February 6, 2015 www.nacone.org I NACO E-Line Archive

Upcoming Events

Nebraska Weed Control Association Annual Conference

Kearney, NE

February 9-11, 2015

Clerks of the District Court Workshop

Kearney, NE

February 11-12, 2015

National Association of Counties Legislative Conference

Washington, DC

February 21-25, 2015

Central District Meeting

Kearney, NE

March 19, 2015

Northeast District Meeting

Norfolk, NE

March 20, 2015

Panhandle District

Meeting

Location TBD

March 25, 2015

West Central District Meeting

Curtis Ag College

March 26, 2015

Southeast District Meeting

Mahoney State Park

April, 17, 2015

To view all upcoming events, click here.

WHO SUPPORTS NACO AND THEIR MISSION?

Associate and Sustaining Members

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.

In This Issue

Newly Elected County Officials Orientations

County Board Workshop to be Held in June this Year

2015 NACO Scholarship Applications Available

2015 NACO Institute of Excellence Deadline February 13th

MIPS Bytes

Department of Labor Announces Inmate Grant Opportunities

County Government Day PowerPoint

2015 County Official Directory Order Form

2014 County Board Handbook and Revisions

News From NACo

NACo Web-Based Education

News From Across the State

County Classifieds

Legal Calendar

Associate & Sustaining Members

Newly Elected County Officials Orientations

The Objective of NACO

The Nebraska Association of County Officials was organized in 1894 and formally incorporated in 1968. It is composed of 93 member counties and its express objective is to stimulate and contribute to the continuing improvement of county government in Nebraska through the promotion of increased efficiency and economy, the augmentation of a higher standard of public service, and the protection of the common good and general welfare of Nebraska county residents.

To ensure that its objectives are achieved, NACO regularly sponsors continuing education programs such as the January and February orientations that new county officials may attend, conducts research, publishes educational materials, administers cost saving programs, and represents the interests of Nebraska counties before the state and federal governments, agencies, and courts.

Orientation Times and Locations

To further educate and provide awareness for new county officials, the Clerks of the District Court are having their spring workshop on February 11th and 12th at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center in Kearney. Larry Dix will attend and provide a NACO perspective for the newly elected officials at that meeting. The Weed Control Association is meeting from the 9th to the 11th in Kearney, as well.

The Clerks, Register of Deeds and Election Commissioners are planning a February 12th meeting to have a day-long orientation for their new members at the First National Bank of Omaha in Kearney.

The Assessors have noted that the Property Assessment Division of the Nebraska Department of Revenue is hosting a "Beginning Assessors" training in Lincoln on February 10th and 11th to assist their group with continuing education. Registration for that training can be found on the Department of Revenue Education Calendar by clicking here.

County Board Workshop to be Held in June this Year

After last year's County Board Workshop in February, it was decided to move the workshop time from February to June. A declining registration rate was determined to be the main factor in the decision. Larry Dix, NACO Executive Director stated that, "while it is difficult to pick a time that will work for everyone, we will continue to offer the same quality of education for the workshop that has been enjoyed in the past."

This year's County Board Workshop will be held at the Holiday Inn and Convention Center in Kearney on June 10th through June 12th. Registration for the event will be provided on the NACO webiste when it opens in May.

2015 NACO Scholarship Applications Available

Nebraska high school seniors who are the children, stepchildren, or under the legal guardianship of county officials or employees are encouraged to apply for one of twelve $1,000.00 NACO scholarships. Additional information and the application form can be found on the front page of the NACO website. The scholarship application deadline is March 1, 2015. To access the application from this article, click here.

2015 NACO Institute of Excellence Deadline February 13th

The 2015 NACO Institute of Excellence Begins Soon - Enroll Today!

People elected and appointed to county office are perceived by the public as being leaders, capable of making decisions in the best interest of the people they serve. Leadership is more than just answering to the public, though. It's about listening and working with people to bring about change that ultimately leads to a better condition, place or situation.

To work with people better, leaders continuously seek opportunities to improve themselves. An opportunity for county officials is the 2015 NACO Institute of Excellence starting the first Thursday in March.

The NACO Institute of Excellence is a year-long program of professional development for county officials. Enrollment is now open for the 2015 Institute beginning in March. Several areas of personal leadership development will be presented including one's:

personality preferences and leadership behaviors,
leadership mission, and
active listening skills.

Further into the year participants will learn skills for

managing conflicts,
leading meetings, and
corresponding with legislators.

Topics about influencing others and innovative thinking will move officials to lead at a higher level.

The Institute training sessions start at 9:00 a.m. and will end by 3:30 p.m. Training sessions will be presented in North Platte at the University of Nebraska West Central Research and Extension Center on the first Thursdays in March, May, July and September. The sessions will be offered again on the second Thursdays of those months in Lincoln at the University of Nebraska Extension Office in Lancaster County. Everyone comes together in December to apply what they've learned.

Participants can attend in either North Platte or Lincoln - whichever location fits into one's schedule best. For more details click on meeting locations and the program schedule here and on the NACO webpage. To receive a Certificate of Achievement at the 2015 Annual NACO Conference next December, participants in the Institute must attend at least 4 of the 5 trainings.

The registration fee for participating in the program is $250 per official. NACO will bill the counties for the registration fees after the Institute starts. To enroll, fill out the online NACO and NE Extension registration form before the end of the workday, Friday, February 13th.

Soon after the deadline, enrollees in the 2015 Institute of Excellence will receive additional information about the program from Nebraska Extension Educators, Carroll Welte and Phyllis Schoenholz. Their contact information follows:

Carroll Welte, Extension Educator

UNL Extension Burt County: (402) 374-2929

cwelte1@unl.edu

Phyllis Schoenholz, Extension Educator

UNL Extension Thayer County: (402)768-7212

pschoenholz1@unl.edu

To become better at shifting between manager and leader, enroll today in the NACO Institute of Excellence. According to one graduate, "...incremental change can result in big rewards."

MIPS Bytes

Entering Useful Data

No matter what office you might work in, chances are some data entry or record keeping is required. How do we make the most from the data that we've entered? Why enter this data if we can't go back and search for it? Some of these questions can be hard to answer, but for the most part, consistent data entry is the key.

It is estimated that inaccurate data costs the U.S. businesses around $611 billion dollars a year. These issues can alienate customers, create revenue and cost leaks, delay projects, and make your office less efficient as a whole. There are many facets of data entry that contribute to this staggering number, but one area that can be easily improved is inconsistent data.

When entering data in your office, consider things like, "If I have to look this up in the future, what am I going to look for?" A lot of times it will be a record number, such as a Parcel ID, or a Receipt number or some kind of record identifier. Other times it becomes a matter of finding a record based on bits and pieces of information such as an address, name, or some other type of text information. When it comes to things like this, it is best to discuss with colleagues to come up with a format or policy for how to enter these. Things like a name could be entered as 'First, Last, Middle', 'First, Middle, Last', 'Last, First, Middle', etc.

Without some kind of consensus between everyone in the office, time spent looking for these pieces of information could be substantial and possibly costly. Not only is consistent data important for the internal processes of your office, but also for the public who may also be looking for the information.

Department of Labor Announces Inmate Grant Opportunities

Jail-Based Job Centers Will Help Break the Cycle of Incarceration

Strong employment prospects are critical in keeping previously incarcerated people from returning to prison. To help transitioning inmates get the resources and support structure they need to succeed, the department is launching a $5 million pilot program to place American Job Centers in 10 correction facilities around the country. The prison-based job centers will ensure that inmates nearing release get a head start in preparing for the job market. Once released, former inmates will be directly connected to one of the 2,500 American Job Centers nationwide to receive continued support and assistance. "These grants will give soon-to-be released inmates a real shot at success, keep our communities safe and go a long way toward breaking the cycle of incarceration that has plagued so many families around the country," said Secretary of Labor Perez.

Grant applications are open now until April 3, 2015. For the press release and additional information go to:http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ETA20150187.htm

County Government Day PowerPoint

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 .

2015 County Official Directory Order Form

NACO's 2015 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. In January, county clerks for each county will receive one complimentary copy of the directory intended for use by all offices in their courthouse. For additional copies, click here for the order form.

2014 County Board Handbook and Revisions

The 2014 County Board Handbook and related revisions are now available. The cost for a current handbook, including legislative information from the 2014 session, is $80.00/book plus $18.00 shipping and handling per book. The 2014 Supplement to the County Board Handbook is available for $25.00 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.

News from NACo

Join your colleagues in the nation's capital for the

2015 NACo Legislative Conference!

More than 1,500 elected and appointed county officials from across the U.S. have already registered for NACo's 2015 Legislative Conference! Held each year in the nation's capital, the NACo Legislative Conference provides county officials with unrivaled opportunities to discuss the legislative issues facing counties, to hear from prominent experts and national leaders and to interact directly with members of Congress and Administration officials. Click here to register for the conference!

Don't miss out on the many events and workshops aimed at helping county officials achieve excellence in public service. Click here for a full schedule of conference events.

Special Guest Speakers

Experts and leaders from numerous fields will address conference participants, both in general sessions and in steering committee meetings (open to all attendees). Speakers include members of Congress, Administration officials, Congressional committee staff and many more.

The two featured speakers are:

We are excited to announce our featured speakers!

Monday's opening general session:

Jason Grumet, Founder and President of the Bipartisan Policy Center

Tuesday's general session:

David Gregory, Journalist and Former Moderator of NBC's Meet the Press

Get up to the Hill!

With more than 1,500 local elected officials traveling to our nation's capital, a special "NACo on the Hill" day is planned during the conference on February 24, to enable conference attendees to visit with Congressional members in their D.C. offices. NACo will also host two briefings on Capitol Hill - one on transportation and the other on health.

Transportation Briefing - The Road Ahead for County Infrastructure: Capitol Hill briefing on county priorities for transportation and infrastructure funding and financing
Health Briefing - All Health is Local: Capitol Hill Briefing on Medicaid and the role of counties in local health systems

In addition, NACo is hosting a reception to honor former county officials who now serve in Congress. This is a great way to recognize those members of Congress and ensure that they understand the key issues that are affecting counties and their residents.

2015 NACo County Alumni Awards Reception -- Tuesday, February 24 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Capitol Hill

Training for County Economic Tracker

Join us for a unique, hands-on training on your county economic profile and other tools associated with NACo's newly released County Economic Tracker and a demo of NACo's interactive map County Explorer and the extraction tool. Space is limited in these workshops, so please respond to research@naco.org to reserve your spot today.

Don't Miss the NACo Steering Committee Meetings

Have you ever attended a NACo Steering Committee Meeting or Subcommittee Meeting at NACo's Legislative Conference? The meetings take place on Saturday, February 21 and Sunday, February 22, and you don't have to be a member of the committee to attend! All steering committee and subcommittee meetings are open to every conference participant!

The steering committees meet to shape NACo's policy platform and positions. The key issues facing counties at the federal level include:

Re-authorization of MAP 21 and addressing the Highway Trust Fund shortfall
Retaining the tax-exempt status of Municipal Bonds
Passage of the Marketplace Fairness Act
Opposition to the "Waters of the U.S." proposed rule
Funding for Community Development Block Grants

This year's meetings will include updates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Department of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Communications Commission, and other strategic private and public sector partners.

Questions?

Call the NACo Meetings Call Center at 202.942.4292 or email nacomeetings@naco.org

NACo Web-Based Education

The Excise Tax on High-Cost Health Insurance and Your County

Feb 12, 2015

Join us to learn what the excise tax on high-cost health insurance (also known as the "Cadillac Tax") is and what it means for your county. With constrained county budgets and rising health care costs, the tax may significantly impact your county employees, budgets and taxpayers. Counties cannot afford to wait until 2018 to develop a strategic solution. The speakers will share what strategies counties can begin to take to mitigate their liability.

For what Counties need to know, click here.

Click here for webinar details

To view NACo's entire web-based education listing, click here.