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May 29, 2015                                                                 www.nacone.org  I  NACO E-Line Archive 

Upcoming Events

Save the Dates For:   

   

Highway Superintendents, Surveyors and Engineers Workshop

North Platte, NE

June 16-18, 2015

Agenda 

Registration Information 

 

Treasurers Workshop

Holiday Inn Express Beatrice, NE

June 16-18, 2015

Agenda 

Registration Information 

 

Clerks of the District Court Workshop

Kearney, NE

June 17-18, 2015

Agenda  

Registration Information 

  

To view all upcoming events, click here.



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WHO SUPPORTS NACO AND THEIR MISSION?

 

AssocMembersAssociate 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  

Annual Conference Hotel Reservations

Local Public Health Departments to Assist Veterans

Mental Health and Juvenile Justice Announcement   

Open Meetings Law Workshops  

Grant Writing Class to be Held in Omaha 

MIPS Bytes    

County Government Day PowerPoint  

2015 County Official Directory Order Form  

2014 County Board Handbook and Revisions  

News From NACo  

NACo Web-Based Education 

County Classifieds   

Legal Calendar

Associate & Sustaining Members 

annconfresAnnual Conference Hotel Reservations
The 2015 NACO Annual Conference will be held in Kearney at the Younes Convention Center.  The conference dates are December 9th through the 11th.

The Kearney Visitor's Bureau has a webpage designed specifically for conference information as it becomes available through the planning process.  You can visit that page by clicking here.

Rooms have been contracted at the Wingate inn, the Hampton Inn, the Holiday Inn, the Holiday Inn Express, the Comfort Inn and the Fairfield Inn for $99.95 per night for single and double rooms and suites are contracted for $149.95 per night.

Rooms will be available for booking on and after June 4th, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. CST.

All rooms booked earlier than the above listed date will not be guaranteed at the contracted rates.

Reservations for the 2015 NACO Annual Conference may be made beginning June 4, 2015 at 2:00 p.m. You must phone the hotel of choice to make reservations stating that you are attending the conference to receive the group discounted room rate. Only guaranteed reservations will be accepted. Reservations must be guaranteed with either a credit card or by direct billing back to your county.

 

PLEASE NOTE: Reservations may be made initially under the county name but must all have individual names of who will occupy each room no later than November 10, 2015. Any reservation being held under the county name after this date will be cancelled.

 

HEADQUARTER HOTELS LOCATED ON THE YOUNES CONFERENCE CENTER CAMPUS(See map):

 

Wingate Inn:      (308) 237-4400

 

Hampton Inn:    (308) 234-3400

 

Fairfield Inn:      (308) 236-4200

 

Comfort Inn:      (308) 236-3400

 

Holiday Inn:       (308) 237-5971

 

ADDITIONAL LODGING OPTIONS IN CLOSE PROXIMITY:

 

Holiday Inn Express:                                       (308) 234-8100  

 

Best Western Mid Nebraska Inn & Suites: (308) 234-2541

 

AmericInn:                                                         (308) 234-7800

 

Country Inn & Suites:                                      (308) 236-7500

 

Ramada Inn:                                                     (308) 237-3141  

veteransLocal Public Health Departments to Assist Veterans

Readying Nebraska Communities to Serve Veterans and Their Families.

VetSET Nebraska is a Rural Veteran Coordination Pilot project funded through a grant from the VA Office of Rural Health to the Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors (NALHD). The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) created this grant program to support Veterans and their families who reside in rural or underserved areas.

 

NALHD was selected as 1 of only 5 organizations across the nation to receive this grant. NALHD member Local Health Departments and their community partners are building their capacity to meet the distinctive needs of veterans, service members, and their families.

 

To review the agenda and to RSVP for this showcase event, click here.

mentalhealthMental Health and Juvenile Justice Announcement


National Association of Counties Announces  
Juvenile Justice Reform Academy

 

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is accepting applications for the County Leadership in Juvenile Justice Reform Action Academy. 

The Action Academy, which is scheduled for October 21-23, 2015 in Chicago, Illinois, will bring together teams of local officials and county partners to learn about serving justice-involved youth in contact with the behavioral health and/or child welfare systems and to create action plans to increase collaboration and improve outcomes in their communities.

NACo is able to provide travel funding for up to four members from each county team.  Applications are due Thursday, July 2, 2015.

More information can be found here: http://www.naco.org/programs/csd/Pages/County-Leadership-in-Juvenile-Justice.aspx.
NASBOpen Meetings Law Workshops


REGISTER NOW FOR THE 2015 NASB
Open Meetings Law Workshops 

6:30 to 8:00 PM

June 16 | Lincoln 
Cornhusker Marriott | 333 South 13th Street 

June 17 | Norfolk 
Lifelong Learning Center | 801 Benjamin Avenue 

Registration Deadline | June 11, 2015

 

The Nebraska Association of School Boards is hosting a series of meetings across the state to address the intricacies of the Open Meetings Law.  This will also be an opportunity to ask questions of NASB's Legal Counsel, Jennifer Jorgensen, who will conduct the workshops.

 
The workshops will provide information regarding agenda, notice, minutes, closed session, special meetings, emergency meetings and public comment in addition to answering questions from attendees.  The target audiences for the workshops are school board members and secretaries, school superintendents, city council members and clerks, county attorneys and county boards, and community and civic boards.  CLE credits are available for attorneys.

To register for the workshop, please click here or contact NASB at 1-800-422-4572.  The registration fee for a non-NASB member is $35 with a $10 cancellation fee prior to the registration deadline listed above.
grwromahaGrant Writing Class to be Held in Omaha

 

Grants Training in Omaha, NE  -  June 25-26, 2015

 

United Way 2-1-1 and Grant Writing USA will present a two-day grants workshop in Omaha, June 25-26, 2015.  This training is for grant seekers across all disciplines.  Attend this class and you'll learn how to find grants and write winning grant proposals.

 

Click here for full event details.

 

Beginning and experienced grant writers from city, county and state agencies as well as nonprofits, K-12, colleges and universities are encouraged to attend.

 

Multi-enrollment discounts and discounts for Grant Writing USA returning alumni are available.  Tuition payment is not required at the time of enrollment.

 

Tuition is $455 and includes all materials: workbook and accompanying 420MB resource CD that's packed full of tools and more than 200 sample grant proposals.  Seating is limited, online reservations are necessary.

 

Complete event details including learning objectives, class location, graduate testimonials and online registration are available here. 

 

Contacts:

 

Taylor Grissom
at Grant Writing USA
888.435.7281 toll free  

 

 

Lena Thompson
United Way 2-1-1
402-997-7002  

 

 

More than 10,000 agencies across North America have turned to Grant Writing USA for grant writing and grant management training.


legallineMIPS Bytes
What Is That Icon in My System Tray?

 

In the last couple of weeks you may have noticed a new icon in your system tray on your computer.  Microsoft has started advertising their latest operating system, Windows 10, quite heavily.  As part of this advertising campaign Microsoft released a Windows Update that installed a new icon in your system tray that looks like a black and white version of the traditional Windows icon.

 

Clicking on this new Windows icon will open a Get Windows 10 screen that will allow you to reserve your free copy of Windows 10.  The screen will tell you a little about Windows 10 and allow you to enter your email address to reserve your copy.  The Get Windows 10 screen will also allow you to check your system's compatibility to make sure all of your hardware and software will be compatible with Windows 10.  On the Windows 10 release date, July 29, 2015, a copy of Windows 10 will be downloaded to your computer and you can install it at your convenience.  Before installing Windows 10 you should check with your IT staff to make sure they have no concerns with the new operating system.

CountygovernementdaycdCounty 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 .
 coudir2015 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.
County_Board_Handbook_20122014 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.
NACoNews From NACo
 
After more than a year of voicing serious concerns and calling for clarity on the federal proposal to redefine "waters of the U.S.," the National Association of Counties (NACo) has expressed disappointment that counties went unheard in the final rule that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released on May 27.  


Despite having provided detailed feedback and congressional testimony on multiple occasions on the potential impact of the proposed rule on counties, and despite repeated attempts to have a meaningful consultation process with the federal agencies, many issues remain unresolved.

  

NACo Executive Director Matthew Chase said, "Counties support clean water and work every day to protect water resources.  Even non-federal waters are protected by state and local regulations - sometimes even more strictly than federal rules.  This is why it is so disconcerting that the federal agencies paid little heed to vast amounts of expertise from state and local leaders on the ground."  

  

"From day one, this has been an issue of practicality - not politics - for us.  As co-regulators of Clean Water Act provisions, counties are not just another stakeholder in this discussion.  We will continue to work with county experts - county engineers, public works directors, stormwater managers and county legal staff - to analyze the final rule and its potential impacts on counties.  NACo will also work with the federal agencies and Congress to address outstanding questions."

  

After a preliminary review, there are several areas that are unclear and potentially problematic for counties.  Click here to view the chart below that NACo created, outlining key components fo the current rule compared with the proposed rule and final rule.
  

DESPITE ASSURANCES FROM THE AGENCIES THAT DITCHES ARE EXEMPT,

ACTUAL LANGUAGE REMAINS UNCLEAR


While the final rule attempts to exempt certain ditches, many county owned ditches may still fall under federal authority.

 

According to the final rule, several types of ditches are now exempt:

  • Ditches with ephemeral flow that are not a relocated tributary or excavated in a tributary
  • Ditches with intermittent flow that are not a relocated tributary, excavated in a tributary, or drain wetlands
  • Ditches that do not flow, either directly or through another water, into traditional navigable and interstate waters, and territorial seas.

While this may seem to address county concerns about roadside and other types of ditches, a closer reading reveals greater ambiguity than clarification. Why?

 
Under the final rule, the following ditches are jurisdictional:

 

  • Roadside and other ditches that have flow year-round (perennial flow) -
  • Roadside and other ditches with intermittent flow (not continuous, irregular) that are a relocated tributary, or are excavated in a tributary, or drain wetlands - Page 98
  • Ditches, regardless of flow, that are excavated in or relocate a tributary - Page 98

The final rule also newly defines the term "tributary," and in doing so states that "a tributary can be a natural, man-altered or man-made water and includes waters such as rivers, streams, canals, and ditches." Clean Water Rule: Definition of Waters of the United States" at 40 CRF 230.3, Page 6.

 

Bottom line: Since ditches can now be classified as tributaries, and the new definition of tributaries includes ditches - what is truly exempt?

 
This one example demonstrates that the final rule fails to achieve our shared goal of providing the clarity needed at the ground level for counties to effectively implement this rule and protect our valuable water resources. 

 

 

This is why we had hoped for a stronger consultation process with the agencies. 

RESOURCES

QUESTIONS?

Contact Julie Ufner,  
Associate Legislative Director

202.942.4269

 

jufner@naco.org

nacowebNACO Web-based Education
U.S. Supreme Court Decision: Health Insurance
 Marketplace Tax Credit Subsidies
 Webinar

                                    Thu, Jun 25, 2015 1:00 PM - 2:15 PM CDT
A critical provision of the Affordable Care Act is to provide tax credit subsidies to qualifying individuals and families purchasing health insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace. The Supreme Court case King v. Burwell challenges whether the subsidies can be provided to those who obtain coverage via the federal marketplace. The Supreme Court's ruling may have a profound impact on counties as the local safety net and as employers. Join us to learn the implications.  

To register for the webinar, click here.
Nebraska Association of County Officials
1335 H Street | Lincoln, NE 68508 | 402-434-5660