff County Commissioner passed away suddenly on May 27, 2013. Morrison was Scotts Bluff County Commissioner from 1980 to 1984 and again from 1988 - 1996. He was NACO President in 1996. NACO offers sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Clint Morrison. To read more about Morrison, click here. |
Walk For Your Life Challenge 2013
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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. |
NACo Prescription Drug Program
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County Government Day PowerPoint Available
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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
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 Farm Bill Makes Its Way Out of House, Senate Ag Committees
The obstacles preventing a reauthorization of the farm bill are quickly clearing as both the House and Senate agriculture committees passed farm bill packages with bipartisan support on May 14 and May 15. The farm bill was slated to move to the Senate floor the week of May 20 at the publication deadline.
To read more, click here.
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News Across the State
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Links are to outside sources and may not be available indefinitely.
Sioux City Journal, 5/29/2013
Hastings Tribune, 5/30/2013
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