Oregon Trails

An Occasional Newsletter

from

The Association of Oregon Counties

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November 5, 2013

Haven't registered yet for the AOC Annual Conference?

There's still time!

Don't miss this opportunity to learn from your peers, visit with Governor Kitzhaber, hear about how to divert offenders from jail, gain skills in working with difficult people, find out what's happening with PERS and much, much more.

The AOC annual conference - The New Normal - opens Tuesday, November 19. A full agenda may be found on-line at www.aocweb.org. The conference culminates Thursday evening with the ever-popular AOC Product Tasting event.

Registration on-line for the exciting, informative and enjoyable annual conference will close at the end of the day Friday, November 8. After that, you may register on-site at the Hilton Eugene and Conference Center.

And plan to attend the pre-conference workshop Integrity and Civility in the Public Sector with guest speaker Stu Brody (see next story) on Monday afternoon, November 18. Don't miss a special opportunity to hear from Ken Ivory, president of the American Lands Council, Friday morning at 7:30 a.m. over breakfast (see next, next story for more information).

See you in Lane County!

AOC pre-conference workshop with nationally recognized speaker Stu Brody

The obligation to act truthfully is the highest duty of public officials and most aspire to that. It's why you went into public service in the first place. Leadership in the public service is not simply a matter of compliance with regulations, but rather, finding a way to balance complex duties where there is no code or regulation to direct your action. For instance, how do you honor loyalties to party, patrons and colleagues, while remaining faithful to the public trust? How do you perform your job with limited resources, public impatience and the second-guessing of colleagues? How do you make decisions between choices of equal merit?

The workshop will explore these and other difficult situations on Monday, November 18 at 1:30 p.m. at the Hilton Eugene and Conference Center prior to the opening of the AOC annual conference.

Stu Brody, founder - Integrity Intensive 

Stu Brody teaches how to identify duties, not passions, interests, pet projects or personal preferences. Mr. Brody has presented his dynamic message at NACo and at several state associations of counties conferences. He receives rave reviews, including from AOC President Mary Stern and Benton County Commissioner Annabelle Jaramillo, who participated in his training at the Western Interstate Region annual conference earlier this year.    

Attendance is complementary with annual conference registration. Plan now to participate in this thought-provoking session.

Special presentation, Friday November 22, 7:30 a.m., at AOC annual conference.  

Ken Ivory is the president of the American Lands Council. He is dedicated to educating legislators and community leaders throughout the states about their jurisdictional rights and duties to manage, protect and care for their lands. AOC members have a unique opportunity to hear directly from Mr. Ivory at a breakfast presentation at 7:30 a.m. Friday morning of annual conference week.

According to the ALC, federalism is at the very heart of our unprecedented constitutional system of internal and external checks that balance power between federal and state governments. This delicate balance governing power made America a unique fount of freedom and prosperity. Understanding American federalism, and the distortions to the fundamental principle, is critical to restoring balance in our state-federal governing partnership

There is an additional fee of $20 for the cost of breakfast, which must be paid in advance at the AOC registration desk by noon on Thursday, November 21.

Make your plans now to attend and meet Mr. Ivory in person.

On October 15th, nearly approximately 100 people attended a workshop hosted by AOC and the Criminal Justice Commission on justice reinvestment grants created by House Bill 3194 during the last session. Over 20 counties were represented.

"AOC led workgroups regarding reinvestment grants during the session and we'll continue to be engaged during the interim," said Clackamas County Commissioner Jim Bernard, who chaired the meeting and also serves as a co-chair for AOC's Public Safety Committee.

The workshop featured many key county leaders, presenting on recidivism reduction programs. Speakers included Marion County District Attorney Walt Beglau, Marion County Sheriff Jason Myers, Oregon District Attorneys Association Executive Director Doug Harcleroad, Yamhill County Commissioner Mary Stern, Yamhill County Community Corrections Director Ted Smietana, and Gov. John Kitzhaber's public safety policy advisor Heidi Moawad. Criminal Justice Commission staff Paul Egbert, Mike Schmidt and executive director Craig Prins also presented on the reinvestment grants.

House Bill 3194 allocated $15 million in reinvestment grants to counties, aimed at reducing prison use. An additional $5 million might be possible in the February session. This was in addition to $5 million for jail operations and $18 million for community corrections to bring the baseline grant-in-aid funding to $215 million. The Oregon State Police also received resources to fund troopers in counties that have suffered from timber revenue cuts. A Center for Policing Excellence will also be created at the Department of Public Safety Standards and Training to train executive leadership in police agencies and sheriffs' offices.

More discussion about the justice reinvestment grants and strengthening local public safety coordinating councils will be one of the featured panels at the November AOC Conference in Eugene.

The presentation and video are available on AOC's website at http://www.aocweb.org/aoc/AboutAOC/AOCCommittees/SteeringCommittees/PublicSafetySteeringCommittee/tabid/72/Default.aspx.

House Bill 3194 in the 2013 session did a lot more than send millions of dollars to local counties for public safety. The bill created two key task forces, which met for the first time this last month to help drive public safety reform discussion in the Oregon.

The Justice Reinvestment Grant Review Committee was created to review and approve grant applications for $15 million in local program funding for counties. Grants will be used to reduce prison use through recidivism reduction programs. AOC's representative on the committee is Clackamas County Commissioner Jim Bernard, who also serves as the co-chair of the AOC Public Safety Committee. Counties are also represented by Lane County District Attorney Alex Gardner, Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton, and Klamath County Community Corrections Director Kiki Parker-Rose. 

The committee will write rules that govern the grant for the next biennium, which will require local public safety coordinating councils submit the grant applications.

AOC will host a panel at the annual conference regarding best practices of successful Local Public Safety Coordinating Councils (LPSCC).

The Task Force on Public Safety also met for the first time, and will begin looking at key sentencing policy that was changed by HB 3194 and its affect on prison growth. Counties are represented by Benton County Commissioner Jay Dixon, Multnomah County Community Justice Director Scott Taylor, Washington County District Attorney Bob Hermann, and Marion County Sheriff Jason Myers. The task force will be co-chaired by the same legislators who co-chaired the legislative Committee on Public Safety which authored House Bill 3194 - Sen. Floyd Prozanski, D-Eugene, Sen. Jackie Winters, R-Salem, Rep. Chris Garrett, D-Lake Oswego, and Rep. Andy Olson, R-Albany. These four legislators also served on the initial Governor's Commission on Public Safety which submitted policy options to the legislature for consideration.

Several key leadership changes have occurred at the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) in the past few months. Klamath County District Attorney Rob Patridge was nominated by Governor Kitzhaber to serve as commission chair. The commission then appointed long-time Kitzhaber aide Steve Marks as executive director. A new enforcement chief was also selected, John Eckhart - former Portland Police Bureau Assistant Chief and head of security for the Portland Trail Blazers. OLCC leadership is attempting to rebrand as an economic development agency and will present at the AOC annual conference during the public safety and communications steering committee meeting Tuesday, November 19.

One of the key policy discussions at OLCC will be to modernize retail operations. With eyes on Washington state's recent ballot measure to privatize liquor sales, Oregon is poised to do the same. A legislative proposal might be submitted for the February session to allow some grocery stores to sell liquor but keep inventory owned by the state, protecting revenue that goes to counties. Counties currently receive approximately $18 million per year in liquor revenue from the OLCC. The OLCC Retail Innovations work group has been meeting to discuss a possible bill. Representatives of various liquor, beer, wine, and grocery/restaurant industries are on the work group.  Counties are represented by Lt. James Rhodes of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office and AOC public safety policy manager Patrick Sieng.   

The Oregon Association of County Engineers and Surveyors (OACES) annual fall conference took place October 22nd and 23rd in Bend.  It opened with an encouraging and warm welcome from Deschutes County Commissioner Tammy Baney who is also a member of the Oregon Transportation Commission (OTC).  

County road officials and surveyors met for two days to conduct business meetings for the organization and hear presentations from state and federal partners. Representatives from the Oregon Department of Transportation and Federal Highways spoke about MAP-21 funds for safety projects. Right-of-way acquisition and emergency preparedness were also discussed.

The group showed its appreciation to Morrow County Public Works Director, Burke O'Brien for his service as OACES President. Marion County Engineer Cindy Schmitt was recognized Engineer of the Year. Vance Swenson, Clatsop County Surveyor, was elected to serve on the OACES Board.   

OACES Officers left to right - Mike McHaney, Jefferson County, John Vile, Jackson County,  

Mike Berry, Deschutes County, Mike Jackson, Lane County 

The Oregon Geographic Names Board (OGNB) held its winter meeting at the State Forest Interpretive Center in Tillamook County on Saturday November 2nd. On the agenda was  the consideration of place name changes in Grant and Benton Counties.  

The proposals for Grant County were replacement names for "Squaw". There was a set of names originally proposed by the Confederated Tribes of Umatilla and an alternative set proposed by Grant County. Commissioner Boyd Britton appeared on behalf of the Grant County Court. Wilson Wewa of Warm Springs, a hereditary leader of the Burns Paiute  Tribe spoke in favor of names commemorating his people's presence in the area.  

The board accepted a compromise proposal moved by Oregon Historical Society Executive Secretary, Kerry Tymchuck to recommend five CTUIR proposals and six local Grant County proposals. These recommendations now go to the U.S. Board on Geographic names for consideration.  

The board also heard a proposal from residents of rural north Benton County to name a place Keas Corner. It was suggested that naming the place would give the area some identity and may assist emergency services. The proposal was accepted and sent to the National Board. AOC Executive Director Mike McArthur serves on the OGNB.

From the Mid-Columbia Farmer's Newsletter, Oregon State University Extension Service

Tom McCoy Honored by Oregon State University  

College of Agricutlural Sciences

Tom McCoy of Wasco was recently inducted into the OSU College of Ag Sciences Hall of Fame. He was cited for his years of leadership on the Oregon Wheat Growers League and the Oregon Wheat Commission, for his support for Columbia Basin Ag Research Center and Sherman Station, and for his many contributions to designing OSU ag positions. McCoy is currently serving as a Sherman County Commissioner.

Join us in congratulating Tom for this well-deserved recognition.      

Five federal regulatory agencies are issuing a joint notice of proposed rulemaking to amend regulations pertaining to loans secured by property located in special flood hazard areas. The proposed rule would implement certain provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (Biggert-Waters) with respect to private flood insurance, the escrow of flood insurance payments, and the forced-placement of flood insurance. Separate from the agencies' joint proposal, Biggert-Waters also mandated other changes to the National Flood Insurance Program.

The AOC Energy, Environment and Land Use Steering Committee will be discussing this issue at the upcoming AOC Annual Conference. For more information click on the link below:

A Memo from Andy Smith at AOCMHP:

SUBJECT: Medicaid Expansion---Names and Contact Info for Local Agents and Community Enrollment Partners

In case you haven't come across it, this is a great link to help get word out for "real people" to contact for help with Medicaid Expansion/Exchange enrollment. When I explored the link, it looked like there is a really great network of local entities across the state standing by to help.  People just don't know where to go.

Very simple, useful link below to share with your community partners:

http://www.coveroregon.com/agent/find 

Hopefully, Cover Oregon website will be up and running sometime this month, but until then, this network of contacts is a great alternative to hitting a dead end on the website.   

Alternative Fuel Vehicle Fund Hearing -

Scheduled for Thursday, November 7 at The Environment Center in Bend (16 NW Kansas St.), the Geothermal Working Group meeting begins at 9 a.m. and is open to the public. The agenda includes:

·         Surprise Valley Electric Co-op discussing the Paisley geothermal project.

·         The Oregon Institute of Technology updating its power plant development. 

·         State and federal regulatory agencies providing information for developers. 

·         A roundtable session with geothermal experts from California and Washington.

For more information and to RSVP visit here: http://www.oregon.gov/energy/RENEW/Geothermal/Pages/OGWG-Meetings.aspx

You may be interested in some upcoming training sessions provided by Travel Oregon and targeted toward visitor-related organizations and businesses to help them take advantage of the many opportunities offered by Travel Oregon. Find out how to partner with other industry members around the state to maximize your exposure to visitors. Every attendee receives a resource packet brimming with information and contacts for future reference.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND TRAVEL OREGON 101?

• Convention & visitor bureaus and chambers of commerce staff (DMOs)
• Owners/managers of lodging properties, restaurants and visitor attractions
• Organizations producing events that attract visitors
• Economic development staff of government agencies at all levels
• Tour operators, visitor services of all types
• Staff of heritage organizations, museums and interpretive centers

2013 SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING SESSIONS

• November 18, 2013 - Webinar Only - 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. - Register now
• December 3, 2013 - Seaside, OR - 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. - Register now

If you would like to be informed as new details are available, please send your request to Patti@TravelOregon.com.

Disaster Preparedness Workshop: Join procurement and contracting professionals from all levels of local government, municipalities, and state government at this workshop. The workshop provides the practical information, perspective, tools, and tips needed to be prepared and successful in the event of disaster:  Click here for more information about the workshop.

The 2013 Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) Roundtable Conference has been scheduled for November 12 at the World Trade Center in Portland. The topic this year is Exploring Development Finance in the Beaver State. For more information and registration information, click here.      

NACo has launched a significant upgrade to the NACo Grants Clearinghouse which offers almost ten times as many grant opportunities for counties. For information on the upgrade and what it can mean for your county, please see this NACo release.