Save the Dates For:
122nd NACO Annual Conference
December 14 - 16
Younes Conference Center
Kearney, NE
ALL UPCOMING EVENTS
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Place your logo here and link it to any website
For details contact:
[email protected]
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| WHO SUPPORTS NACO AND THEIR MISSION?  Associate and Sustaining Members
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NACO Associate and Sustaining Members enable NACO to enhance its continuing education programs for county officials across the state. Visit NACO's complete associate and sustaining membership list
here.
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| Annual Conference Matters |
Registration is still open for the annual NACO conference that will be held at the Younes Conference Center in Kearney.
The conference dates are December 14th through 16th. Wednesday, December 14th is the opening session at 2 p.m. and the final day concludes with a Friday, December 16th breakfast, business meeting and awards presentations following through to a sack luncheon dismissal at about noon.
On-line registration will close at 5 p.m. CST. on Wednesday, December 7th. Registrations following that date and time will be accepted at the registration desk at the conference.
NACO Executive Director, Larry Dix will be presenting a brand new concept for conference management at the opening ceremonies. If you have an internet based telephone service, your conference experience will be changed. Attendance at the opening ceremonies will enlighten you about the changes the NACO board has proposed on your behalf.
Registration may be accomplished by clicking
here
. The general activities agenda can be accessed by clicking
here
. Group agendas can be viewed here.
Conference Keynote Speaker
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Aaron Thomas |
Aaron Thomas' father, Ed, was a beloved high school football coach, who not only trained generations of players on the importance of hard work, dedication, excellence, and commitment, but personally put those values into action as the community leader who inspired his town to rebuild in the wake of a deadly EF5 tornado. Not long after the community withstood the disaster of the storm, the small town of Parkersburg, Iowa endured a far worse tragedy...the fatal shooting of Coach Ed Thomas by a former player with mental health issues.
In this incredible story of ordinary people thrust into an extraordinary situation, Aaron Thomas shares his family's journey of showing uncommon strength during the darkest of times. Aaron will discuss how to deal with adversity and how to make the most of all opportunities. You will be challenged to look at your life, your family, and your organization to see if you are being a true difference maker.
Changes Or Cancellations To Lodging Reservations
Reservations may have been made initially under the county name but must all have individual names of who will occupy each room
no later than November 11, 2016. Any reservation being held under the county name after this date have been cancelled.
County officials should take note that the date for changing or cancelling any reservations for the NACO conference was November 11.
Any county making cancellations or changes lodging reservations after the November 11th date will be charged the first night's lodging.
Handicap Room Availability
If anyone is needing a handicap accessible hotel room to attend the conference please call LeRoy Janssen at NACO at 402-434-5660 Ext. 221. or email by clicking
here.
Clerks, Register of Deeds & Election Commissioner's Goodwill Project
The 2016 NACO Conference Goodwill Project has been described by Joyce Oakley, the Nemaha County Clerk. The project will follow similar guidelines as the 2015 conference donations. Personal Care items will be asked for from the conference attendees. Each NACO district will be assigned certain items that will be collected at the conference and
will be set for distribution to the state's Veterans' homes.
View the project in its entirety
here.
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Respects Go Out To Former NACO Board Member And His Family
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Dan Hostler
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NACO has received word that former NACO board member Dan Hostler died on Thursday, November 24th. Dan served on the NACO Board of Directors from 1995 to 1998 as the representative for Highway Superintendents, Surveyors and Engineers.
Daniel Jerome Hostler was born July 21, 1938, at Grand Island to Frank and Josephine (Placke) Hostler. He grew up in St. Libory and attended St. Libory Catholic School. He attended Grand Island Senior High where he graduated in 1955. Following his education, he went to Seattle, WA where he worked for Boeing until returning to Grand Island. Dan married Sandra Armstrong on July 25, 1959, at St. Mary's Cathedral. The couple made their home in Grand Island where Dan was employed by Hall County as Highway Superintendent, Engineer and Land Surveyor. After retiring from the county, he worked for six years as a courier for St. Francis Medical Center. He truly enjoyed his courier duties, as everyone he met received a "hello" and a smile. He was a charter member of St. Leo's Catholic Church where he performed many duties and served on the parish council. He was a Fourth Degree member of the Knights of Columbus. Dan was a member of the Nebraska Association of County Engineers, Surveyors, and Highway Superintendents. He also belonged to NACO and participated in many meetings. In his retirement, he enjoyed working on antique tractors and was a member of the St. Paul Tractor Club in which he had many friends.
To read the complete life legacy of Dan Hostler, click here.
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Board Training for Public Officials
Nonprofit organizations with gross receipts of less than $1M are required to file a Form 990 with the IRS annually. Imagine being a board member of nonprofit and finding out that the volunteer or employee serving as the treasurer of the organization didn't file a 990 for three consecutive tax years and consequently the organization is faced with paying penalties and federal income taxes, not to mention filing all the paperwork again to regain tax exempt status. Does this really happen? Yes it does.
Nonprofits in rural communities are generally organizations that raise money to benefit specific groups of people like veterans or youth or raise money for community betterment projects. Nonprofits can be churches, foundations, schools, arts and civic organizations, historical societies, housing organizations, etc. If you sit on a board as a community leader or representative of your county, you are probably responsible for the oversight of a nonprofit organization.
Vernon Waldren, Extension Educator Emeritus, will be the Advanced NACO Institute of Excellence presenter and provide the latest information all board members need to know to keep nonprofit organizations compliant and boards operating smoothly. The Advanced NACO Institute of Excellence will be held Tuesday, December 13th in Kearney at the Younes Convention Center from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.
The program costs $45 per person and is open to
all past-graduates of the NACO Institute of Excellence. This is a bargain, as Mr. Waldren is scheduled to teach Board Boot Camps across the state in 2017 at a much higher cost per individual registrant.
Mr. Waldren works closely with the Nonprofit Association of the Midlands and enjoys retirement by teaching many courses on Boardsmanship. He will focus this presentation on structure, mission, due diligence, finance and compliance. The information will be tailored for public officials, especially those who serve on nonprofit boards as representatives of county government.
The registration deadline is Friday, December 9th, 2016 and participants must pre-register! NACO will bill counties for participating registrations following the annual conference.
To cover travel and program costs, a minimum of 15 county officials is required to hold the training. To register or get more information email Extension Educators
Carroll Welte, or call her at 402.374.2954; or
Jessica Jones, or call her at 402.335.3669.
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| Grant Training To Be Held In Omaha |
Grants Training in Omaha, NE
January 9-10, 2017
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The Omaha Police Department and Grant Writing USA will present a two-day grants workshop in Omaha, January 9-10, 2017. This training is for grant seekers across all disciplines. Attend this class and you'll learn how to find grants and write winning grant proposals.
Beginning and experienced grant writers from city, county and state agencies as well as nonprofits, K-12, colleges and universities are encouraged to attend.
We are excited to offer Nebraska Association of County Officials members and their staff a special tuition rate of $425 which includes
everything: two days of terrific instruction, workbook, and access to our Alumni Forum that's packed full of tools, helpful discussions and more than 200 sample grant proposals. Please use discount code "NEASSN" to receive this $30 discount off full price at registration.
Seating is limited, online reservations are necessary. Tuition payment is not required at the time of enrollment.
Multi-enrollment discounts and discounts for Grant Writing USA returning alumni are available. Tuition payment is not required at the time of enrollment.
Complete event details including learning objectives, class location, graduate testimonials and online registration are
available here.
Contacts:
Janet Darling
at Grant Writing USA
888.290.6237
Sgt. Ken Fox
Omaha Police Department
402.444.4501
More than 10,000 agencies across North America have turned to Grant Writing USA for grant writing and grant management training.
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| Legislature Schedules Interim Study Hearings |
Although the 2017 legislative session won't begin until January, senators and staff are working on new legislation during the interim. Resolutions proposing interim studies are offered during the session to examine new ideas for legislation and to dig deeper into issues raised by previously-introduced bills. Public hearings are held on some of the priority issues selected by each legislative committee, including the topics that are of interest to counties. County officials are encouraged to attend the hearings and provide testimony. Unlike hearings during the legislative session, testifiers do not need to take a position in support or opposition to the issue, but are simply asked to provide input. Many of the hearings will be live-streamed by Nebraska Educational Television and can be accessed through the Legislature's website.
December 5
Transportation and Telecommunications Committee and Appropriations Committee
State Capitol, Room 1113, 1:30 p.m.
Nebraska Department of Road Needs Assessment
Open to the public, invited testimony only
December 9
Revenue Committee
State Capitol, Room 1113, 10:00 a.m.
2016 Tax Incentive Performance Audit Report presentation to the Appropriations and Revenue Committees
Invited testimony only
December 12
Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee
State Capitol, Room 1507, 10:00 a.m.
LR597 (Murante) Interim study to examine financing mechanisms available to various political subdivisions to issue bonds or assume future payment obligations without a direct vote of taxpayers
LR596 (Murante) Interim study to examine issues within the jurisdiction of the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee
Election Technology Committee
State Capitol, Room 1507, 1:30 p.m.
Study the longevity of the technology used by election commissioners and county clerks to conduct elections as of January 1, 2016, and the feasibility of updating or replacing the technology
December 15
General Affairs Committee
State Capitol, Room 1510, 1:00 p.m.
LR541 (Larson) Interim study to examine the economic benefits of keno
NACO makes every effort possible to keep abreast of changing legislation as it may have an effect on county government. The NACO E-line
will also make every effort
to report any interim study hearing notices that become available in future publications.
The Nebraska Legislature has released its
Tentative 2017 Legislative Calendar
At the beginning of the 2017 session, the newly elected Speaker will publish the permanent session calendar, which may differ from the tentative calendar.
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Legal Line
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Editor's Note: Legal Line is a feature that will periodically appear in NACO E-Line. This edition has been prepared by Beth Ferrell of the NACO legal staff. Legal Line is not intended to serve as legal advice. Rather, it is published to alert readers to court decisions and legal or advisory matters important to county government. For a specific opinion on how the information contained in this article or that which will be discussed in future issues relates to your county, consult your county attorney or personal counsel.
State Treasurer May Not Loan Money to County to Pay Judgment
Because a judgment against a county was made under a federal statute, rather than the Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act (PSTCA), the State Treasurer cannot loan the county the money to pay the judgment according to an Attorney General's opinion issued on November 4. The State Treasurer sought the opinion after an attorney for the "Beatrice 6" suggested that Gage County could request the loan under Neb.Rev.Stat.
§13-918 to pay for the $28 million judgment. The six were wrongfully convicted of a 1985 murder and sued the county and others for violating their civil rights.
Section 13-918 provides that if an award is made under the PSTCA and the political subdivision does not have sufficient funds to pay it, the amount must be included in the next year's budget. If constitutional or statutory provisions prevent budgeting for such funds in their entirety, the entity must pay the portion that it can and apply to the State Treasurer for a loan sufficient to pay the judgment in full. If the State Treasurer determines that the loan is proper, the loan is made from the funds available for investment in the state treasury and carries an interest rate of one-half of one percent per annum.
The Attorney General concluded that the plain and ordinary language of
§13-918 states that it applies to the Political Subdivisions Tort Claims Act. The claims in the case were made pursuant to 42 U.S.C.
§1983 and the judgment references only the federal sections, not the state PSTCA. Consequently, the State Treasurer lacked the authority to make a loan to satisfy the judgment.
The opinion noted, in response to a separate question, that the Attorney General was not aware of any other provision in Nebraska statute that would allow the State Treasurer to loan money to a political subdivision in order for a judgment to be satisfied.
The full text of the opinion is available
here:
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County Government Day PowerPoint
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The PowerPoint presentation is available electronically at no charge (sent via e-mail) for use by counties during their annual County Government Day. The PowerPoint provides a comprehensive look at county government functions in the State of Nebraska and can be customized by each county. CD's are also available for $10.00 each to cover processing, shipping and handling. To request the County Government Day PowerPoint electronically, please e-mail your request to
l[email protected]
. The CD order form is available
here.
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NACO's Directory of County Officials is a valuable resource that not only gives you names, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses of every county official in the state, but includes a listing of county board meeting days, NACO districts, county seats, NACO officers and directors, affiliate officers and NACO staff.
As of January 2016,
NACO no longer prints the hard copy of the directory and sends one to each county. The directory has been made a part of the NACO website through a clickable and searchable icon and will be updated as corrections are submitted. The directory on the website is downloadable for a printed copy and it can also be transferred electronically to office computers and devices with memory storage such as smartphones and ipads.
For a copy of the last printed 2015 hard copy directory, click
here for the order form.
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2016 County Board Handbook and Revision
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The 2016 County Board Handbook and related revisions will be available at the 2016 NACO
Annual
Conference in Kearney in December.
The cost for a current handbook, including legislative information from the 2016 session, is $80.00/book plus $18.00 shipping and handling per book. The 2016 Supplement to the County Board Handbook is available for $25.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling. The order form is available on the NACO website or by clicking here. If you are interested in purchasing a complete handbook and picking it up at Conference on December 15, please notify Deb Eberly at our office by November 30, 2016 so that you can pick up a copy at the conference. Copies of the 2016 Supplement will be available at the conference on December 15. For questions, contact
Deb Eberly by email
or call her at (402) 434-5660 ext. 232.
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| News From NACo |
Important Update on U.S. Labor Department's Overtime Rule
Federal Judge Blocks Overtime Rule From Moving Forward on Dec. 1 Start Date
On November 22, Texas U.S. District Court Judge Amos Mazzant issued a nationwide temporary injunction, blocking the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing new overtime pay rules scheduled to take effect on December 1, 2016.
Twenty-one states and dozens of business groups had filed
suit in the eastern district of Texas to stop DOL from implementing rules that they say would substantially increase employment costs.
On May 18, 2016, DOL issued the final version of the overtime pay rule. The rule would nearly double the threshold for exemption from overtime pay for professional employees, also referred to as "white collar" employees from $23,660 ($455 per week) to $47,476 ($913 per week). The overtime eligibility rate would also be adjusted every three years. An estimated 4.2 million workers would be impacted by the overtime rule.
Specifically, the court issued the temporary injunction due to DOL's attempt to increase salaries without consideration of an employee's duties. According to Judge Mazzant, "If Congress intended the salary requirement to supplant the duties test, then Congress, not the Department, should make the change." Although only temporary, the ruling casts doubt on future implementation of DOL's overtime pay rule. The court litigation and potential appeals process could drag into the New Year, and President-elect Donald Trump could take action to rescind the overtime pay rule, or instruct DOL not to defend. This rule is one of several that the incoming Trump administration has highlighted to roll back. Congress has already taken action to delay implementation of the overtime pay rule.
To read the entire article, click here.
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| NACo Webinars |
FirstNet: What Counties Need to Know About the Future of Emergency Communications
Dec. 6, 2016
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm CST
On Tuesday, December 6, the National Association of Counties will host a webinar to highlight recent updates from the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet).
FirstNet is an independent authority under the U.S. Department of Commerce that was established to create a nationwide interoperable wireless broadband network for first responders. The network aims to enable police, firefighters, emergency medical service professionals and other public safety entities to more effectively communicate during emergencies.
The December 6 webinar will highlight the progress that FirstNet has made in recent months, give local leaders an opportunity to engage with FirstNet staff directly, and provide details on how county leaders can get involved to ensure that there are no delays in bringing FirstNet to their communities.
For additional information about FirstNet and what the new network can do for your county check out NACo's 101 presentation on FirstNet "What Counties Need to Know About FirstNet: A Communications Network for First Responders" by
clicking here.
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