Save the Dates For:
Assessors Workshop
- August 28-31, 2017
- Lied Lodge, Nebraska City
Agenda |
Registration
Southeast District Meeting
-September 14, 2017
-Camp Carol Joy Holling, Ashland
Register of Deeds Workshop
-September 15, 2017
-Holiday Inn - Kearney, NE
Northeast District Meeting
-September 15, 2017
-Ramada, Columbus
Central District Meeting
-September 21, 2017
-Holiday Inn, Kearney
Panhandle District Meeting
-September 27, 2017
-Prairie Winds Community Center, Bridgeport
West Central District Meeting
-September 28, 2017
-Quality Inn, Ogallala
NACO Legislative Conference
-October 12, 2017
Wildcat Hills Nature Center, Gering
ALL UPCOMING EVENTS
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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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| Borgeson Becomes NACo Second Vice-President |
Mary Ann Borgeson, Douglas County Commissioner became the National Association of County Officials (NACo's) Second Vice-President at the NACo annual conference in Columbus, Ohio this week.
In true Mary Ann Borgeson form she stated, "I am super excited to serve!" In an interview with
E-line, she outlined a couple of priorities during her tenure on the NACo Executive Board. The first one includes a programmatic initiative focused on the elderly since there is a fast and steady increase in this population for Nebraska and nationally. She is also looking at a policy initiative focused on agriculture. "Agriculture is of huge importance to Nebraska and our entire country," she quotes.
The NACo Executive Board includes the President, First and Second Vice-Presidents and the Past President of NACo. It is customary for the officers to proceed up through the chairs of the organization until after their final year as past president. Borgeson has been very active in NACo the last several years on several committees and when asked how her role on the NACo Executive Board will change, she said, "
As a member of the NACo Executive Board these next few years and being able to work more closely with our outstanding NACo Staff who continue to excel at what they do, will provide me with better access to our national representatives and officials so that I can ensure that counties continue to have a seat at the table while shaping policy that will be beneficial to Nebraskans and for all our nation's counties!"
Borgeson sees the strengths in the national association and adds that she "believes NACo's vision to achieve healthy, vibrant and safe counties across America reflects strongly on what we want for our Nebraska counties. She also sees strength in NACo's efforts to make sure those at the national level are aware
and understand how well counties operate and that we are willing to work with them in a cooperative and collaborative manner. Another strength is in how NACo ensures that while our issues may be political, NACo is not partisan and works for all counties!"
Lastly, and just as important she, "is hoping to achieve 100% membership from our Nebraska counties (in the National Association), as well as increasing membership from all counties. The NACo organization is a member organization and works hard for all counties. I want all counties to see that being at the table and being a member of NACo is important because together we are stronger."
Borgeson has been a commissioner in Douglas County for about twenty-three years and is currently the chair of the board. She has been serving on the NACO Board of Directors as a non-voting member and representing NACo for Nebraska.
To learn more about Mary Ann and other annual NACo conference news, click here.
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| 2017 Salary Committee To Meet This Summer |
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Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. ยง 23-1114, County Boards of Commissioners and Supervisors will set the 2019 through 2022 term of office salaries for all elected officials prior to January 15, 2018. So, County Board members will have some guidance and qualified assistance with this difficult yet necessary responsibility, NACO has once again established a 12-member Salary Committee (including NACO President William Tielke as an ex officio member) to collect and review current salary and benefit information, then hopefully publish a final report suggesting minimum salary recommendations for the term of office. The 12 members of the committee consist of six county board members (one county board member from each of the NACO districts and one at-large member) and one member of each of the six NACO affiliate organizations that represent elected county officials (assessor, attorney, clerk, clerk of the district court, sheriff and treasurer).
The purpose of the committee is to examine the salaries of the elected county officials and to make salary recommendations applicable for the next four-year term of office for the various classes of counties. The committee will be provided with information necessary to reach a conclusion for their recommendations, including but not limited to county officials' salaries, county populations and valuations.
We are hopeful that a report of Minimum Recommended Salaries for the 2019-2022 term of office can be presented at the October 12 Legislative Conference at Wildcat Hill Recreation Area, south of Gering, and well before the required statutory date of setting salaries for elected officials of January 15, 2018. Following the presentation of the report to attendees, copies of the report and supporting salary information of counties will be provided to all Nebraska counties.
Committee members of the 2017 Salary Committee include: William Tielke, NACO President (ex officio, non-voting member) Holt County Supervisor, Wendy Dethlefs, Hamilton County Clerk of the District Court, Shawn Eatherton, Buffalo County Attorney, Marvin Kohout, Saline County Commissioner, William Lewis, Furnas County Commissioner, Mike McGinnis, Box Butte County Commissioner, Judy Mutzenberger, Cuming County Supervisor, Amy Nelson, Fillmore County Clerk, Edward Rastovski, Saunders County Supervisor, Becky Richter, Hamilton County Commissioner, Mike Robinson, Washington County Sheriff, Barb Swanson, Polk County Treasurer, and Amy Watchorn, Dixon County Assessor.
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County Custodial Staff Workshop
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The NACO Board of Directors in 2016 gave approval to develop a courthouse restoration and improvement project designed to educate courthouse maintenance staff and those responsible to keep county properties in good repair. Jerry Berggren of Berggren Architects developed the idea after visiting several counties in the state and noted the need for custodial and maintenance staff and elected county board members to keep our historic keepsakes in top shape to preserve our heritage and remain functional into the future. A key component to honing and perfecting a suitable environment with building upkeep lies encompassed within the joint decision making of the staff completing the work and the county board members responsible for providing support through educational opportunities, financial backing, and a reflection of pride in the presentation of our county properties.
Berggren felt that a strong tie with the Nebraska community colleges would help to enhance the project ideas of education, geographic diversity and support from the community college program development staff. The Northeast Nebraska Community College was the first to sponsor and present ideas at the Spring NACO District meeting to county board members. The work continues in this endeavor to host a fall custodial workshop through the Southeast Community College in Beatrice in October. Other community college sites will be considered for future meetings.
The working group at this time is seeking input from county board members and custodial and maintenance staff to determine what type of training and education is most pertinent and beneficial for everyone involved. The one-day workshop will seek up to 25 two-person registrations. One registrant will be the maintenance/custodial staff person and the other would be the county board member chosen to attend who would take a lead role in educating the other board members of the significance of the maintenance role in building upkeep. October 5, 2017 is the projected workshop date. Further details will follow in future editions of this newsletter.
NACO is looking for topics of interest from county board members and county maintenance staff to determine educational presentations at the one-day workshop. After a general session, part of the day will be for staff education, part of the day will be for the education of the county board members and the day will conclude with a joint courthouse tour to review the lessons learned and to further the camaraderie of the attendees to develop relationships with other counties and their processes.
If you have a topic of interest that you would like to see on the workshop agenda please email
LeRoy Janssen or give him a call at 402-434-6225 Ext. 221.
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MIPS Bytes
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Improving your email etiquette
Almost everyone knows how to write a letter and we take a lot of effort to make sure our snail mail letters are well written. Emails on the other hand tend to sometimes fall short in many areas. More often than not your inbox can be full of emails with poor spelling and inadequate grammar. Consider the impressions your emails can make on other people. There is nothing wrong with taking a little extra time to spice up your emails to make them look professional and well thought out. A little email etiquette can go far in the professional world.
There are a few things that everybody should know about sending an email. Be sure to use the recipient fields correctly. Be discerning about your use of "To:" versus "Cc:" Why? Have you ever received an email where it's unclear who has the action because everyone is in the "To:" field? We designate the "To:" field for who has the action (could be multiple people). "Cc:" is simply for their information-with no expectation that they will take action on the email, other than receive it. If you want to protect the privacy of your recipients, use the "Bcc:" field (blind carbon copy).
Try to make the subject line useful. A good subject line provides a summary of the email to prepare the reader quickly. An email inbox can have many emails in it at one time, so having a good subject line helps the recipient to determine the priority of the email and prevents your email from being deleted. Since it is the first thing seen, make sure it is error free and to the point. Try to avoid generic subject lines. That way; spam filters don't block the email. Also, sometimes an email can be overlooked or go directly to the junk folder if there is nothing in the subject line.
When writing your email start with a greeting or a short salutation. Keep the email conversational and focused. It is hard enough to read letters on a computer screen compared to on a sheet of paper, so keep your sentences short and leave a space between paragraphs. Be sure to use proper grammar and spelling. An email reflects on its author and an email with spelling and grammar mistakes can reflect poorly on the author. An error-free email is easier to read and provides fewer distractions. End your email politely. Closing with "Thanks in advance for your help" can sometimes soften a harsh email and can provide you with a more favorable reply.
Other things to keep in mind when sending an email may include: being aware of your attachment size. Anything over 1MB can be rather large for people with slower internet. Be sure you are sending the email to the correct people before clicking the send button. Be careful when using abbreviations and emoticons. If a long response may be required, send an initial email letting the other party know that you received their email and a more detailed email will follow.
Email has become one of the main ways to communicate in the professional world. A little etiquette in your email can go a long way.
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2017-2018 Directory of County Officials
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NACO's 2017-2018 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.
The NACO Directory is also still be available in electronic format by selecting the
"Directory of County Officials" icon on the NACO
webpage. The electronic version is updated on a regular basis and contains the changes that occur between printings of the hard copies.
A printed directory is available for $19.00 if non-taxable and $20.00 if taxable.
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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
[email protected]
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The CD order form is available
here.
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2016 County Board Handbook and Revision
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The 2016 County Board Handbook and related revisions are now available.
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 or a supplement please contact
Deb Eberly by email
or call her at (402) 434-5660 ext. 232.
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| News From NACo |
Solar Eclipse To Draw Millions To Mostly Rural Counties
When a total solar eclipse darkens the sky Aug. 21 - the first to cross the country since June 8, 1918 - Grant County, Ore. is going to be an ideal place to watch.
It's directly in the zone of totality, the path where the moon will completely block out the sun for two-and-a-half minutes as it moves west to east, to South Carolina. Outside of the zone, observers will still see a partial eclipse. But that route will likely bring untold millions to a narrow band of the country that will see a one-in-a-lifetime display, to places with emergency departments not suited for such large crowds.
To read the entire
NACo News article, click
here.
The totality of the solar eclipse will cross Nebraska as well.. Check your local media for specific times and events coordinated with its arrival.
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| NACo Webinars |
Stepping Up: Prioritizing Policy, Practice and Funding Improvements for People with Mental Illnesses in Jails
Aug. 10, 2017
1:00 pm - 2:15 pm CDT
Contact; Nastassia Walsh
(202) 942-4289
Join the Stepping Up partners for the fifth Stepping Up Network Technical Assistance Call. On this call, counties will engage in a facilitated discussion on the fifth question of the "Six Questions" document: Have we Prioritized Policy, Practice and Funding Improvements? Counties are encouraged to sign on and join the conversation with national experts and county practitioners to learn about key prioritization strategies and processes! Please be sure to participate in or review the
August 10 webinar on "Prioritizing Policy, Practice and Funding Improvements" prior to joining the call.
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