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In Legal Terms
- Volume 53, Number 5 - 2009
A busy year ahead.
The Association staff is ready to kick off 2010 and hit the ground running!
Christmas is right around the corner as I write this. As usual, I’m not ready. It seems worse this year, like someone moved it up on the calendar. I suspect I feel this way every year, but I forget about it
because somehow it all gets done and
it ends up being a fun and festive time with family and friends. I’m
counting on the same result this year.
One problem with Christmas is that it falls at the end of the year, and while trying to enjoy the holiday, we are concentrating on our goals for the New Year and how to make them really happen this time. There is a little added stress this year since one
of my goals for the New Year is always
to have a productive and successful legislative session protecting the
interests of county government. Since the session starts in early January, the
office is filled with frantic energy trying to get ready earlier and gear up for the three-and-a-half-month disruption. This means I’m drafting bills with one hand, and putting bows on packages with the other. I’m not very good at multi-tasking, so it has been a challenge.
There is a good side to the session beginning earlier in 2010 – it will end earlier, too. That means we can concentrate on our other goals for the year a little earlier, helping ensure successful completion of important projects, which don’t require daily monitoring of the legislative process. I must say I am pleased about that, particularly since my list of goals is pretty long. I’m not going to share them all, but I thought the end of the year might be a good time to share a few things on the horizon for the coming year.
New Training Program
The most ambitious project for 2010 is final implementation of the County Government Education Institute, the revised training program for county
administrators, county engineers and 9-1-1 directors. You may recall one of the goals in ACCA’s 2015 Task Force Report is that “the Association should improve the delivery of training programs and activities to county officials and employees.” To accomplish this, an Education Evaluation Committee was created to evaluate and revise the current training programs for county employees. This committee worked diligently over the last year and a half to design a “revamped” training program for county personnel. The result of that hard work is the County Government Education Institute, scheduled to start classes in May
2010. You will hear much more about this program in the coming weeks – it
is an exciting new project, geared to provide county personnel intensive training in county government basics and in more profession-specific areas. And, one of the most exciting aspects of this program is that the basic courses will not only be offered to county administrative, engineering and 9-1-1 staff, but to personnel in all county offices.
In addition to revising the curriculum, another big change is that the program will be administered by the Association, meaning ACCA staff will be responsible for developing the class agendas and materials, securing speakers and class locations, handling registration, etc. ACCA Director of Public Relations Lori Quiller is assisting in developing this program and will be putting her best public relations skills to work in handling a lot of these important details. Additionally, education committees from the affiliate groups will help develop, monitor and alter courses to keep this program fresh, relevant and up-to-date. Again, this is all very exciting and a great goal for 2010, but it will clearly involve a lot of work by a lot of people – not just for 2010, but for many years thereafter.
Election Preparation
The 2010 Legislative Session is early this year because it is an election year for constitutional officers and state legislators. It is also an election year for county government with many county commissions looking at elections for some or all of their members. Election year always means additional work for the county commission and its staff – checking to see if precincts or voting places need changing, making sure election equipment is properly in place, overseeing many aspects of each election – and paying all the bills. Election year is busy for ACCA staff in part because it is our job to help counties remember all these details and to assist in resolving problems and issues as they arise.
In addition to the mechanics of the election, it is important to prepare for new county commissioners who will be elected in November 2010. The New County Commissioner Orientation Training, to be held in December 2010, will be a great primer for the new county commissioner, but truth is, he or she needs information about county government on Nov. 2 – the day he or she is elected. To address this, one of the goals for 2010 is to develop a
“new commissioner” packet – information about how county government operates and what the commissioner (and the county commission) can and cannot do, along with county-specific information about the workings of the county he or she has just been elected to serve. This project will require assistance from those in the trenches and the Association of County Administrators of Alabama has committed to work with ACCA staff to make this happen. Administrators have already begun identifying items that should be included in this packet, and I know they will help ensure that come Nov. 2, those new faces joining county government will have valuable information to help them understand
their role and be successful in their new job. Many thanks to those helping with this important project – another example of how those in the county make our job easier!
This is just a sampling of what is in store for 2010 – what looks like a hectic but exciting year. We will all work hard for a successful legislative session with a few bills to frame for our ACCA president. And, we will concentrate on other projects as well, all aimed at improving county government for those who work in it and for those county government serves.
Enjoy the holiday season and rest up – it looks like a busy year ahead.
Thank you to our many county volunteers, including these committee members...
2015 Education Evaluation Committee: Anthony Crear, Sumter County Engineer; Benjie Sanders, Crenshaw County Engineer; Betty Peterson, Madison County Sales Tax Director; Butch Burbage, Shelby County Finance Director; Patrice Posey, St. Clair County EMA Assistant Director; Donnie Smith, Chambers County EMA/9-1-1 Director; Christine Heger, Baldwin County 9-1-1 Director; Kirk Keith, Tuscaloosa County Special Tax Board Director; Jackie Thomas, Lowndes County Administrator; Max Armstrong, Blount County EMA Director; Matt Sharp, DeKalb County Administrator; Phyllis Little, Cullman County EMA Director; Roger Wilson, Walker County 9-1-1 Director; Richie Beyer, Elmore County Engineer; Roger Rendleman, Lee County Administrator; John Pafenbach, Mobile County Administrator; and Hon. Stanley Batemon, St. Clair County Commission Chair
ACEA Education Committee: Richie Beyer, Elmore County Engineer; Benjie Sanders, Crenshaw County Engineer; Anthony Crear, Sumter County Engineer; Henry Hawkins, Chambers County Engineer; Dennis McCall, Butler County Engineer; and Patrick McDougald, Barbour County Engineer
ACAA Education Committee: Kathy Lolley, Coffee County Administrator; John Pafenbach, Mobile County Administrator; Lucinda Cockrell, Sumter County Administrator; Wendy Swann, Lee County Government Relations Coordinator; Brenda Petty, Covington County Administrator; and Jackie Thomas, Lowndes County Administrator
AAND Education Committee: Melissa Dove, Wilcox County 9-1-1 Director; George Grabryan, Lauderdale County 9-1-1 Director; Lynn Wright, Calhoun County 9-1-1; and Christine Heger, Baldwin County 9-1-1 Director
New Commissioner Packet Committee: Diane Kilpatrick, Butler County Administrator; Patrick Simms, Etowah County Administrator; and Harry Sanders, Pike County Administrator
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