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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 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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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).
Planning
NACO will be sending, via e-mail, planning grids and cut off dates to each affiliate group leader in the next two weeks requesting that each group plan their sessions for the upcoming Annual Conference in December. It is requested that each affiliate group's board of directors complete the planning grid and return it to NACO as soon as possible but no later than the cut off date specified in the letter.
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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.
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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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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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HUD's Rural Housing Stability Assistance Program (RHSP) Proposed Rule: Request for Public Comments
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HUD is announcing the publication of a proposed regulation, currently open for public comment, establishing a housing program to serve rural areas - the Rural Housing Stability Assistance Program (RHSP).
RHSP is authorized by subtitle D of Title IV of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (the McKinney Act) (42 U.S.C. 11408). On March 27, 2013, HUD published the proposed RHSP regulation in the Federal Register and online at www.onecpd.info/rhsp. RHSP will be a competitive grant program that is designed to provide assistance to rural counties for the purposes of re-housing or improving the housing situations of individuals and families who are homeless or in the worst housing situations, stabilizing the housing of individuals and families who are at risk of becoming homeless, and increasing the ability of the lowest-income residents to afford stable housing.
HUD has identified your area as one that may potentially benefit from this new program, and it is important to the Department that your comments are incorporated into the development of the implementing regulations and program design. HUD encourages you to submit your comments electronically atwww.regulations.gov (for other information about submitting a comment, see page 2 of RHSP proposed rule) before July 1, 2013 so that they can be considered as part of the rulemaking process.
HUD has published an RHSP fact sheet to highlight the major aspects of RHSP.
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MIPS Bytes
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SOFTWARE UPDATES
MIPS uses remote support for many purposes. Some of the reasons for support are to verify printer or computer settings, install antivirus, install or troubleshoot MIPS products, or virus removal. As long as the computer can connect to the Internet, we can connect to it. Once connected to the computer, we see everything as if we were sitting right in front of it. This allows us to solve everyday problems eliminating unnecessary hours on the road and downtime for your office. Although the reason for connecting to a PC varies, the same issue is observed: software programs such as Java and Adobe need updated before other issues can be addressed.
JAVA Java is a programming language used to run desktop Java apps and Internet browser plug-in applications. Java can be used for online calculators, games, chat engines, and remote support programs. As you can see, Java is very useful and hackers know it. Hackers target programs that are installed on the majority of computers. In January of this year, Java was compromised. Many experts recommended disabling and even uninstalling Java completely until the security issue was fixed. Within days the issue was fixed, but only for people who update the program. Updating the program is simple. Either Java automatically displays a window in the middle of the screen or an orange icon in the notification area (lower right corner) of the taskbar asks to install the latest updates. Don't ignore these updates as they are very important. Last year Java's security vulnerabilities were targeted for 50% of all cyber attacks. Java can easily be disabled from Internet browsers by changing the program's security settings found in the computer's control panel. Keep in mind, disabling Java may prevent online programs from running.
ADOBE Adobe Reader is the default program used to view PDFs. It was second to Java last year with 28% of all cyber attack targets. Another product from Adobe is Flash Player. Flash player is used to play many online games and videos. Both products should be updated regularly as well. Like Java, they ask to be updated or show an update notification in the notification area next to the clock on the taskbar.
MICROSOFT WINDOWS By default, Windows will download and install updates automatically. The computer may ask to restart in order to apply the updates or may restart automatically after a period of inactivity. Unfortunately, these settings can change. It is recommended that Windows download and install updates automatically. These settings can be verified by going to Windows Updates in the computer's control panel. Windows Updates can download important updates for other Microsoft software, partner software, and hardware drivers.
Keeping your computer up-to-date is the first step in making sure the computer is not compromised. Maintaining your system by running updates on a regular basis in turn reduces the amount of troubleshooting required to find the primary purpose of the remote support session. Security updates are extremely important but compatibility with other programs should be considered. Call your IT department if you have any concerns before updating.
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NACo Prescription Drug Program
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County Government Day PowerPoint
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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
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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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 Ricoh Awarded New Multifunction Printer & Document Services ContractRicoh Americas Corporation has been awarded a multi-year contract to supply multifunction products (MFPs) and related services through U.S. Communities. This exclusive contract was awarded through a competitive solicitation process conducted by lead public agency Fairfax County, Virginia and is eligible for use now. To read more, click here. |
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