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NACo County Health Learning Challenge
In partnership with the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program, NACo presents an opportunity for up to three county teams to participate in the County Health Learning Challenge. Using the Roadmaps to Health Take Action Cycle, this year-long collaborative challenge is intended to help the selected County Health Learning teams develop and strengthen cross-sector partnerships, select potential policy, systems and environmental changes to improve county health and put ideas into action to build a Culture of Health in their counties.
The County Health Learning Challenge is open to all NACo member counties. All applications should include:
- A county elected official lead applicant
- Teams that include multiple sectors, both public and private, as identified in the Roadmaps to Health Take Action Cycle
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- Goals and strategies that reflect progress that can be reasonably attained over a year.
The application deadline is April 13, 2015. For more information or to apply, follow this link.
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Pipeline Safety Grants
The U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is now accepting applications for the 2015 Technical Assistance Grants (TAG) for communities or impacted stakeholders seeking engineering, or other scientific analysis of issues relating to pipeline infrastructure. Governmental entities or non-profit groups may qualify for a grant of up to $100,000 per year. Applicants must be local communities or groups of individuals relating to the safety of pipeline facilities in local communities. Communities are defined as cities, towns, villages, counties, parishes, townships, and similar governmental subdivisions or consortia of such subdivisions. For-profit entities are not eligible.
The announcement can be found by using the "SEARCH GRANTS" tab at Grants.gov. Search by funding opportunity number: DTPH5615SN0002. The closing date for applications is April 22, 2015. For more information, or to apply for a grant, please contact Karen Lynch at karen.lynch@dot.gov. More information, including additional pipeline safety resources can be found by following this link to the NACo website.
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FY 2015-2016 Commonwealth Budget Proposal
Following Governor Wolf's presentation of his FY 2015-2016 budget on March 3, CCAP has been reviewing the impact on line items impacting county government. A narrative analysis is now available on the CCAP Budget News web page, as well as a spreadsheet comparing proposed line items with county impact to the current fiscal year.
Also on the budget web page is information on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees budget hearings. CCAP will continue to provide members with information on the budget proposal and updates as they become available.
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Managing Floodplain Development Workshop
The Susquehanna Greenway Partnership would
like to share an upcoming workshop opportunity, as it discusses ways to guide floodplain development - an issue that is critical to revitalizing river towns along the Susquehanna.
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NACo County Arts and Culture Program
The 2015 NACo Arts and Culture Award program is now open for submissions. The NACo Arts and Culture Award is designed to recognize county governments for their efforts in enriching American cultural and intellectual life, promoting lifelong learning and protecting of national heritage by supporting historic preservation, helping children succeed in school, work, and life through arts education and supporting America's nonprofit arts organizations.
For more information about the awards program and application instructions, click here, or contact Yael Lazarus: ylazarus@naco.org, (202) 661-8819.
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KTFC Website Update
The Keystone Transportation Funding Coalition (KTFC), which CCAP is part of, has launched a new website: www.keystonetransportation.org.
KTFC consists of a diverse group of transportation advocates that coalesced around the need to secure a comprehensive, long-term solution to the commonwealth's transportation funding needs. Visit the new website for a number of transportation and Act 89 updates.
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NACo Releases Wireless Siting Section Resources
NACo released an application checklist and model ordinance to help counties come into compliance with the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) October 2014 Order regarding Section 6409(a) of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012. Section 6409(a) of the Tax Act provides that a state or local government "may not deny, and shall approve" any request for collocation, removal, or replacement of transmission equipment on an existing wireless tower or base station, provided this action does not substantially change the physical dimensions of the tower or base station.
NACo, in conjunction with other local government organizations, jointly worked on these resources to help jurisdictions comply with Section 6409(a). Resources can be found on the NACo website:
A preliminary version of these resources was shared at the 2015 NACo Legislative Conference. The materials posted on the NACo website are the most
recent and final version. Please contact Yejin Jang
Associate Legislative Director, National Association of Counties, (202) 942.4239 with questions.
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2015 PA Cares Training Summit
The PA Department of Health, the PA Department of Human Services, and the PA Department of Military and Veterans Affairs are jointly sponsoring the 2015 PA CARES Training Summit. This one day training event will focus on recognizing and responding to the needs of service members, veterans and their families. This free training will take place on May 7, 2015 at Fort Indiantown Gap.
Due to space, registration is required and is limited to the first 75 applicants. For instructions on how to register online, or more information, call (717) 772-7788.
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Act 13 FAQs Updated
CCAP has updated its FAQs on usage and reporting of impact fee revenues and other information related to implementation of Act 13 as it pertains to counties. In particular, the FAQs now contain new sections clarifying how the Local Government Unconventional Gas Well Fund Usage Reports are to be completed and submitted to the PUC by counties with spud wells. The deadline for the Usage Reports to be submitted to the PUC is April 15, 2015.
Visit the CCAP website to view the updated FAQs and for additional Act 13 analysis and resources.
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Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guidance Changes
Significant changes have been made to the Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Guidance, a comprehensive document that details the specific criteria of the three HMA programs: the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) programs. The Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15) HMA Guidance provides stakeholders with updates and refinements of program policies and practices. These enhancements will promote resilience, and streamline application review, eligibility requirements, project cost estimate and implementation.
The changes apply to the HMGP for disasters declared on or after the date of publication, as well as the upcoming PDM and FMA application cycles.
The HMA Guidance consolidates each program's eligibility information, outlines the common elements, and spells out the unique requirements among the programs so that federal, state, federally-recognized tribal and local officials can easily identify key similarities between the various programs. For more information, or to view specific changes, visit the FEMA website.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact FEMA's Intergovernmental Affairs Division at (202) 646-3444 or at FEMA-IGA@fema.dhs.gov.
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Public/Private Partnership Training
Public/Private Partnerships (P3s) are becoming a tool that local governments, quasi-public entities and government agencies are using to achieve necessary community investments. They are utilized for major re-investments as a result of a changing economy, closure of a major employment center, loss of retail anchors or shifts in tax bases.
The Pennsylvania Chapter of APA and the Pennsylvania Local Government Training Partnership presents Public Private Partnerships Training. At any one of the following four locations statewide, join a planner and lawyer experienced with P3s to understand how your community could benefit from these innovative, yet complex, partnerships:
- May 5, Wexford
- May 6, State College
- May 19, Camp Hill
- May 20, Philadelphia
For more information, or to register, please follow this link.
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NACo 2015 Achievement Awards
The National Association of Counties (NACo) is excited to announce that it is currently accepting applications for the 2015 Achievement Awards!
For forty-five years, NACo has recognized innovative programs in county government through the Achievement Awards Program. The awards provide an excellent opportunity for winners to promote their successes to a larger audience and share best practices with their partners and peers.
As a non-competitive awards program, each application is judged on its own merits and not against other applications received. Awards are given in 21 different categories culminating with an awards celebration at the 2015 NACo Annual Conference and Exposition in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
For more information on the application process, deadlines and program criteria, please see the promotional materials by clicking here. For more information, please contact, awards@naco.org.
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Green Infrastructure Webinar Series
Penn State's Green Infrastructure Webinar Series will explore how green infrastructure can put communities and landscapes on the road to sustainability. The first in this series will concentrate on introducing green infrastructure and explore maintenance of these structural systems. Beginning in late summer, the webinars will discuss non-structural topics such as open space conservation, green infrastructure elements, natural resource conservation standards, and conflict resolution.
The webinars are currently scheduled from February through June. Webinars begin at 12:00 p.m. and are free to participants.
For more information or to register, follow this link or email vjc1@psu.edu.
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$75 Million in Jail Reform Grants
The MacArthur Foundation has announced an exciting opportunity to undertake local jail reform through its new Safety and Justice Challenge, a five-year $75 million investment that seeks to reduce over-incarceration in jails.
Twenty sites will initially be selected to receive a grant of $150,000 to support an intensive six-month planning process, during which they will rigorously examine how their jails are being used and what strategies will reduce the inappropriate use of jails without compromising public safety. Each site will produce a plan for implementing these reforms. Then, beginning in 2016, as many as 10 of these jurisdictions will be selected for a second round of funding of up to $2 million to support implementation of their jail reduction plans.
Applications are due March 31. More information about the Challenge can be found at www.safetyandjusticechallenge.org, and the RFP is available by following this link.
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New Local Government Training Opportunities Announced
The Pennsylvania Local Government Training Partnership is a training initiative between the Governor's Center for Local Government Services and Pennsylvania's statewide associations, including CCAP. There are many options for upcoming training sessions, as well as sessions that can be downloaded and viewed at your convenience. PACourses offered through the partnership are designed to keep municipal officials current on new laws and legislative requirements and enhance their ability to govern more effectively. Year-round, statewide training is provided in the areas of local government administration, finance, community and economic development, public safety, land use and planning, public works, recreation, environmental, and tax collectors.
Some new trainings recently announced include:
- 2015 Municipal Road Maintenance and
Safety Symposium
April 19-22, 2015
Hershey Lodge, Hershey, PA
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Collaborative Approaches
to Funding Fire and EMS Services
March-April 2015
Various statewide locations
For more information, or to register for a course, visit the PA Local Government Training Partnership website.
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| Upcoming NACo Webinars
Registration is now open for the following NACo webinars:
- What to Look for in the 2015 County Health Rankings
March 19, 2015
2:00 - 3:15 p.m. - Managing Integrity and Civility in Public Life
April 16, 2015
2:00 - 3:15 p.m.
In addition to these webinars, there are recordings of webinars from the past six months on a range of topics. To access these recordings, or for additional details and registration information, please click here.
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Job Postings
As counties notify us of current vacancies we post them on our website and list them in the Update.
Additional information on each posting can be found by clicking on the name of the vacancy you are interested in. To submit a job posting, refer to the CCAP website. For additional information on submitting a job posting contact Mandi Glantz at mglantz@pacounties.org.
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Upcoming Events
- PCYA 2015 March Quarterly Meeting
March 18-20, 2015
The Nittany Lion Inn, State College - PACDAA March Membership Meeting
March 18-20, 2015
Toftrees, State College - 2015 CCAP Spring Conference
March 22-24, 2015
Hilton, Harrisburg - COMCARE Board Meeting
March 24, 2015
Hilton, Harrisburg
For a complete listing of upcoming events refer to the CCAP website.
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