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.

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.

The Nebraska Assessors Association Board of Directors met in May to plan the annual Assessors Workshop. The workshop will be held in Kearney at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Convention Center.  The Workshop will begin at 1:00 p.m. (CST) on Monday, August 25 and will conclude at 11:45 p.m. (CST) on Thursday, August 28, 2014.  A tentative agenda for the workshop may be viewed by clicking here.

Advance registration can now be made on-line at NACO's website or by clicking here. The fee for attending the workshop will be $100.00 for registrations received on or before August 15.   After August 15, the registration fee will be $125.00.  Cancellations must be made in writing on or before August 15 to receive a full refund.  A cancellation fee of $25.00 will be assessed for any cancellations received after August 15.  

Guest rooms may be reserved by contacting the Holiday Inn Hotel and Convention Center at (308) 237-5971. Room rates are $79.95 single/double. When making reservations, inform hotel staff that you are attending the Assessors Workshop to receive the contracted rate.

Assessors are reminded that the 2014 annual dues for the County Assessors Association of Nebraska should be mailed to the association treasurer, Janet Shaul, Garden County Assessor.  Registration fees for the workshop should be mailed directly to NACO at their new address:  1335 "H" Street, Lincoln, NE 68508.

Lodging for NACO's 120th Annual Conference became available in June, 2014. The conference will be held in Omaha December 10-12 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

The Emerald Ash Borer is on the way to Nebraska and it's not a matter of if, but when.

Mark Harrell, the Nebraska Forest Program Director says that he and his colleagues are checking ash trees around the state, constantly looking for the emerald ash borer which is a small, green, shiny bug that lays eggs in the tree.  Those eggs produce larvae that hatches in the tree and the larvae eats the tree, causing major problems.  To read more, click here.

To view details of how to register and to view the agenda, click here.

Today's leaders rely on stakeholders to help them make the hard decisions.

They also use after-action reviews to evaluate outcomes of their decisions.

These concepts and more will be introduced at the NACO Advanced Institute of Excellence, Wednesday, October 15th in Kearney at the Holiday Inn Convention Center. The Advanced Institute is open to ALL  NACO Institutes of Excellence graduates and will be conveniently held the day before the 9th Annual NACO Legislative Conference. The program starts at 10:00 a.m. and runs to 5:00 p.m.  The cost is only $45 for the entire day; lunch is included. For more information about this fall's Advanced Institute and future Institutes of Excellence download a .pdf version of the 2014 - 2015 Program Offerings brochure by clicking here.

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.  

Supreme Court Decides Douglas County Retirement Case

 

Douglas County is not obligated to contribute the same amount for retiree health benefits as it does for active employees under Christiansen v. County of Douglas, 288 Neb. 564, --- N.W.2d --- (2014). Actions were filed by two retired employees and later consolidated to enjoin the county from enacting a resolution setting a premium rate for participating retired employees that was higher than the rate paid by active employees.

 

Since 1974, certain retired employees of Douglas County were allowed to participate in the county health insurance plan until attaining age 65. They paid the same premiums as active employees. After considering several alternatives during the fiscal crisis of 2008 and 2009, the county board voted in September 2009 to adopt a resolution that set a higher premium rate for retirees, effective January 1, 2010. The retirees filed suit in district court, alleging that representations were made throughout their employment that their rates would always be the same as active employees. The district court entered a permanent injunction prohibiting the county from treating retirees differently and ordered the county to repay over $1 million in premiums, as well as more than $178,000 in attorney fees.

 

The county appealed and the case was moved directly to the Nebraska Supreme Court. The Court sided with the county, holding that the county offering of health insurance, unlike pensions or deferred compensation, was not mandatory and retired employees had no contractual right to participate at the active employee premium rate. Instead, health insurance is an optional benefit which may be established by a county. Employee participation in health plans is purely voluntary and no contractual rights were violated by requiring retirees to pay higher premiums.

 

The Court also examined the district court's use of equitable estoppel to create a contract to protect the retirees' rights. It concluded that there was no contractual right for retirees to pay the active employee premiums. It reversed the district court by finding that equitable estoppel cannot create a contractual obligation where one does not otherwise exist.

 

Finally, the Court examined whether a contractual obligation arose via ratification. Ratification is the acceptance of a previously unauthorized contract. It can occur through an overt action or can be inferred from silence and inaction. Because counties may only enter into contracts by a majority vote of its board members, the Court concluded that ratification did not occur.

 

The full text of the case, which was decided on July 18, is available here.   

NACO's 2014 Directory of County Officials is a valuable resource that not only gives you names, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses of every county official in the state, but includes a listing of county board meeting days, NACO districts, county seats, NACO officers and directors, affiliate officers and NACO staff.  County clerks for each county received one complimentary copy of the directory intended for use by all offices in their courthouse.  For additional copies, click here for the order form.

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.

The 2013 County Board Handbook and related revisions are available. The cost for a current handbook, including legislative information from the 2013 session, is $80.00/book plus $17.00 shipping and handling per book. The 2013 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 Ashley Vandeloo by clicking here or call her at (402) 434-5660 ext. 223.

 To read more, click here.