President's Message - Pre-Convention Issue 2002

ACCA New Districts Take Effect in August

Twelve is better than 10, or at least that was the Association's motivation.

During the Legislative Conference in Madison County in late 2001, the Association's membership approved amendments to the organization's by-laws that increased the number of district members on the ACCA Board of Directors and Legislative Committee from 10 to twelve.

This change originated during our annual Board of Directors planning session last fall. With the release of the 2000 census, it was time not only to update our county commission districts around the state, but also to review and plan for changes in the Association districts. So the board focused attention on making the change a positive one for the membership.

Our work last fall was not, however, the first time the Association's districts had undergone change. Following the release of the 1990 census, the Association's districts were also altered. At that time district members were elected from each of the seven Congressional districts. But because so many counties were split into more than one Congressional district the Association decided to shift away from those lines in 1992.

In order to achieve districts that followed county lines back in 1992, it was necessary to increase the number of districts to 10. Each district, except the district comprised solely of Jefferson County, had about the same number of residents. But population shifts during the last decade changed the size of some of the 10 ACCA districts.

According to the 2000 census, the largest of the 10 districts (again excluding the district composed exclusively of Jefferson County) had a population of more than 450,000. The smallest of the 10 districts had a population of about 350,000. So the board felt that this imbalance should be addressed with new lines.

It was the board's desire to both make the districts more balanced as well as to encourage more participation on the ACCA Board of Directors and the Legislative Committee. It was therefore recommended to the membership that the number of districts on both the ACCA Board of Directors and the Legislative Committee be increased to 12.

This change means Jefferson County and Mobile County now have their own districts, with the other 65 counties split into the remaining 10 districts. These districts, which all follow county lines, vary in population by only 22,000 people from the largest district to the smallest district. That's quite an improvement!

Additionally, the changes made were designed to put counties together that have common interests. The new districts will result in some interesting arrangements for our district meetings this fall, but otherwise the changes are very positive.

These new districts will be used for electing members during this year's annual convention in August. I encourage those of you who are interested in serving on either the Board of Directors or Legislative Committee to look closely at the map on the next page and identify the counties that are in your new districts.

Remember, during the election of members of the Board of Directors and Legislative Committees, each county will have only one vote. And any county that will not be represented at the meeting in August by a county commissioner can authorize in writing its administrator or engineer to cast its vote. But that designation must be given to the ACCA staff prior to the convention.

I believe these new districts will serve us well in the coming decade and I look forward to the inclusion of two more commissioners on the ACCA's leadership boards. The extra input and advice will certainly be helpful.