President's Message - Convention Issue
2003
Mary Buckelew Assumes Role as ACCA
President
Below is the text
of the speech delivered by ACCA President Mary Buckelew,
elected during the ACCA’s 75th Annual Convention
in August.
"President Johnny Flowers;
Vice Presidents Bruce Hamrick and Stanley Batemon; Immediate
Past President Mark Culver; Past Presidents Roger Hayes,
Sam Jones, Hardy McCollum, Larry Bennich and Pappy Dunn;
Members of the Board of Directors, Fellow County Officials,
Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen.
"This is a very special
moment for me and my family. This election is a tremendous
honor and I am certainly grateful for your vote and the
confidence you have placed in me. Being President of this
Association carries with it many responsibilities. You
can be assured that I will represent you with dignity,
class and confidence. We will not back down from challenges
and will make sure that the voice of county government
is heard throughout this state. I know that is what you
expect of me and it is what I demand of myself.
"Last year many of you
sat in this very room and heard President Flowers talk
about the difference between the two of us. He told you
that those difference help make us stronger and help our
Association work in a more effective way. And he is right
- there are one or two difference between my friend from
Perry County and myself. You may have noticed one or two
of those. And, I agree, that those difference do help
make this Association a more effective voice for county
government in Alabama.
"But the thing that we
have learned as an Association - and the thing that caused
me to ask for your vote as President - is not to look
so closely at the differences that we have. I believe
our Association has moved forward because we have found
that common thread that binds us as county officials.
The common thread that binds Perry County and Jefferson
County; the common thread that binds Madison County and
Geneva County; the common thread that binds Randolph County
and Greene County; and the common thread that binds each
of us in this room.
"Look around you, the
people in this room are your friends, they are your colleagues
and they are your partners in the fight to preserve and
improve county government in our state. Your friends in
this room are the people upon whom you can depend. They
are the people from whom you can learn. And, perhaps most
importantly, they are the people who will stand with you
when you need a helping hand.
"And it is that sense
of friendship, oneness of purpose and sacrifice for the
common good that sets this group apart from others that
would love to sit in the position now held by the Association
of County Commissions of Alabama. That is the common thread
that allows commissioners from the state's largest county
and commissioners from the state's smallest county to
stand together and to watch each other's back.
"Let me give you one simple
example of what I mean. Just a few months ago, our Association
sent out a call from one of our rural counties that needed
a van to use to provide meals to its citizens during the
summer months. The county is one that has limited extra
revenue, but has a county commission composed of public
servants dedicated to helping their citizens.
"The county's request
was filled in less than two days, with another county
providing the transportation necessary to help carry out
the "County Mission" in another part of the
state. The county did not ask for any publicity, just
the knowledge that the van would enable Alabama residents
to receive services that otherwise would have gone unprovided.
"I want you to look around
the state at other Associations and ask yourself if the
members of those associations help each other in that
kind of way. I know the answer, and I think you do too.
Again, that's the common thread that holds us together.
And it's the common thread that makes this Association
special.
"As I embark on my year
as President, my goal will be to help make that thread
stronger - to help you be more aware of the need to stick
together, to work for the common good and to do what is
in the best interest of all of county government, not
simply to do what is in the best interest of your individual
county.
"Just a few moments ago,
as I finished dinner, I took some extra time to gaze around
this room so that I could remember as many details as
possible about this evening. This is a memory that I shall
treasure for a very long time. I am confident that next
year this time, when my year is concluded and Bruce Hamrick
is embarking on his time as President, that you will remember
this year with pride and a sense of accomplishment.
"But as I looked around
this room, some of my excitement and pride was overcome
by a sense of regret and sadness. For tonight one of out
best leaders is not with us. Tonight, our friend Billy
Ray Williams was to occupy the chair on this podium that
is reserved for the immediate past president. And even
though I know he is in a better place looking down on
us right not, I am feeling a bit selfish because I wish
he could have been here with me right now.
"You see, he was the Chairman
of the Nominating Committee that proposed my name for
this position. I worked alongside him for years on the
Association's Board of Directors. And I know he would
have shared my excitement tonight. This Association misses
him and so do I.
"But his absence does
remind me of his love for this Association - A love that
went well beyond a desire to improve his county commission
and extended to a desire to see all of us succeed. Billy
Ray loved you and me. He loved the people of this organization
and he knew that it is the people that make this organization
so strong. I share his love for this group and I trust
you share it as well. Working for this Association is
a commitment that Billy Ray never took lightly and neither
do I. He was the best example of that common thread that
holds our group together. And I will work hard to make
sure that we build on the progress he - and other presidents
- established in our Association.
"We begin twelve very
important months tonight. The next few months are important
for county government, for this Association, for each
of our counties and for the state of Alabama. The voters
of this state will make a very important decision next
month. And then following that vote, our state leaders
will be making even more important decisions.
"As county officials,
it is our responsibility to be sure that these decisions
are made with an eye on the future and with an eye on
the level of government that is the closest to the people
- and I think you know what I mean. The people back at
the county level expect much of us and we expect much
of each other. I know you will stand with your Association
and its Board during this most challenging time.
"A few years ago, Mark
Culver stood behind a podium like this and told you that
we faced a challenge that would change the way county
government was viewed in this state - and that challenge
was the passage of Amendment One. You took up that challenge
and the amendment was ratified by a resounding vote statewide.
For the last three years, we have worked to build bridges
to make our county roads sage for school buses, commercial
vehicles and our citizens. I commend and thank Presidents
Mark Culver and Sam Jones for their leadership in the
passage of that initiative.
"I also want to take a
moment to commend the work of the county engineers and
their staff around this state. There were those who thought
we would never complete this work. Bur we are making substantial
progress - some counties have actually completed all of
their projects. And you are to be commended for your efforts.
"But as we move toward
the completion of this five-year program, I believe it
is time for us to begin to plan for a new program to follow
this successful effort. I truly believe that counties
have demonstrated - and this Association has demonstrated
by the way - beyond a shadow of doubt that county government
in Alabama can get the job done. We know how to work.
We know how to solve a problem. And we are ready to work
on some new projects.
"During this year we will
begin the work necessary to have a new proposal for consideration
as soon as the bridge replacement program is completed.
I need your advice, insight and suggestions for what should
be our next step - another project that can serve as a
common thread to bind our Association together and to
improve our state.
"And while on the subject
of county engineers, I want to make sure you all know
the important part all our affiliate organization play
in our success. Our county administrators, engineers,
emergency management directors, county revenue officers
and city and county managers provide our group with invaluable
leadership, advice and assistance. As a county commissioner,
you owe it to your voters back home to insist that your
employees participate in these organizations.
"Participation will cost
your county in time that these important persons spend
away at meeting, legislative sessions and educational
programs, but your investment will come back many times
over in improved professionalism, new ideas and increased
influence for your county. I encourage you to demand that
your staff members improve themselves professionally by
being a part of these organizations. And I encourage you
to demand tat your staff members become active participants
in these organizations so that our influence is enhanced
and so that the common thread that binds our employees
can be strengthened.
"During the last year
you all completed a survey identifying the good points
of the Association and the things upon which we need to
work. This survey is going to be the focus of much of
our work during the upcoming year. Our Association has
undergone substantial changes over the years - because
county government is constantly changing.
"I look forward to involving
the Board of Directors and many of you in our plans to
improve the Association and the services it provides to
counties throughout our state.
"As I mentioned earlier,
the challenges for this year will begin in just a couple
of weeks. Following the vote on September 9, some major
decisions will be made in Alabama. Much has been written
and debated on the need to fund education. And certainly
we must fund our education system, but the other important
functions of government must also be given a priority.
"If the tax proposal is
approved, more than a billion dollars in new money will
be deposited annually into a fund that will be dispersed
by legislative act. It will be our responsibility to ensure
that the non-education functions of government receive
their share of this new revenue. We have suffered too
long with state prisoners in our jails, departments of
public health and human resources that are under-funded
on the local level and economic development efforts that
depend too strongly on county commission "payments"
in order to attract new industries.
"It will be a tragedy
if this tax package is approved and we find non-education
services left without adequate funding. It is our job
to be sure that such a tragedy does not occur.
"And if the tax proposal
is rejected by the voters, the Alabama Legislature must
come back into session and pass a budget prior to October
1. This budget will either be based on cuts in state services
or some kind of revenue increases to fund government programs.
Either way, it will be in the Association's best interest
to be very active in the legislative solution to this
problem. If new taxes are considered, this Association
must stand strongly in opposition to efforts to fund state
government by changing the distribution formula of "shared"
taxes. There has been much discussion of that issue in
the last several weeks and I believe we have made it clear
that we do not believe county government should be left
behind.
"Now, I'm not asking you
to take a position on this tax proposal, I am just alerting
you that we all need to roll up our sleeves and get ready
to work. Because if it passes, we will have to work to
make sure that the revenue is applied to the state programs
that need funding. And if the proposal fails, we will
have to work to make sure that the solution to the state's
funding problems is not simply to pass the problems on
to the county commissions.
"I've seen you work before,
and I know that you will work again, on this important
issue.
"Our state stands as a
critical point in its history. Alabama will be a very
different place next August when we gather together again.
The vote will be taken in September and the legislative
decisions that are made as a result of that vote will
change our state forever. How will this state be changed?
Will it be for the better or for the worse?
"Well, those are questions
that we do not get to answer. Those responses are in the
hands of the citizens. But I know that when pondering
those questions, the citizens of this state will give
consideration to the needs of counties - because you and
I and this Association will see to that.
"This is going to be a
challenging - but exciting year. I am ready to get to
work and I trust you are as well.
"You - every one of you
- represent the common thread that holds our organization
together. Let's build on that this year. I know you will
join me in moving us forward and I know you will respond
when we call on you. Thank you."
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