Save the Dates For: 2016 Fall NACO District Meetings
Southeast District September 8th
Central District
September 15th Aurora Leadership Center AgendaNortheast District
September 16th St. Benedictine Center, Schuyler AgendaPanhandle District
September 21st Gering Civic Center
West Central District
September 22nd Holiday Inn Express, North Platte NACO 11 th Annual Legislative Conference
October 13th
Holthus Convention Center, York
ALL UPCOMING EVENTS
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Place your logo here and link it to any website
For details contact:
LeRoy.Janssen@nacone.org
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| WHO SUPPORTS NACO AND THEIR MISSION?
 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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NACO is in receipt of a formal letter stating the pre-application period for counties and municipalities wishing to apply for grants from the Nebraska Internet Enhancement Fund (NIEF) that opened September 1.
The NIEF, established in 2001 by the Nebraska Legislature, uses a share of the proceeds from public entities that lease dark fiber optics to fund grants for projects to install infrastructure to deliver broadband or other advanced telecommunications products throughout the state. The grants focus on areas of the state that are unserved or underserved by such services. The standard amount awarded to successful grant applicants is $50,000.
The letter in its entirety can be viewed by clicking here.
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Study Shows Benefits of "livestock Friendly" Designation
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More than a decade after Nebraska created its "livestock friendly" designation, participating counties have gained more cattle farms and lost fewer hog farms than those that lack the designation, a new study by agricultural economists at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln shows.
Regression analysis showed the livestock friendly designation had a stronger positive correlation to livestock expansion than almost all other factors measured, including the nearby presence of meatpacking plants.
Greg Ibach, director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture, said they're pleased the study confirms that the program works. The designation is used to market Nebraska sites to the livestock industry nationally and internationally.
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Nebraska's Response to Opioid Use
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The Dr. Stanley M. and Dorothy Truhlsen Campus Events Center
University of Nebraska Medical Center
619 S 42nd Street
Omaha, NE
Friday, October 14, 2016 | 7:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, our nation is in the midst of an unprecedented opioid epidemic. In 2014, more people died from drug overdoses than in any other year with majority of those overdose deaths involving an opioid. Data from the Centers for Disease Control show that since 1999, the rate of overdose deaths involving opioids (prescription opioid pain relievers and heroin) nearly quadrupled, and over 165,000 people have died from prescription opioid overdoses. The Nebraska Attorney General, in collaboration with UNMC and the U.S. Attorney's office are developing a unified approach between the law enforcement and medical communities operating in Nebraska regarding the prevention and treatment of both prescription and illicit opioid abuse in our state. At the conclusion of this conference, our goal is to answer two questions: - How do we reduce the incidence of prescription opioid abuse and expand treatment for those addicted?
- How do those in law enforcement and healthcare cooperatively design and execute programs to reduce and appropriately treat opioid addictions?
Registration and Conference Information Download Agenda |
| Legislature Schedules Interim Study Hearings |
Although the 2017 legislative session won't begin until January, senators and staff are working on new legislation during the interim. Resolutions proposing interim studies are offered during the session to examine new ideas for legislation and to dig deeper into issues raised by previously-introduced bills. Public hearings are held on some of the priority issues selected by each legislative committee, including the topics that are of interest to counties. County officials are encouraged to attend the hearings and provide testimony. Unlike hearings during the legislative session, testifiers do not need to take a position in support or opposition to the issue, but are simply asked to provide input. Many of the hearings will be live-streamed by Nebraska Educational Television and can be accessed through the Legislature's website.
September 16
State Capitol, Room 1524, 1:30 p.m.
Special hearing on the experience study to the Retirement Committee as required by Neb.Rev.Stat. 84-1503(4)(a)
September 28
Task Force on Behavioral and Mental Health
State Capitol, Room 1524, 1:30 p.m.
Hearing of the LR413 Task Force on Behavioral and Mental Health
Open to the public, invited testimony only
September 30
Department of Correctional Services Special Investigative Committee (LR34)
State Capitol, Room 1113, 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.
LR34 Hearing on overcrowding within the Department of Corrections
Open to the public, invited testimony only
October 11
General Affairs Committee
State Capitol, Room 1510, 1:00 p.m.
LR567 (Pansing Brooks) Interim study to examine and review the sale of alcohol in Whiteclay and the need for additional funding for law enforcement
Interim Study Details
October 14
Agriculture Committee
State Capitol, Room 1524, 10:30 a.m.
LR498 (Johnson) Interim study to examine the Nebraska Right to Farm Act
1:30 p.m.
LR612 (Agriculture Committee) Interim study to examine issues under the jurisdiction of the Agriculture Committee. Note: Review Auditor Report for the Nebraska Brand Committee (Open to the public, invited testimony only)
October 21 Legislature's Planning Committee
State Capitol, Room 2012, 1:30 p.m.
Presentation of Planning Committee Policy Briefs - Agricultural land valuation systems in neighboring states
Open to the public, invited testimony only. This hearing will not be live-streamed through the Nebraska Legislature's website.
Business and Labor Committee
State Capitol, Room 2102, 1:30 p.m.
LR533 (Bolz) Interim study to examine promoting career education and training that can lead to job readiness for middle-skill jobs
LR512 (Business and Labor Committee) Interim study to examine the Commission of Industrial Relations
Transportation and Telecommunications Committee
State Capitol, Room 1113, 10:00 a.m.
LR539 (Smith) Interim study to examine whether the One-Call Notification System Act should be updated
November 4
Appropriations and Revenue Committees
State Capitol, Room 1113, 1:30 p.m.
Tax Expenditure Report from the Department of Revenue
November 22
Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee
State Capitol, Room 1525, 9:00 a.m.
LR483 (Kolterman) Interim study to examine the public employees retirement systems administered by the Public Employees Retirement Board
LR571 (Nebraska Retirement Systems Committee) Interim study to examine local political subdivision retirement plans for public employees
December 2 Urban Affairs Committee
State Capitol, Room 1510, 1:30 p.m.
LR490 (Crawford) Interim study to examine the enforcement of state and local building codes
Interim Study Details
NACO makes every effort possible to keep abreast of changing legislation as it may have an effect on county government. The NACO E-line will also make every effort to report any interim study hearing notices that become available in future publications.
The Nebraska Legislature has released its Tentative 2017 Legislative Calendar. At the
beginning of the 2017 session, the newly elected Speaker will publish the permanent session calendar, which may differ from the tentative calendar.
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| NACO Legislative Conference is Open for Registration |
 The 11th Annual NACO Legislative Conference is open for registration. The morning and afternoon speakers have been confirmed to be in attendance and the event is scheduled to be held at the Holthus Conference Center in York, Nebraska on October 13th from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Two State Senators are slated to speak to the group during the day. Senator Curt Friesen from York will review the 2016 legislative session and preview the 2017 session in the morning and Senator Mark Kolterman from Wahoo will deliver his perspective on health care cost and retirement issues. Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican and State Court Adlministrator Corey Steel will finish the morning discussing the relationship of Nebraska's court system and how it impacts county government. NACo Program Manager, Katy Rowings will also be in attendance to speak on using county dollars wisely in corrections and pretrial services in re-entry initiatives. The agenda can be viewed on the NACO webpage or by clicking here. For those traveling to the event and are in need of an overnight stay, the Hampton Inn in York has guaranteed a single room rate of $80.00 per night. At least two weeks prior to the conference is needed to process direct billing to the counties if interested.
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| Legal Line |
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.
Treasurer's Tax Deed Passes Clean Title
A treasurer's tax deed passed clear title to a tax sale certificate holder and took precedence over a later trustee's sale under a case decided by the Nebraska Supreme Court on August 26. In Klein v. Oakland/Red Oak Holdings, 294 Neb. 535, ___ N.W.2d ___ (2016), the purchasers of a trust deed (Klein) failed to examine records in the register of deeds office to determine that the treasurer's deed had been filed.
The district court ordered Oakland, the beneficiary of the trust deed, to return the $40,001 purchase price of the trustee's deed to the appellees. In the appeal, Oakland argued that caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) should apply and that when the appellees purchased the trustee's deed, they were on record notice of the treasurer's tax deeds that were issued to Vandelay Investments and recorded prior to the trustee's sale. The Court had previously applied the doctrine of caveat emptor to judicial sales, subject to the qualification that the purchaser is entitled to relief on the ground of after-discovered mistakes of material facts or fraud. In Klein, the Court extended the doctrine of caveat emptor to trustee's sales. It reversed the district court and found that the treasurer's deed passed title free and clear of all previous liens and encumbrances.
Use of TIF to Develop Vacant Land
A recent Attorney General's opinion requested by Senator Mike Groene examined whether tax increment financing (TIF) may be used for the development of undeveloped vacant land. The request was made in response to a bill Groene introduced during the 2016 legislative session. Among other things, LB719 would have amended Neb.Rev.Stat. §18-2123 to prohibit the use of TIF to develop undeveloped vacant land and would have prohibited declaring such land blighted and substandard in order to qualify for TIF. LB719 did not advance from the Urban Affairs Committee.
The Nebraska Constitution authorizes TIF projects for "rehabilitating, acquiring, or redeveloping substandard and blighted property in a redevelopment project." Art. VIII, §12. The enacting legislation was codified in §18-2101 to §18-2144 as the Community Development Law, which allows cities or villages to define and acquire substandard or blighted areas and redevelop them in accordance with an approved plan. Section 18-2123 authorizes cities to acquire and develop undeveloped vacant land not within a substandard or blighted area when it "is essential to the proper clearance or redevelopment of substandard or blighted areas or a necessary part of the general community redevelopment program of the city." It also provides for the acquisition and development of land within a three-mile radius of the city for the project.
Although §18-2123 permits the acquisition or development of undeveloped land which is not within a substandard or blighted area, the literal language in the constitution would preclude the use of TIF for such projects. When the Supreme Court applied §18-2123 in a 1998 case, Fitzke v. City of Hastings (citation omitted), it found that land cannot be added to a redevelopment area and qualify for TIF unless 1) the additional land is declared blighted or substandard within the meaning of the community development law or 2) the additional land is reasonably necessary to accomplish the implementation of the existing redevelopment plan.
Because the test in Fiske seems to bypass the constitutional requirement for the area to be substandard and blighted, the Attorney General suggested that clarifying legislation might be necessary.
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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. Back to Top
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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. As of January 2016, NACO will no longer print the hard copy of the directory and send one to each county. The directory has been made a part of the NACO website through a clickable and searchable icon and will be updated as corrections are submitted. The directory on the website is downloadable for a printed copy and it can also be transferred electronically to office computers and devices with memory storage such as smartphones and ipads. For a copy of the latest 2015 directory, click here for the order form. Back to Top |
2015 County Board Handbook and Revisions
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The 2015 County Board Handbook and related revisions are now available! The cost for a current handbook, including legislative information from the 2015 session, is $80.00/book plus $18.00 shipping and handling per book. The 2015 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. For questions, contact Elaine Menzel by email or call her at (402) 434-5660 ext. 225.
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| News From NACo |
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is extending the public comment period on its proposed website accessibility regulation for state and local governments to Oct. 7.
Click here for the entire article.
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| NACo Webinars |
Leadership Development Series:
Understanding Integrity and Civility
August 24 - 3:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. CDT
Leadership Development Series: What is Integrity and Civility?
September 28 - 3:00 p.m. - 4:15 p.m. CDT
Leadership Development Series: Integrity and Civility as a Practice
Register
October 19 - 3:00 p.m. - 4:15 CDT
Leadership Development Series: The Pitfalls of Decision Making
Register
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NACO Meeting Photos
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