FEBRUARY 23, 2009 Economic stimulus package signedPresident Barack Obama signed the 1,027-page...

BY LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS STAFF

President Barack Obama signed the 1,027-page American Reinvest-ment and Recovery Act–the major economic stimulus package on Feb. 17. As directed by the NACo Board of Directors, the association supported many of the provisions in the legislation that will benefi t counties across the country.

The bill included a mix of tax reductions, and incentives and fund-ing to reinvest in the nation’s ailing infrastructure, health care systems, the environment and many other aspects of daily life.

Over the next few weeks, NACo will be working with the proper offi cials to detail the many imple-mentation issues that will need to be addressed. At NACo’s Legislative Conference March 7–11, there will be meetings regarding implementation of the economic stimulus package.

Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Rural Development Provisions

Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program: Provides $1.38 billion to support $3.78 bil-lion in loans and grants for rural

QuickTakes

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES ■ WASHINGTON, D.C. VOL. 41, NO. 4 ■ FEBRUARY 23, 2009

Source: The Tax Foundation

INSIDE >>See STIMULUS page 5

Allegheny County, Pa. moves to recession-proof its work force >> Page 4

Lottery helps county¹s employees and real estate market >> Page 2

County board members in Minnesota and California decline pay increases >> Page 3 Library use grows in hard times >> Page 14 (Research News)

County Median TaxWestchester, N.Y. $8,422Hunterdon, N.J. $8,224Nassau, N.Y. $8,153Bergen, N.J. $7,797Somerset, N.J. $7,597

Counties with

Highest Median Property Taxeson owner occupied housing 2007

Counties with

Highest Median Property Taxeson owner occupied housing 2007

Photos courtesy of Valerie Brown

(l) President Barack Obama signs the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, also know as the stimulus bill, Feb. 17, at ceremonies in the City and County of Denver. (r) NACo President-elect Valerie Brown, Sonoma County, Calif. supervisor, and NACo Executive Director Larry Naake were among those attending the signing at the invitation of the White House.

Economic stimulus package signed

water and waste disposal projects. Of this amount, $968 million is for grants and $2.82 billion is for direct loans. This funding level fulfi lls NACo’s request to completely fund the backlog of rural water and wastewater infrastructure projects at USDA and will assist hundreds of rural communities that have been waiting for this funding.

Rural Community Facilities Program: $130 million to support $1.23 billion in grants and loans to rural areas for critical community

facilities, such as healthcare, educa-tion, fi re and rescue, jails, day care, community centers and libraries. Of this amount, $63 million is for grants and $1.17 billion is for direct loans.

Rural Business Programs: $150 million to support $3.01 billion in rural business loans and grants. The Guaranteed Business and Industry Loan funding will translate into $2.99 billion in loans for rural businesses, while the Rural Business Enterprise Grant program is allotted $20 million and is available to public bodies to encourage the development of small and emerging private busi-ness enterprises.

Rural Housing: USDA’s Rural Housing Insurance Fund will receive $200 million to sup-port $11.47 billion in direct and guaranteed single-family housing loans to help rural families and individuals buy homes during the credit crunch. Of this amount, $1 billion is for direct loans and $10.47 billion is for guaranteed loans.

Persistent Poverty Counties: The House-Senate conference agreement requires that at least 10 percent of USDA Rural De-velopment funding (excluding the broadband program) be allocated for assistance in persistent poverty counties. This is defi ned as any county that has had 20 percent or more of its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as measured by the 1980, 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses. NACo fought for inclusion of this provi-sion that will benefi t the nation’s 383 persistent poverty counties.

Rural Broadband: USDA’s Distance Learning, Telemedicine and Broadband Program will receive $2.5 billion. The funding is for grants, loans and loan guaran-tees with 75 percent required to go to rural areas that lack suffi cient broadband speed for economic development. The bill also pro-vides $4.7 billion to the Commerce Department’s National Telecom-munications and Information Ad-ministration’s (NTIA) Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) for

competitive grants to accelerate broadband deployment in unserved and underserved areas.

Loans for Beginning Farmers: $20.44 million for Direct Farm

2 February 23, 2009 CountyCountyNews News •

In My View ...

BY ROLF H. KRAFT

BENNETT COUNTY, S.D.

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS CHAIRMAN

Counties are in a fi nancial bind. Property tax revenues — the largest single local revenue source for most county govern-ments — are shrinking. And with this loss of revenues, county offi cials often fi nd themselves cutting services to balance their budgets.

Exacerbating this problem for many counties across the nation is the federal policy of taking lands into trust for Native Americans. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 was intended, in part, to restore some traditional lands to Native Americans for economic development. But when these lands are taken into trust by the federal government, local govern-ments may be adversely affected because the lands are no longer subject to local taxation. Since county governments are required to provide services for all people living in the county, this loss of revenue hurts everyone.

For example, the 2006 South Dakota Legislative Audit pre-dicted that Bennett County will deplete its general fund and be-gin to default on its operational expenses in less than three years without signifi cant property tax increases on a static taxpayer base. The prediction is coming true. Bennett County will not be able to fund its 2010 budget without tax increases or signifi -cant cuts in county services.

One reason for the property tax funding crisis is that 24 per-cent of the county consists of trust lands, which are exempt from county property taxes. As a result, out of a population of approximately 3,574 people, only 850 people currently pay property taxes. When less than one-fourth of the popula-tion has to foot the bill for all county services, the tax burden can become overwhelming, particularly when the median income in Bennett County is $25,313, according to the Rural Life and Census Data Center at South Dakota State University

(SDSU). While property tax increases will have to be consid-ered for the 2010 budget, Bennett County has a desperate need for an improved revenue stream from other sources.

It is time Congress recognizes the fi nancial impacts this policy has on county governments. In 2008, NACo members adopted two resolutions addressing the lands-into-trust issue. More specifically, NACo urged the secretary of the interior to “place greater weight on the revenue implications for county govern-ments when considering such lands, and deny applications to take land into trust when it de-termines that the loss of property tax revenue would have negative financial impact on affected counties.”

With a signifi cant population of people in Bennett County living on trust land that is prop-erty tax-exempt, a new source of reimbursement from the federal government for Indian trust lands seems appropriate. That is why I am proposing the Tribal Impact Funding for Counties (TIFC) program.

TIFC would be similar to the Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) program, which helps offset prop-erty tax losses local governments experience because of nontaxable federal lands in their boundar-ies. PILT payments, which are made annually, help pay for such vital services as fi re and police protection, road construction and so on. TIFC funding could be administered and used in a similar manner.

While the federal government has been providing funds for the administration of Indian affairs through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and directly to the tribes, it fails to acknowledge that many Native Americans live on trust lands outside reserva-tion boundaries and that these residents receive county services. But these services are expensive. To help offset this expense, the federal government should exer-cise some fi nancial responsibility by making TIFC payments to affected counties.

Trust Lands and Balancing County

Budgets

BY CHARLES TAYLOR

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Karin Gagnon has been renting from her parents in Prince William County, Va. since graduating from college last year. It’s all she could afford in this Washington, D.C. suburb hit hard by the mortgage and foreclosure crises.

But that’s about to change, thanks to Prince William’s Home Help Program. Gagnon was one of 167 county employees who were recently chosen in a county lottery to receive incentives to help purchase a home. County offi cials believe it may be the fi rst program of its kind in the nation.

County lottery helps employees buy homes, eases housing glut

William’s Board of Supervisors.He said the county has “a glut”

of unsold homes and vacant proper-ties. “By removing unsold homes from the market, we can start to lessen the downward pressure on residential property values. This is not only important to our citizens, it is crucial to coming out of our bud-get crisis in upcoming fi scal years.” The county faces a projected $190 million revenue shortfall next year, and county offi cials say the housing market has not yet hit bottom.

Over the past six months, about 70 percent or more of home sales in the county have been bank sales or foreclosed properties, according to Allen Scarbrough, the county’s

investment portfolio?’” Annually, the Home Help Program invests up to $50 million of the county’s investment portfolio — which can range from $700 million to $1 billion in value — in collateralized certifi cates of deposit (CDs) with SunTrust Bank. The county chose as its partner the bank that already held the county’s accounts.

“We call it a pass-through CD, essentially,” he said. “We can’t [by law] lend the money but they can, so we’ll give them the money and they can lend it out.” He said they worked out an arrangement whereby SunTrust would issue FHA and VA loans.

The CDs are purchased at market rates, Scarbrough stressed, so the county isn’t taking a low rate to help make the money available. “Written into our agreement with SunTrust is that if [they] cannot provide us market rates for any reasons, we don’t have to buy the CDs, and won’t until they return to a market-rate situation.”

More than 320 county employees applied to the program. Of the 167 slots authorized, the county lottery picked 56 uniformed public safety offi cers, 56 general county government and Park Authority em-ployees, and 56 school employees. Those chosen are required to open a SunTrust checking account, from which their mortgage payments are direct-debited, and they receive a $250 credit from the bank.

Stewart said the program can be an example to other counties “that they have a way to help ease the foreclosure problem without becoming a landlord.”

“The most important part of this innovative public-private part-nership is that it doesn’t expend taxpayers’ dollars and there is zero risk to the taxpayer,” he added.

Meanwhile, Gagnon, the recent college graduate, has been poring over foreclosure listings since last summer. She’s found several “very cute, very affordable” townhouses in her price range — $90,000 to $100,000. Four years ago, all she could have afforded in Prince Wil-liam for those prices was nothing “more than a cardboard box in somebody’s back yard.”

“I am so excited,” she said. “ I’m going to go get prequalifi ed, get a realtor, get my loan straightened out and go buy a house.”

(For more information about Prince William County’s Home Help Program, contact Allen Scarbrough at [email protected].)

“I woke up that day and I was just so excited by the concept that Prince William County was doing something so positive in a scary, scary economic time,” Gagnon, 23, recalled. “When Supervisor (John) Stirrup said my number and then my name, I about fell out of my chair.”

Under the program, a county employee buying a home in Prince William can receive a credit of up to 1.25 percent of their loan amount, which can be applied to closing costs or to buy-down the loan. For a person purchasing a $300,000 home — the maximum value allowed — that equates to $3,750.

For the county, the program is accomplishing two important goals.

“It will take unsold homes off the market, and it will put police, fi refi ghters and teachers into the communities they serve,” said Corey Stewart, chairman of Prince

treasury manager and one of the architects of the Home Help Program.

The program’s other benefi t to the county is perhaps less tangible. Stewart said that historically, 40 percent of the county’s govern-ment employees have lived outside the county, for lack of affordable housing in Prince William. For police employees the fi gure was 50 percent, and 60 percent for fi re and rescue workers.

“We are providing a higher qual-ity of life for those who sacrifi ce on behalf of us all,” he said of the program. “When public servants can live in the communities they serve, everyone benefi ts. Not only do neigh-bors no longer have a vacant house on the street, but now they have a cop car parked in the driveway.”

Scarbrough said the county had been wrestling for some time with how to provide more afford-able workforce housing. “I started thinking, ‘What can we do with the

Photo courtesy of Prince William County, Va.

Christopher Martino (l), Prince William County, Va.’s director of fi nance, reads the name of one of the winners of the county’s Home Help lottery. The program provides fi nancial incentives for county employees to purchase homes in the county. Treasury Manager Allen Scarbrough looks on.

• County CountyNewsNews February 23, 2009 3

President | Don Stapley

Publisher | Larry Naake

Public Affairs Director | Tom Goodman

Executive Editor | Beverly Anne Schlotterbeck

Senior Staff Writer | Charles Taylor

Staff Writer | Elizabeth Perry

Graphic Artist | Jack Hernandez

Editorial Assistant | Christopher Johnson

ADVERTISING STAFF

Job Market/Classifi eds representativeChristopher Johnson

National Accounts representativeBeverly Schlotterbeck

(202) 393-6226 • FAX (202) 393-2630

Published biweekly except August by:National Association of Counties

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© National Association of CountiesResearch Foundation, Inc.

Fourth annual NACo, Nationwide Scholarship

This spring, four high school seniors will each earn $2,000 for college from the NACo-Nationwide Scholarship. Applications and entries must be submitted online by March 15.

Information about eligibility, the judging criteria and notifi ca-tion process are on the NACo and Nationwide Web sites. For more information, go to www.naco.org/retirementscholarship or www.nrsforu.com and click the “Scholarship” link.

In Case You Missed It ...News to Use from Past County News

Keep up with NACo online ...

www.naco.org

BY CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT

Citizens feeling the deep reces-sion may take comfort in county offi cials thinking twice before taking pay raises.

Across the country, counties are seeing budgets in the red with some so severe that cutting jobs is not nearly enough. Full-time county offi cials are starting to take notice and forego pay raises, some even taking pay cuts.

In Hennepin County, Minn., commissioners voted unanimously on Feb. 10 to forego their pay raises for 2010, rejecting a 3.4 percent pay increase that had been approved in October 2008 and would have boosted salaries of $97,080 to more than $100,000.

“This is not just a symbolic ges-ture,” said Mike Opat, Hennepin County commissioner. “This is a direct recognition that as leaders our job is to be the fi rst to take a sacrifi ce.”

With an overall budget of $1.8 billion, Hennepin County has to balance its budget yearly. That

County offi cials give back pay raises

means more job losses and freezes across the county are likely in the years to come until the economy stabilizes.

In Tulare County, Calif., su-pervisors unanimously voted to decline pay raises in February that had prompted outrage from county employees and residents. The su-pervisors, who make about $90,000 to $93,000 annually, would have received a 4.56 percent pay increase beginning in March 2009.

The board approved the layoffs of 200 health and human services agency employees and closed clin-ics because of declining state funding. A pay raise for the board would have been unjust consider-ing the current state of the budget, offi cials said.

“When you’re laying off em-ployees, I don’t think anyone should be getting a raise,” said Pete Vander Poel, Tulare County supervisor.

Supervisors hope that other counties in the state will follow suit, saving the state of California millions of dollars and cutting into the $22.2 billion state budget shortfall.

BY CHERISE FANNO BURDEEN

With shrinking budgets and growing jail populations, counties across the nation are facing tough decisions on how to cut costs. National data shows that nearly two-thirds of the country’s jail inmates are pretrial detainees.

Improved pretrial services provide one avenue for counties to reduce jail populations, use resources more effectively and improve justice while maintaining community safety.

For the past 50 years, pretrial programs have helped ensure that defendants appear for court pro-ceedings without wasting costly jail beds on defendants who can safely be released.

Pretrial programs play an important role in helping judges make more informed bail deci-sions by providing comprehensive information on each defendant using research-based methods that assess their likelihood for failure to appear in court, likelihood for re-arrest while on release and need for pretrial diversion programs. Once judges reach their bail decisions, pretrial programs then supervise

Pretrial services reduce costs, improve public safetydefendants on release and notify the courts of any violation of release conditions.

Although operating a pretrial services program may appear cost-prohibitive, there are many models for providing these services cost-effectively, such as establishing a multi-county program, partnering with community- and faith-based organizations, or incorporating pretrial justice within existing structures such as jail administration

or probation. In central Virginia, eight coun-

ties have pooled resources for pretri-al services, which are administered by the nonprofi t OAR/Jefferson Area Community Corrections. Counties in Virginia have engaged in comprehensive pretrial services since the state enacted the Pretrial Services Act in 1994. The act gave cities and counties state funding to establish their own pretrial services agencies to systematically improve

the ability of judicial offi cers to assess defendants’ risk to public safety while ensuring their appear-ance in court.

“Because OAR/JACC has a long history of successfully provid-ing pretrial services, we as counties are able to take advantage of that expertise, maximize our resources and achieve a higher quality of ser-vice and effectiveness by working with them,” said Albemarle County Executive Bob Tucker. “Without this multi-county arrangement, it would be a challenge to provide the level of services available through OAR/JACC.”

Albemarle County serves as the fi scal agent for OAR/JACC’s pretrial services, but all of the counties that partner with OAR/JACC are represented on a Com-

munity Criminal Justice Board that reviews monthly reports and quarterly narratives on the work and progress of the organization’s pretrial services.

OAR/JACC dedicates six specially trained staff members to pretrial services. They interview and screen defendants using a validated risk–assessment tool on-site at two regional jails, complete record checks, make recommendations to the court and provide supervision to those who are released under certain conditions, which often include in-person visits, drug testing and substance abuse evaluation.

In 2007–08, the program com-pleted roughly 1,200 interviews

See PRETRIAL page 4


BY CHARLES TAYLOR

SENIOR STAFF WRITER

Allegheny County, Pa.’s unem-ployment rate — 5.9 percent in early February — is below the national average. But that’s not stopping the county from taking steps to help ensure its jobless rate remains in check.

The county recently announced a free tuition program at Commu-nity College of Allegheny County (CCAC), designed to retrain laid-off workers with skills that remain in demand. The county-supported in-stitution receives nearly one-quarter of its annual budget from Allegheny County, as well as capital funding, according to a county spokesman.

“Our program for dislocated workers is actually a part of the county’s over-arching program for laid-off workers,” said Alex Johnson, Ph.D., CCAC’s president. It will focus on training for jobs in fi ve fi elds.

Three for-credit offerings are in information technology support, welding and phlebotomy. Non-credit certifi cate programs will be offered to train certifi ed nurses’ aides and emergency medical technicians. Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato said, “These are fi ve pro-grams where we have companies that need employees or are having a hard time fi nding employees with this specifi c training.”

To qualify for the Career Transi-tion Center for Dislocated Workers, applicants must be county residents and present a letter from their former employers verifying that they were laid off. CCAC will pay tuition and fees — not covered by other aid — for up to 36 credits taken within two years of the student’s job loss.

Johnson said 500 individuals have expressed interest in the pro-gram and he expected 300 to 350 to be accepted when it begins in March. With tuition costing about $82 per credit hour, the program could cost the college more than $920,000. He said state, federal and foundation funding assistance are being sought — and that several individuals who believe in the program have anted up checks.

“At the end of the day, whatever shortfall we have, the college is willing to pick that up,” Johnson said. “If we don’t get any additional money, so be it.”

This isn’t the county’s first collaboration with CCAC. Last summer, the county announced a partnership to provide scholarships to train volunteer fi refi ghters. The Allegheny County Fire Volunteer Education, Service and Training Scholarship (FireVEST) Program

Allegheny County’s resources to help residents in economic distress also include a new Web site developed by the county’s Department of Human Services.

The Help in Hard Times site contains information about em-ployment, food, housing, utility assistance, health care, fi nancial counseling and more. It’s located at www.alleghenycounty.us/dhs/help.aspx. The site’s homepage aggregates information from a number of programs and departments in a single place.

“Not only has the rising cost of food, fuel and housing hit some hard, but employment situations have often stretched families and individuals to their very limits,” said Marc Cherna, Allegheny County’s human services director. “Knowing where to turn can be a daunting task for those who are unfamiliar with the process.”

County program trains laid-off workersCounty program trains laid-off workers

and pretrial investigations, made recommendations to the court in half the cases and received 687 placements for supervision. Of those under the supervision of OAR/JACC, 85 percent suc-cessfully avoided re-arrest and appeared in court for trial or sen-tencing — better than the national average, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. As a result, the counties saved hundreds of jail-bed days, their most expensive criminal justice resource.

To help county leaders learn more about successful programs like OAR/JACC and develop better jail management strate-gies, the Pretrial Justice Institute and NACo are publishing Pre-trial Justice and Jail Management: A Guide for County Offi cials. The

free guide, funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, will be mailed to all of NACo’s chief elected offi cials and posted online this summer.

The guide will be a valuable resource to all counties, whether rural, suburban or urban. It fea-tures model programs with diverse organizational structures, advice on how to use pretrial services to better manage resources, and strate-gies for coordinating services with existing county agencies.

To further understand counties’ diverse needs and help counties strengthen pretrial services, the Pretrial Justice Institute will also conduct a national scan of pretrial programs to assess counties’ needs, abilities and accomplishments.

(For more information about pretrial ser-vices, please visit www.pretrial.org.)

Pretrial guide provides advice for managing resourcesPRETRIAL from page 3

County Helps in Hard Times

Photo courtesy of Community College of Allegheny County

Through the Career Transition Center for Dislocated Workers at the Com-munity College of Allegheny County, laid-off Allegheny County residents can receive tuition waivers in one of fi ve certifi cate programs, including Nurse Aid Training.

recession ills, “and our sense here is that we need to be proactive in our response.”

Allegheny County and south-western Pennsylvania know all too well what can happen when industry goes bust— as it did 25 years ago with the steel sector and more recently when US Airways abandoned Pitts-burgh’s airport as a hub. Both cost the region thousands of jobs.

Onorato said the dislocated workers program might be ex-panded. “If a company comes to us and says that they are having a hard time fi nding qualifi ed employees … we may adapt a curriculum at the community college to match that need and offer that program to people also.”

“If we can show employers that we’re prepared to help train the employees of the future and use our public and community colleges to provide these trained employees, employers like that,” he continued. “Labor issues and having a properly trained workforce are very important to the employers, so we use [job training] as a part of our economic development tools.”

provides 200 full scholarships for an associate’s degree or certifi cate program at CCAC and training at the county’s Fire Academy.

The new dislocated worker pro-gram provides training to meet the needs of employers who continue to thrive despite the nation’s general economic downturn, said Dennis Davin, Allegheny County’s director of economic development.

He said billion-dollar projects in the steel and nuclear industries continue to have a strong need for employees. Two other sectors of the economy also remain strong.

“We’ve always talked about the fact that we’ve been very strong here in ‘eds and meds’ — the educa-tion industry and also the medical industry,” Davin said. The Univer-sity of Pittsburgh Medical Center is the county’s largest employer, along with ancillary health care services. The demand for nurses’ aides and phlebotomists remains high — hence the medically oriented training programs.

Johnson said he believes that the Pittsburgh area is going to catch up with the rest of the country and its

Number of years active in NACo: 10

Years in public service: 11

Occupation: Retired letter carrier

Education: B.A. History, State University of New York at Al-bany

The hardest thing I’ve ever done: currently learning to play the piano as a “non-traditional student”

Three people (living or dead) I’d invite to dinner: Thomas Jef-ferson, Abraham Lincoln and Jon Stewart

You’d be surprised to learn that I: am an avid backcountry skier and mountain climber.

The most adventurous thing I’ve ever done is: climbing (though not necessarily “summitting”) the volcanoes across Cook Inlet.

My favorite way to relax is: resting in “Nap Central” (my re-cliner).

I’m most proud of: chairing an ad hoc committee that successfully worked to design, fi nd a suitable location and build public support for a state-run youth detention facility on the Kenai Peninsula.

Every morning I read: Anchorage Daily News and the New York Times.

My favorite meal is: prime rib with lots of side dishes.

My pet peeve is: poor preparation for meetings.

My motto is: Let’s go!

The last book I read was: Traffi c by Tom Vanderbilt.

My favorite movie is: Groundhog Day.

My favorite music is: rock, regardless of the generation.

My favorite president is: Abraham Lincoln.

» Pete Sprague Assembly MemberKenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska. NACo Board of Directors

Profi les Profi les inin ServiceService


with no repayment requirement. The credit is available for home purchases up to Dec. 1, 2009.

Environment, Energyand Land Use

E n e r g y E f f i c i e n c y a n d Conservation Block Grant (EE-CBG) Program was funded at $3.2 billion, however, only $2.8 billion is strictly dedicated to the EECBG formula created through the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (42 U.S.C. 17151 et seq.). The remaining $400 million will be awarded on a competitive grant basis, yet to be determined. The purpose of the EECBG program is to help lo-cal governments reduce greenhouse gases and promote energy effi ciency in their jurisdictions.

The 2007 energy bill created the following formula for the EECBG program: 68 percent of the total appropriated funds will be given as grants to “eligible” units of local government; 28 percent will be allot-ted to the states; 2 percent to Indian tribes and 2 percent for competitive grants to non-eligible communities. In county-speak, “eligible” units of county government are those

Operating Loans, which mostly help beginning farmers.

Rural Energy Programs: Fund-ing for USDA’s recently authorized Rural Energy for America Program and bio-refi nery assistance did not survive conference negotiations.

Watershed Infrastructure: USDA’s Natural Resource Conser-vation Service (NRCS) receives $290 million for the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations Program and $50 million for the Watershed Rehabilitation Program. Contact NRCS through your local USDA Service Center (http://offi ces.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app) to inquire about these programs.

To Access USDA Rural De-velopment Funding, contact your USDA Rural Development state offi ce. To fi nd contact information for your state offi ce visit http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/recd_map.html.

Community and Economic Development

Housing and Urban Development

The fi nal agreement provides $1 billion for the Community De-velopment Block Grants (CDBG) for community and economic development related projects to be distributed through existing formula from FY08. Priority for distribution of funding will be given to projects that can award contracts based on bids within 120 days.

The Neighborhood Stabiliza-tion Program (NSP) receives $2 billion to help states and localities ease the burden on communities due to the foreclosure crisis. Funds will be awarded on a competitive basis to states, localities and nonprofi ts to help areas with the greatest number and percentage of foreclosures. Fifty percent of funding must be obligated within two years and 100 percent within three years. The legislation also repeals program income requirements.

HOME Investment Partner-ships (HOME) is allotted $2.25 bil-lion for state housing credit agencies to be distributed by formula from FY08. Each state would award low-income housing tax credits based on a competitive bid process.

Public Housing Capital Fund receives $4 billion to enable local public housing agencies to complete building repair and construction projects in local communities. Of

this amount, $3 billion will be award-ed through existing formulas and $1 billion will be released through a competitive process for projects improving energy effi ciency.

Section 8 Project-Based Rental Assistance receives $2 billion for full-year payment to owners receiv-ing Section 8 project-based rental assistance and $250 million for grants or loans for energy retrofi ts and green investments.

Homeless Assistance Emer-gency Shelter grants receive $1.5 billion to prevent a surge in homelessness, provide short-term or medium-term rental assistance, housing relocation and stabilization services, and will be distributed by formula.

Economic Development Assis-tance programs receive $150 million to address long-term economic distress in urban industrial cores and rural areas based on need and ability to create jobs. EDA leverages $10 in private investments for $1 in federal funds.

Competitive Grant Lead-Based Paint Abatement will receive $100 million to be awarded to state and local governments and nonprofi ts to eliminate lead poisoning as a public health threat to children.

Regarding housing tax provi-sions, the bill provides up to an $8,000 tax credit to taxpayers purchasing homes after Jan. 1, 2009

On Feb. 10, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced a multi-part plan to help get the American economy working again separate from the stimulus package. The goal of the plan, which could cost as much as $2 trillion, is to “protect taxpayers and ensure that every dollar is directed toward lending and economic revitalization.” The plan includes:

“Stress Tests” that would assess whether major fi nancial institu-tions (in excess of $100 billion in assets) have the capital necessary to continue to loan and absorb additional losses in the event the economy continues to decline.

Public-Private Investment Fund that would use government capital to leverage private capital to buy up “toxic assets” that are hindering lending, allowing fi nancial institutions to clean-up their balance sheets.

Consumer Business Lending Initiative that would leverage up to $1 trillion to help unfreeze and lower interest rates for auto, small business, credit card and other consumer and business credit.

Housing Support and Foreclosure Prevention program would use $50 billion to help strapped homeowners by reducing monthly payments and establish loan modifi cation guidelines for government and private programs.

In addition, the Treasury maintains that it put in place mecha-nisms to increase transparency and accountability of government economic programs. For example, banks will be required to show how they will use government funds to increase lending; limits will be placed on executive compensation, and lobbying will be restricted to avoid political infl uence in investment decisions.

Treasury Secretary Announces $2 Trillion to Spur Economy

over 200,000 in population and/or the 10 most populated counties in a state.

The EECBG program is under the auspices of the Department of Energy (DOE). While the guidelines for the EECBG program have not been published, the DOE has indicated the guidelines will be released shortly.

Smart Grid: For electricity delivery and energy reliability, $4.5 billion was allotted to modernize the electric grid. The funds will be used to enhance security protocols while ensuring a steady supply of energy.

Clean and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds: The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWS-RF) was funded at $4 billion and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) was funded at $2 billion. Notwithstanding the state’s priority list, priority for funds will be given to projects that are ready for construction within 12 months of enactment of this bill.

The bill requires states to use at least 50 percent of their allotted amount for forgiveness of principal, negative interest loans or grants. Assuming that there are eligible projects, the bill specifi es that 20 percent of funds appropriated shall be used for green infrastructure projects, water or energy effi ciency improvements, or other similar environmentally friendly projects.

Army Corp of Engineers (Corps): The Corps was funded at $4.6 billion. Priority is given to projects that can be scheduled quickly, employ the most people and have the least risk.

Other Environmentally Related Programs: The brownfi elds pro-gram was funded at $100 million and the Superfund program at $600 million. The Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA) grants pro-gram was funded at $300 million. DERA is instrumental in helping local governments retrofi t trucks, buses and heavy equipment with pollution control equipment. The Defense Environmental Clean-up Program was funded at a little over $5.1 billion.

Clean Renewable Energy Bond (CREB) Limits: The bill authorizes $2.4 billion for Clean Energy Bonds that are used to fi nance renewable energy facility projects, such as wind, biomass, landfi ll gas, trash combustion, etc. This is an increase of $1.6 billion over previous limits. One-third of this money is allotted for qualifying projects for state local and tribal governments.

Energy Conservation Bond Limits: The bill allows for $3.2 billion of tax credit bonds for

green community programs. This is an increase of $2.4 billion. The language also allows the bonds to be used to fi nance loans to individual homeowners for the purpose of energy-effi ciency retrofi ts to exist-ing homes.

Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs

One-Year Deferral of 3 Percent Withholding Requirement: In spite of the best efforts of local government associations and the business community, the fi nal bill adopted a one-year deferral of the 3 percent withholding requirement. It was hoped the conferees would follow the House lead and fully repeal this unfunded mandate. As it now stands, the withholding provision will take effect on Jan. 1, 2012. NACo will continue to seek repeal of the provision and will be fi ling comments in response to the IRS-proposed regulations concern-ing the withholding requirement. Comments are due March 5.

Help for the Municipal Bond Market: The bill contains a num-ber of provisions geared towards increasing investment in municipal bonds: 1) interest earned on private activity bonds will be excluded from the alternative minimum tax; 2) the small issuer limitation will be increased from $10 million to $30 million, which will permit small issuers to place their debt directly with community banks and 3) banks will be able to deduct 80 percent of the cost of buying and carrying tax-exempt bonds as long as their investment does not exceed 2 percent of the bank’s total assets. All three of these provisions will be in effect for two years.

New Funding Option: The bill contains a new taxable bond op-tion — the Build America Bonds program — that allows issuers the option of issuing tax-credit bonds in lieu of tax-exempt bonds for gov-ernmental purposes. The taxable bond option allows issuers to either receive a 35 percent federal govern-ment reimbursement of interest paid to investors or to provide investors a 35 percent tax credit.

Census Gets Additional $1 Billion: The bill provides for an ad-ditional $1 billion for Periodic Cen-suses and Programs to help ensure adequate resources to conduct the upcoming 2010 Decennial Census.

Neighborhood Stabilization Program gets $2 billion in stimulus fundsSTIMULUS from page 1

See STIMULUS page 7


Grants of $50,000 to $100,000 are available for the Coastal Counties Restoration Initiative. The grant provides fi nancial assistance on a competitive basis to innovative, high-quality, county-led or -supported ecosystem restoration projects.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Community-based Restoration Program is providing major fi nancial support for this partnership.

For more information, visit www.naco.org/ccri or contact Carrie Clingan at 202.942.4246 or e-mail [email protected].

Coastal CountiesRestoration Grants


programs of interest to counties: Violence Against Women Programs received $225 million; $50 million was allotted for Internet Crimes against Children initiatives; $40 mil-lion more for law enforcement along the Southwest border and in high- intensity drug traffi cking areas.

The Department of Justice will be required to submit a spending plan to Congress within 60 days of passage.

Homeland Security

The fi nal version of the Economic Stimulus Package would provide

The data collected from the census will be used for many purposes, including the annual distribution of $300 billion in federal funds to state, local and tribal governments.

Health

House and Senate conferees ap-proved $86.6 billion for an increase to the Medicaid federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for a 27-month period from Oct. 1, 2008 through Dec. 31, 2010. This will include an across-the-board increase to all states of 6.2 percent and addi-tional relief in the form of a decrease in the non-federal share based on the state’s unemployment rate.

It is estimated that the agreement will provide about 65 percent of its spending via the hold-harmless and across-the-board increases, and about 35 percent via the unemploy-ment-related increase. States will be required to pass the FMAP increase on to counties that must contribute to the non-federal share.

The agreement also raises states’ FY09 Disproportional Share Hospital (DSH) allotment by 2.5 percent and the FY10 allotment by 2.5 percent over the FY09 amount, including the increase, for a total of $460 million.

Conferees agreed to extend moratoria on the Medicaid regula-tions for targeted case management, provider taxes, and school-based administration and transportation services through June 30. They also added a new moratorium on the rule for hospital outpatient services through June 30.

The conference report includes a “Sense of Congress” that the secretary of HHS should not promulgate the rules concerning payments to public providers, graduate medical educa-tion and rehabilitative services.

The plan to kick-start the use of electronic medical records was also agreed to and will cost about $19 billion: $17 billion for incentives for Medicare and Medicaid providers to implement Health Information Technology (HIT) and $2 billion for HIT grants and loans. The legislation codifi es the Offi ce of the National Coordinator for Health In-formation Technology (ONCHIT) and establishes a process to develop standards by 2010 that would allow for secure nationwide electronic exchange of health information.

Two-billion dollars will go

immediately for funding HIT infra-structure, training, dissemination of best practices, telemedicine, inclu-sion of HIT in clinical education, and state grants to promote HIT.

The Prevention and Wellness Fund would receive $1 billion un-der the agreement, including $650 million for prevention and wellness programs like the CDC’s Healthy Communities Program. Health Resources and Services Administra-tion (HRSA) is allotted $2 billion for community health centers and $500 million for health workforce development. $1.1 billion is allot-ted for comparative effectiveness research.

Conferees agreed to provide a 60 percent premium subsidy for unemployed workers to maintain COBRA Continuation Coverage for nine months. The program will be administered by the Department of the Treasury and allow employers (or health plans if they administer COBRA benefi ts) to receive a credit against payroll taxes. People with annual incomes above $125,000 (single) or $250,000 (couples) will not be eligible.

Human Services and Education

The biggest change in human services funding is that the Tempo-rary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant’s emergency fund is now $5 billion. Originally, it was funded at $2 billon in the House and $3 billion in the Senate. The funds are available for FY09 – FY10. The total amount that a state may receive is 50 percent of its annual TANF grant. Originally the cap was 25 percent.

The agreement also includes ex-tending TANF supplemental grants that go to states with high population growth and low benefi ts through FY10. Two other important TANF provisions include clarifi cation that carryover funds can be used for any allowable TANF benefi t or service and a temporary modifi cation of the caseload reduction credit.

Child support, foster care, and the Supplemental Nutrition As-sistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) also fared very well. The agreement extends states’ ability to use child support enforcement incentive funds to draw down federal funds through Sept. 30, 2010. The FMAP increase, with the excep-tion of the targeted increase, will also apply to foster care Title IV-E

payments. There is a temporary increase of 13.6 percent in SNAP benefi ts as well as $145 million in FY09 and $150 million in FY10 for increased state administrative costs. The agreement also eases the SNAP work requirements for single adults through 2010.

The only proposed human service program increases that were not included in the fi nal agreement were those for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program and the Social Services Block Grant.

The Child Care Development Block Grant received $2 billion, Head Start $1 billion, Early Head Start $1.1 billion, and the Com-munity Services Block Grant $1 billion. Nutrition programs for the elderly also received a boost: $65 million for Older Americans Act congregate meals and $32 million for home-delivered meals.

One of the biggest changes in the education funding is there will be no line item for school construction. That funding will not be under $53.6 billion. State Fiscal Stabilization Fund: Most of the state allocation, 81.8 percent, is dedicated to elementary, secondary and postsecondary education, and can also be used for early childhood education and services. Governors may use up to 18.2 percent of their allocation for school construction, modernization and renovation. Other education increases include $10 billion for Elementary and Secondary Education Title grants to local education agencies, and $11.7 billion for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act state grants.

Justice and Public Safety

The Byrne JAG formula grant program received $2 billion; Byrne Competitive Grants is funded at $225 million. The COPS program received $1 billion for the hiring and rehiring of additional career law enforcement offi cers. The bill waives the 25 percent local match and the $75,000 per offi cer cap.

Law enforcement in rural areas got a $125 million boost to combat the persistent problems of drug-related crime in rural America. Funds will be available on a com-petitive basis and include funding for the hiring of police offi cers and for community drug prevention and treatment programs

In other justice and public safety

roughly $610 million dollars in competitive grants to local govern-ments. Notably, the legislation proposes $150 million for public transportation and railroad security assistance, $150 million for Port Security Grants, and $100 million for FEMA’s Emergency Food and Shelter Program.

The legislation also provides $210 million for FEMA’s Firefi ghter Assis-tance Grant Program for modifying, upgrading or constructing local fi re stations. Finally, the legislation re-moves the $5 million cap on FEMA’s Community Disaster Loan Program for eligible applicants who applied in 2008, and authorizes funding for redeveloping foreclosed and aban-doned homes damaged or destroyed

TANF block grant emergency fund boosted to $5 billion for FY09 – 10STIMULUS from page 5

See STIMULUS page 8


Stimulus to provide more than $36 billion for unemployment insurance benefi tsSTIMULUS from page 7

as a result of the 2005 hurricanes, severe fl ooding in the Midwest in 2008, and other natural disasters.

Labor and Employment

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (H.R. 1) contains considerable boosts for job training programs. Under H.R.1, an addi-tional $5.1 billion will be provided for existing workforce development and related programs administered by the Department of Labor.

The new stimulus package will

provide funding for a number of existing workforce development pro-grams, including three state formula grant programs that provide funding for youth, adult and dislocated work-ers — Title I-B of the WIA. Other programs authorized by the WIA will also receive funding.

WIA Title I Programs — $2.9 billion for state job training grants: to provide funding for state formula grants for adult, youth and dislocated worker training and employment activities. Funds will be allocated through existing state grant formulas.

$500 million for Adult Employ-ment and Training: to be provided for adult employment and training activities. Funds will be allocated through existing state grant for-mulas.

$1.2 billion for Youth Activities: to be for grants for youth activities, including summer employment. The age limit for eligible youth under this program is changed from 21 to 24.

$1.25 billion for Dislocated Workers

$750 million for high-growth and emerging industry sector grants: to provide worker training and placement in high-growth and emerging industries. Of the total proposed allotment, $500 million will be reserved for research, labor exchange and job training projects that prepare workers for energy-effi ciency and renewable energy industries.

$200 million for national emergency grants: to be used for grants to eligible entities to serve workers affected by major economic dislocations (i.e. plant closures or mass layoffs).

$50 million for Youthbuild: to be used for funding Youthbuild activities.

Additional Workforce Development Funding

$120 million for the Commu-nity Service Employment for Older Americans program

$250 million for JobCorps $400 million for State Employ-

ment Service Grants for state unemployment insurance and employment services operations, of which, $250 million will be allocated for reemployment services for un-employment insurance claimants.

$80 million for the enforcement of worker protection laws for the enforcement of worker protection laws, oversight and coordination activities.

Unemployment Insurance Benefits

$36 billion for Unemployment Insurance Benefits: More than $36 billion will be allocated to provide unemployment insurance benefi ts, with $27 billion allotted to continue the current extended unemployment benefi ts program, and $9 billion to increase the current average unemployment insurance benefi t.

Public Lands

Public Lands and Natural Resources Provisions

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes funding for key public lands management

agencies. Bureau of Land Manage-ment construction, land manage-ment and wildland fi re was funded at $320 million. Fish and Wildlife Service resource management and construction was funded at $280 million. National Park Service operations and construction was funded at $750 million.

USGS surveys, investigations and research was funded at $140 million. USDA Forest Service capi-tal improvement and maintenance received $650 million. USDA Forest Service wildland fi re management programs were funded at $500 million. Bureau of Reclamation water project funding was listed at $1 billion.

Telecommunications and Technology

BroadbandThe bill splits broadband grant

funding between the National Tele-communications and Information Administration (NTIA — $4.7 bil-lion) and Rural Utility Service (RUS — $2.5 billion). After deductions

for various funding requirements that won’t go to broadband grants and for administrative costs, the NTIA grant amount will probably be around $3.8 billion.

The NTIA grant program has very fl exible criteria, giving the NTIA considerable leeway in determining grant award win-ners. It doesn’t defi ne “unserved” and “underserved,” nor does it set minimum data transfer speed requirements. The former should help municipalities in suburban and perhaps even urbanized areas, while both the former and the latter may help incumbents. (Both public and private providers will be eligible.) All grants are to be awarded by Sept. 30, 2010. Net neutrality is required, as defi ned by NTIA in consultation with the FCC.

The RUS program will focus on rural areas, and 75 percent of the funds must go to such areas that also lack suffi cient access to broadband. The program will also give priority to deployment of com-petitive broadband systems, which should help municipalities, but possibly hurt incumbent providers. There is some language about pref-erence for “open” networks, but

Word SearchCounties Named after AnimalsD P U I N S C R V D L E O I O I A O Z BN T B I B O E Y E L C L P U T S K F G AQ Y V B N H U Q E V Y G A A T L D N S VI O C E N C V H U O A A H H E A Z I G PA L J V V O S R D A F E W O R F C A N UK O V C C L I W S G T C B F T A T U I ZS P N B E K X B F W W C M K A I P A W CE D Z S E P O L E T N A H Z I P H Y W OM K S B E A V E R H E A D I L S A H O NE U A Y U E E T A N A M Z P E L L Z R EM H F L A F F A C K E G M K O G W S C CU O J Y R X F B E L K S U B X O T S Q UD Z R K M A J A O V F A U J D M E V Y HR B Y N K M E G L G W S Q A F V V V R QT H Z Y J X W B N O H I N A J E W P A JE G P E D E P B D A N Q Z S B M I F A MZ U H B I O T Q B D Y Q U B I G H O R NG Y S C S Q Q T S V T J C E J Z H W W EA W J J T I O F W D W N R W O D C X M HC X X B X H M E X H T B O X N Z L O V R

ANTELOPEBEAR LAKEBEAVERBEAVERHEADBIG HORNBUFFALOCONECUH (Muscogee - Polecat Head)

CONEJOS (Spanish - Rabbits)CROW WINGEAGLEELKELKOMANATEEMUSSELSHELLOTTER TAIL

SEQUATCHIE (Cherokee – Opossum)WAUKESHA (Potawatomi – Foxes)YALOBUSHA (Native American – Tadpole)

Source: Reference.com Created by Christopher Johnson

See STIMULUS page 9

NACo’s 2009Legislative Conference

NACo’s 2009Legislative Conference

Register today!Register today!

Washington, DC • March 7–11

NACo needs YOU in D.C. to Restore the Partnership with the federal government

Register online and save $25 at www.naco.org.


it is apparently much softer than the NTIA program net neutrality requirement.

Preference will be given to cur-rent and former RUS telephone loan recipients. On the other hand, no area receiving RUS funding under the program will be eligible for the NTIA fund program.

Transportation

The stimulus bill provides $48.1 billion for transportation programs. In most cases the legislation includes 100 percent funding with no match requirements, however there are “use it or lose it” provisions or time limits for spending the funds in most categories, and a number of oversight and transparency report-ing requirements.

Highways and BridgesThe bill provides $27.5 billion for

highways and bridges. Fifty percent

of the money will be distributed to the states based on states’ 2008 share of highway and bridge dollars and 50 percent using the Surface Transportation Program (STP) formula. The funds can be used for any STP-eligible project with no state or local match required.

In a victory for NACo, the legislation requires that 30 percent of the funds apportioned to each state be sub-allocated within a state using the existing STP formula, which distributes funds to areas over 200,000 in population, under 200,000 and under 5,000. This totals to about $8 billion. These are the funds that, generally, county governments will have access to and in large metropolitan areas are programmed by the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO). The House bill did not include this provision. Additionally, 3 percent of each state’s share will be available to the Enhancement Program, which counties have often been able to use for their local projects. This totals to about $800 million.

There are several other set-asides, including $310 million for Indian reservation roads and $170 million national park roads, $60 million

for the Forest Highway Program, $10 million for Refuge Roads and $20 million for highway surface transportation and technology train-ing. The remaining $17.9 million will be spent at the discretion of the states.

Generally, 50 percent of the highway funds must be obligated within 120 days and 50 percent within one year. The $8 billion in funds sub-allocated have a year to be obligated.

Competitive Grants for Surface Transportation

The bill includes $1.5 billion for new discretionary/ competitive grants to state and local govern-ments for transportation projects. Highways, bridges, transit, rail and ports are eligible. Grants would be made in the $20 million to $300 million range and generally need to be completed in three years. Funds must refl ect an equitable geographic distribution and balance between addressing urban and rural needs.

Mass TransitThe bill provides $8.4 billion for

mass transit, most of which goes to local governments and all with

a 100 percent federal share. The transit formula program will receive $6.9 billion with 80 percent going to urbanized areas, 10 percent to rural areas and 10 percent to high-growth and high-density regions.

Within this formula there is a set-aside for tribal transit needs and $100 million for grants to transit agencies to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gases. The fi xed guideway modernization program will distribute $750 million in formula grants.

For both these formula programs, recipients will have 180 days after grant awards to obligate 50 percent of the money and two years after the award for the remaining 50 percent. The new-starts program will receive $750 million, and priority will be given to projects that are currently under construction or can be obli-gated within 150 days.

AviationThe bill provides $1.1 billion for

the Airport Improvement Program (AIP), which provides grants to locally owned airports, with a 100 percent federal share. Unlike the existing AIP program, the spend-ing will be all discretionary rather

than formula and must be applied for. Fifty percent of the grants must be awarded within 120 days and the remaining 50 percent within one year.

RailThe rail section of the bill pro-

vides for $9.3 billion in spending. Amtrak would receive $850 million for capital projects with priority given to repair, rehabilitation and upgrading of rail infrastructure. An additional $450 million is provided for security grants. The largest rail funding is $8 billion for high-speed rail. The secretary of transportation is given fl exibility in allocating these funds with the goal of advancing the deployment of intercity high-speed rail service in the United States. It is not clear how these funds are to be spent on upgrading existing rail service versus the development of new high-speed rail routes.

This is only a snapshot of all the provisions in the legislation, and it is too early to know how the funding will fl ow to county governments and when they can expect it. NACo will continue to monitor circumstances and will keep members informed as new information is available.

Stimulus law includes $27.5 billion for highways, bridges; rail funds riseSTIMULUS from page 8


artsarts and and culture culture award programaward program

2009

NACo’s Arts and Culture Commission is pleased to announce the 5th Annual County Arts and Culture Award program.

This award is designed to recognize county governments for their efforts in enriching Americans’ cultural and intellectual life, promoting lifelong learning and protecting the national heritage by supporting local museums and other cultural institutions, supporting historic preservation, helping children succeed in school, work, and life through arts education, and supporting America’s nonprofi t arts organizations.

Eligible programs could include a public-private partnership created to fund an arts activity; an innovative approach to solving an existing problem, such as delinquency, with an arts program targeted to at-risk youth; development of a community-based arts program for low-income public housing residents or a unique idea for saving an historical building or statue. All programs and projects involving counties and the arts may participate in this awards program, which is underwritten by corporate sponsors.

For additional information on this award, please contact Kathryn Murphy at 202.661.8806 or [email protected] or visit www.naco.org.

celebrating celebrating creativity and public access to the artscreativity and public access to the arts

Application Deadline: April 17, 2009


»Monmouth County, N.J.

What’s in a Seal?

www.visitmonmouth.com

The use of offi cial seals is a practice handed down from old English law, in which individuals and offi cials from the king on down used a distinctive seal as a means of authenticating offi cial documents. No document, even those signed by the king himself, was considered valid and effective without the offi cial seal.

In fact, so important was the seal that an offi cial custodian of the seal was appointed to safeguard it from loss or improper use. This custom prevails to this day, where, by law the clerk of the Board of Chosen Freeholders has custody of the common seal of the county.

The Monmouth County seal was authorized by the freeholders as indicated by the following excerpt from the minutes of the Board of Chosen Freeholders, on May 9, 1798: “Ordered by said Board that Jacob Holms get a seal made the size to be the bigness of half a dollar and the device to be the plough and the letters Monmouth on the face,” James R. English, clerk.

The use of the image of a plow on seals was quite common in 18th Century New Jersey. Plows can be found on the Surrogates Seal, the Great Seal of the State of New Jersey and various coins minted in early America.

In modern times, the seal has been made into a die which is then used to create an impression on a document by crimping the paper.

(If you would like your county’s seal featured, please contact Christopher Johnson at 202/942-4256 or [email protected].)

County, city agencies build community across generations

Photo courtesy of New Columbia/Housing Authority of Portland

Kids play at one of the events planned to bring together New Columbia residents and neighbors from the surrounding community.

Why would a staff at a county-based area Agency on Aging want to assume a leadership role in a community planning process at a mixed-use and mixed-income housing development? Because they realized that with the help of the “Viable Futures Toolkit” they didn’t have to do it alone.

The toolkit offers ideas for planners, policymakers, service providers and funders to simulta-neously address the needs of older and younger generations, and the livability of their communities. It was developed with the input of a broad-based group of technical advisors, including NACo.

Take a look at New Columbia, in North Portland, Ore., and how a group of governmental agencies and community-based organizations used the toolkit in a planning process to create and implement strategies that played a key role in making this neighbor-hood a better place for people of all ages to live. Available at www.viablefuturestoolkit.org, this resource can give guidance to any county agency interested in fi nding ways to stretch their own achievements, even in tough fi scal times.

New Columbia is a nationally-recognized HOPE VI project where the Housing Authority of Portland (HAP) transformed the ailing World War II Columbia Villa into an eco-friendly com-munity campus with housing and amenities for families, children and seniors.

If this sounds like Pacifi c North-west nirvana, you may be wonder-ing what kind of intervention was needed. Let’s get a better picture of some of the challenges:

• an 82-acre site with 2,500 people from 22 countries, including 1,300-plus children, who had moved there over the past two years

• some of Portland’s poorest and most ethnically diverse citizens, living side-by-side with privately owned homes of higher-income families

• struggles with how to build community among all of this diversity, and

• intense public scrutiny and some skepticism about the likely success of the project.

Multnomah County Gets Involved

As the designated Area Agency on Aging, Multnomah County’s Aging and Disability Services Division (ADSD) is responsible for planning and coordinating a comprehensive system of support-ive services that helps older adults enhance or maintain their inde-pendence, health and well-being. ADSD wanted to improve services provided to the New Columbia population and needed a road map for how best to accomplish this. When the opportunity arose to become a pilot site for the toolkit, ADSD proposed testing it at New Columbia.

The challenges at New Co-lumbia were viewed as a twofold opportunity — to build community among residents and also engage new partners in community devel-opment. New Columbia provided a prime opportunity as a “living laboratory” to test the components of the toolkit. Over a year’s pe-riod, stakeholders from housing, aging, youth, transportation and multipurpose organizations met in a planning process coordinated by ADSD in partnership with HAP.

The toolkit created room to revisit the realization that prob-lems are usually — but should

not be — tackled within silos (e.g., senior-serving organizations think-ing about problems of older adults and youth-serving organizations focusing on kids). To providers of social services in Portland, this is certainly not a new concept. But the toolkit presented and reinforced the idea in concrete ways. It supported discussions to fi nd common ground, identify the best ways to develop opportunities for engagement in the neighbor-hood — and build the capacity of Multnomah County, HAP and partner organizations with the mission to serve North Portland to meet and adapt to the evolving needs of the community.

Results Partners agreed upon priority

areas and these became the focus of each meeting’s discussion. This led to implementation of several initiatives that are improv-ing quality of life in the areas of environmental stewardship, com-munity safety, healthy lifestyles and youth development. Now there is enhanced interaction across generations, racial/ethnic groups, and community-serving agencies. Some highlights include:

• Reach and Teach Pocket Park Events — Local agencies come to New Columbia to share resources and support the community

• Adopt a Raingarden Cam-paign — Residents and families can sign up to help their bioswale survive and thrive, and

• The K-Ching! (Kids Creat-ing Harmony in Neighborhood Growth) — To encourage inter-generational interaction, youth are placed at the Trenton Terrace

Senior Housing Complex and Loaves and Fishes Senior Nutrition Program.

Multnomah County and the community agencies saw that working together on a shared project

could produce results for a number of organizations that no single organization could have accom-plished itself. The partners remain engaged because the work at New Columbia helps them further their own organizational goals; collabo-ration reduces duplication of efforts, maximizes resource development, and promotes increased visibility in the community for everyone in the coalition.

Portland’s experience is a testa-ment that the Viable Futures Toolkit can be an invaluable resource for addressing challenges and obtain-ing results that work for everyone. You don’t need to have a housing component to your work or use every component of the toolkit to get results. But, you’ll fi nd something in it that speaks to the pressing needs of today and tomorrow.

NACo participated in the devel-opment of the Viable Futures Tool-kit in an advisory role representing local governments. You can learn more about New Columbia and how the toolkit can be a resource in your county through a newly released case study at www.viablefuturestoolkit.org/toolkit_products.htm.

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ONLINECountyCountyNewsNews


News From the Nation’s Counties

See NEWS FROM page 13

CALIFORNIAThe State Supreme Court re-

jected former public defender Thomas Spielbauer’s lawsuit against SANTA CLARA COUNTY for fi ring him six years ago. The Mercury News reported he was accused by his boss of lying to a judge while defend-ing a client in a criminal case. When asked about the incident, Spielbauer refused to answer questions citing his right to protect himself from self-incrimination.

“The public employer must be able to act promptly and freely, in its administrative capacity to inves-tigate and remedy misconduct and breaches of trust by those serving on the public payroll,” said the court.

FLORIDALEON COUNTY fi led suit last

summer over a legislative mandate requiring counties to fund the Of-fi ce of Criminal Confl ict and Civil

Regional Counsel. BocaNews.com reported the agency was created two years ago to take on cases the public defender’s offi ce cannot handle because of confl icts of interest, and to supervise private court-appointed attorneys. Since then, 25 counties have joined the suit, saying the state should pick up the check.

GEORGIA• FORSYTH COUNTY re-

cently launched a new interactive Web page to provide a one-stop shop of planning information, located at http://estatus.forsythco.com. The page includes project summaries, meeting dates, and links to docu-ments, such as applications, aerial maps, concept plans, staff reports, permits and fi nal decision letters.

• The HENRY COUNTY Board of Commissioners announced a new initiative, which looks to local businesses fi rst for the purchase

of goods and services. The Henry First Initiative will change the way the county’s bid process is governed on bids of under $100,000, with a 5 percent consideration given to bids from businesses within county geographical boundaries.

If a county business is not the lowest bidder for a project but is within 5 percent of the lowest bid, the contract will go to them versus a business located outside the county. “We want to support the businesses that literally support our community,” said Elizabeth Mathis, commission chair.

MICHIGANLIVINGSTON COUNTY is

working toward a diversion pro-gram for nonviolent offenders from district and civil courts who need mental health and community ser-vices. Livingstondaily.com reported the Intensive Treatment Court

sends offenders to mental health services instead of the county jail in cases where the offender is suf-fering from severe, persistent mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Statistics show fi ve to 10 Liv-ingston County inmates have severe mental illness, and Michael Murphy, undersheriff, said the facil-ity is not equipped to handle them. “We make do because we have to,” he said. “When you have a history of mental illness and it’s diagnosed, is jail the best place for you? No, I don’t think so.”

MINNESOTAThe HENNEPIN COUNTY

Board of Commissioners rejected a pay raise for 2010 that would have increased their salaries above $100,000. The Star Tribune reported that the board originally approved the 3.4 percent increase before the economic downturn last October. By law, the commission-ers are required to vote on changes in salaries prior to Election Day, whether they are raising or lower-ing pay rates.

NEVADAThe CLARK COUNTY Com-

mission is considering an ordinance that would expand limits on portable audio devices to include ice cream trucks that play music, KTNV-TV reported. Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani introduced the measure to mirror an ordinance in the city of Las Vegas — to avoid enforcement problems. It would allow mobile food vendors to play music only when in motion, and that the music be audible no more than 50 feet from the source. The current county noise ordinance allows a 75-feet radius.

NEW YORKALBANY COUNTY plans to

buy local when it comes to food for its nursing home and jail. The County Legislature recently ad-opted a “Local Food Purchasing Policy.” According to WRGB-TV, the plan requires that 10 percent of the county’s food purchases for the nursing home and jail come from local farmers. County Legislator

The H.R. Doctor Is In

It was a wonderful lunch at a great German restaurant with a very dear friend — an event which is not repeated often enough. That friend is very arguably America’s fi nest medical examiner, Dr. Joshua Perper.

Our lunch was full of conversa-tion about issues around not only the work of a medical examiner and specifi c cases (with proper respect for privacy as well as lunch diges-tion), but also with discussions about organizational issues in a county government involving the placement of a medical examiner’s function and its relationship to the criminal justice system, human ser-vices, human resources and more.

One particular subject came up that is directly relevant to how we conduct public administration.

There is a worldwide disease that can strike without warning in any department, in any job classifi cation and can infect any person, whether an elected offi cial, an appointed of-fi cer or a full- or part-time employee. In some organizations the disease can reach epidemic proportions when unchecked and not treated.

Dr. Perper named this disease “Assume-itis.” This bureaucratic syndrome is characterized by a rash of behavior by persons who make assumptions without checking facts, taking statements or research by others out of context, gossiping and speaking ill of colleagues or disre-

specting the citizens we serve. Besides the “rash” cited above,

the other major symptom is the loss of impulse control. A colleague who makes assumptions and runs around acting on them without checking them may fi nd that the assumptions made become a basis

vaccination program built around training and ethics, schooling in the prevention of due-diligence failures and appreciation of the terrible effects of Assume-itis on their own careers, success and happiness in their chosen profession.

Is there an effective treatment for Assume-itis? Unfortunately, at this point in the conversation, our lunch had ended and the last vestiges of apple strudel were already being digested.

However, if I may dare to speak for an eminent medical examiner, as well as contribute my own HR perspectives, the best treatment is prevention. Absent that, the next best approach is coaching and mentoring by someone else who is not afraid to say things to a fellow employee that will help the person avoid a repeat infection.

Assume-itis remains in the system. It can never be excised out completely, and it may always be lurking ready to jump out if a person isn’t vigilant about their own behavior as a professional.

Dr. Perper is a lawyer as well as a physician. He would be one of the fi rst to say, “Don’t assume facts not in evidence.” The best professionals trust and verify rather than only doing one of those two.

Phil RosenbergThe HR Doctor • www.hrdr.net

‘Assume-itis’

The best professionals trust and verify rather than only

doing one of those two.

of actions by other people. Those actions, in turn, can spin out of control and infect others.

An employee who prepares an agenda report for the governing body, but speaks to the press before making sure that the elected offi cials have seen the document, may be put-ting those offi cials and others in an unnecessarily awkward position.

Citing numbers without verifi ca-tion or validation may lead others to think the numbers are tantamount to the discovery of the Holy Grail, and they may base programs, staffi ng and facility decisions on those numbers. When in fact, reality sets in and cost overruns are about to gobble up the budget, the result may be the amputation of the programs, if not the employment of the person.

It is important to help a new colleague begin a career in public administration with a mandatory

»In the NewsNACo’s Prescription Drug Card Program was featured in

articles about Oconee County, S.C. (Independent Mail.com) on Feb. 7, Conejos County, Colo. (Conejos County Citizen) and Will County, Ill. (Chicago Tribune) on Feb. 11.

»NACo Officers and Elected OfficialsNACO President-elect Valerie Brown and Executive Director

Larry Naake represented NACo at the signing ceremony for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Feb. 17 in the City and County of Denver.

Pamela Newton, Lake County, Ill. board member and chair of NACo’s Green Govern-ment Advisory Board, delivered a presentation on Energy Effi ciency at the Keep Tennessee Beautiful 25th Anniversary State Conference in Davidson County (Nashville) on Feb. 13.

»NACo StaffRocky Lopes has been named program director for infrastruc-

ture and sustainability in the Community Services Division. Lopes will oversee programs covering environmental, energy and natural resources management, transportation, emergency preparedness and community resiliency.

Maeghan Gilmore has been named program director for health, human services and criminal justice in the Community Services Division. She will direct programs that focus on health care access and prevention, social service delivery, and the adult and juvenile justice systems.

Kelly Zonderwyk has been promoted to project manager in the Community Services Division.

Jim Philipps, media relations manager, conducted a media rela-tions workshop on Feb. 10 at the New York State Association of Counties Legislative Conference in Albany, N.Y.

On the Move is compiled by Christopher Johnson.

NACo on the Move

Pamela Newton


Tim Nichols, its sponsor, said the “proposal not only supports local farmers but ensures that a good portion of food for nursing home residents and correctional inmates will benefi t from farm-fresh produce and meats.”

NORTH CAROLINAHabitat for Humanity will

benefi t fi nancially from a MECK-LENBURG COUNTY salvage operation. Hundreds of like-new kitchen cabinets, windows and doors are being removed from a county-owned apartment complex and donated to Habitat.

The county bought the building to demolish after it fl ooded last sum-mer, using local and FEMA fl ood mitigation funds. Habitat staff and volunteers are removing reusable building materials, including 900 oak kitchen cabinets and 764 vinyl windows.

David Goode, project manager

with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services, said the benefi ts are manifold: “The apartments will be torn down and never fl ood again. The open space will benefi t the neighborhood and water quality in Briar Creek.

Habitat will sell quality building materials to remodelers at an afford-able price. Tons of usable materials will be kept out of construction landfi lls. And Habitat will reinvest the proceeds back into the community as affordable housing for deserving families.”

OREGONDOUGLAS COUNTY com-

missioners have hired an Irish fi rm to conduct a wave-action study to determine the suitability of Win-chester Bay to generate electricity, The News Review reported.

Belfast-based RPS Consulting Engineers will work with the county and Wavegen, a Scottish company that has proposed developing a wave energy plant. “That analysis needs

to be completed so that Wavegen can decide if the waves that we have out here are adequate to produce the energy they need to turn it into elec-tricity,” said Robb Paul, the county’s public works director.

Half of the $13,743 contract will be paid from a $200,000 grant from a Portland-based nonprofi t, Oregon Wave Energy Trust; the county will pay the balance. The trust’s goal is to make Oregon a national leader in wave energy.

SOUTH CAROLINAIt’s another sign of tough eco-

nomic times: HART COUNTY commissioners voted recently to cut senior center hours from eight hours a day to four. County Administrator Jon Caime said the move will save the county about $30,000 in the current budget.

“The numbers do not support leaving the senior center in its current state,” Commissioner Joey Dorsey said. “A lot of people are in there an hour or an hour and a half,”

North Carolina county donates salvage from apartments to HabitatNEWS FROM from page 12 The Anderson Independent-Mail News

reported.Dorsey said he would reconsider

the cuts if the center can double its usage to about 25 visitors a day over a three-month period.

VIRGINIAProject PEACE (Partnering

to End Abuse in the Commu-nity for Everyone), ARLINGTON COUNTY’s community response to domestic violence, has been awarded a $385,000 grant by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Offi ce of Violence Against Women. The two-year grant, which is renew-able, will fund 2.5 positions and the development of an information database.

Data collected will enable county staff to direct future efforts more stra-tegically. Currently, each agency or unit collects data that describes their contact with domestic violence cases and no one is able to see the impact of interventions that span across divisions and organizations.

“The grant money … will help us establish a seamless service approach for clients,” said Project PEACE Chair and Arlington County Board Chair Barbara Favola.

(News From the Nation’s Counties is compiled by Charles Taylor and Elizabeth Perry, staff writers. If you have an item for News From, please e-mail [email protected] or [email protected].)

Financial Services News

Walk into any workplace supply room and the array of offi ce supplies is plentiful. With more than 10,000 sheets of letter paper being used by U.S. workers each year and 167 million ink and toner cartridges being dumped in U.S. landfi lls annually, of-fi ce supply orders are understandably gaining professional attention.

Offi ce Depot, global supplier and manufacturer of offi ce products and services, saw this trend growing more than a year ago and has since paired up with cooperative purchasing group U.S. Communities and the city of Los Angeles to put “greener” offi ce supplies on contract.

While some government agencies are still working on green procure-ment polices and practices, two public agencies have taken the lead and put this new “Green Substitution Program” to the test. They share their stories of success on the road to a greener offi ce.

A Tale of a City and a County

Hennepin County isn’t exactly new to green purchasing. It insti-tuted its County Environmentally Preferable Purchasing and Green Building Program offi cially in 1997 and adopted a revised version in

Counties, Cities Purchase ‘Greener’ Offi ce Supplies

2001. Hennepin County has been a national leader in the procurement of environmentally preferable products for more than a decade and is now tackling offi ce supply orders.

Over to the western side of the country, Ken Desowitz and Gerald St. Onge have their work cut out for them. As director of supply chain services for the city of Los Angeles, Desowitz’s team purchases for 40 different departments. St. Onge was brought onto L.A.’s purchas-ing team one year ago as part of a citywide Environmental Purchasing Program (EPP), working closely with Desowitz to see how they can put a city ordinance to buy green into action.

Los Angeles has a long-standing history of purchasing recycled ton-ers and refi ned oil as well as other products with recycled content. St. Onge sees that the defi nition of green products is evolving. He expects the city of Los Angeles to be the leading government purchasing agency of hybrid vehicles and green fuel, but is still somewhat new to buying greener offi ce supplies.

Both Hennepin County and Los Angeles have unique needs when it comes to instituting green purchas-ing practices in their offi ces, but the

supplies they require are similar and the demand is on the rise.

The Green Substitution Program

When Chris Penny, director for the public sector at Offi ce Depot, and his team noticed the green trend growing, they approached U.S. Communities and its participants to come up with some green offi ce solutions. They have come up with a seamless substitution program that allows government agencies to switch from regular products to green ones, while saving time and money.

“The Green Substitution Pro-gram is a tool that allows custom-ers to search for environmentally preferable items online,” said Penny. “The success the Green Substitu-tion Program has had is due in large part to having listened to our customers.”

Users simply go online and can select from a broad range of green products, some of which are manufactured by Offi ce Depot, when there is a gap between supply and demand.

As part of its Green Products

See FS NEWS page 15

One morning, Mesa, Ariz. resi-dent Pat Soria, a 23-year employee of Maricopa County government, wasn’t feeling well. She decided to visit her physician during her lunch hour. There, the doctor prescribed a battery of antibiotics.

No problem. Soria just returned to her down-

town Phoenix offi ce, dropped her new prescription at the newly opened pharmacy and health center inside the county complex itself, got the antibiotic, refi lled a prescription for her daughter and bought an over-the-counter cold remedy. It took all of fi ve minutes.

She then proceeded back to work the rest of the afternoon. “If we didn’t have the new pharmacy, I would have spent about 45 minutes after work getting the drugs at a local pharmacy near home,” Soria said. “I would have gotten home after 7 o’clock and only then taken the fi rst of my pills. This way, I took the fi rst of my Z-Pac six hours earlier and felt a whole lot better the next day. I didn’t miss any work.”

Maricopa County is the fi rst employer in Arizona to offer both an integrated on-site pharmacy and a health center. The clinic-pharmacy arrangement between Maricopa County, Walgreens drugstore chain and Take Care Health Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Walgreens, is believed to be the fi rst of its kind for any government in the nation. About 12,500 county employees and their dependents are eligible to use these services.

“At any time, but especially dur-ing these diffi cult economic times, it is vitally important for Maricopa

County to improve employee health and lower expenses for the county and its employees,” said Mike Schai-berger, director of employee health initiatives for Maricopa County.

The effort is part of the county’s ongoing efforts to battle rising health care costs by adding convenience, preventing illness and increasing employee satisfaction. “If employees have a minor health malady, they can now go downstairs (in the 10-story County Administration building in downtown Phoenix) and talk to a nurse practitioner rather than wait for a primary-care physician appoint-ment or have to leave work and go to an urgent-care center,” said Schai-berger, whose job title also includes administrator for innovation.

County officials hope conve-nience is only part of the bonus. They expect to save about $575,000 a year on health care and prescription costs by opening this on-site facility, which cost the county about $90,000 to build.

The Take Care Health Center will be staffed with a nurse practitioner who will provide treatment for acute episodic conditions, as well as administer vaccinations. The health center and pharmacy will be open Monday–Friday, 7 a.m.–5 p.m.

“This is a great step forward for Maricopa County,” said Max Wilson, chairman of Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. “With this in-house pharmacy and health center, our employees can take care of minor health problems and get pre-scriptions fi lled in the convenience of the workplace. This will also reduce lost time at work, making for more productive employees.”

Clinic-pharmacy helps county employees


Model Programs FROM THE NATION'S COUNTIES

BY ELIZABETH PERRY

STAFF WRITER

In just over a one-year period, serious problems in Clark County, Nev.’s child welfare system came to a head.

The county took over foster care, adoption and other related services from the state in an at-tempt to eliminate duplication and delay of services in October 2004, but county caseworkers found themselves overwhelmed with the additional 1,800 children in the foster care system.

In May 2005, the Child Welfare Institute examined 11 fatalities

Nevada County Overhauls Child Welfare Systemto rebuild a system that did not exist,” said Lien Bragg, strategic initiatives manager and chief of staff to the Family Services Depart-ment. “It’s like when you build the foundation of a home. This child welfare system did not just have a broken infrastructure — some of it did not exist.”

Bragg said rapid growth in Las Vegas, the county seat — coupled with a child welfare system that is small — has made it diffi cult to keep pace with the demand for services in the county. It is also a transient community, where families come into the family services system only to leave a year or so later. The area is home to a thriving gaming industry and life revolves around a 24/7 tourist season.

“Even our business practices have to be responsive to families who work a third shift, versus other jurisdictions where everything closes down at 5 p.m.,” said Bragg. “There is a tendency to not see the level of commitment you would like to see toward building, supporting and strengthening families in the larger community. The commitment seems to be coming from individu-als and groups involved in the Safe Futures initiative.”

Safe Futures was implemented in October 2006 and stressed a collaborative approach. The Clark County Citizen’s Advisory Committee (CAC), made up of representatives from Court Ap-pointed Special Advocates, District Court, Children’s Mental Health, foster and adoptive parents, Clark County School District and Child Welfare Advocates, was appointed by the Board of Commissioners to oversee and offer support to the Family Services department. Together, the CAC and family services completed a service needs assessment and have been involved in the implementation of Safe Futures.

While an exact cost cannot be determined for the Safe Futures plan, the program’s 2008 NACo Achievement Awards application said the budget for FY07–08 was more than $92 million, some $20 million more than what was listed the previous year, “due to costs related to the Safe Futures Plan.”

Changes implemented by Safe Futures included 119 new positions for the Department of Family Services, plus another 85 staffers approved by the State Legislature.

This reduced caseloads from one caseworker per 39 children to one caseworker per 22 children. Skill development trainings were man-dated for all new case management staff, and all staff was trained in specialized investigations and risk assessment. The department also de-veloped management tracking grids to assess everything from verifi cation of initial contact with the child to documentation of safety assessments and investigation conclusion.

“What I see now is a strong management team in place at this organization,” said Bragg. “We

have reorganized our divisions and practice areas, so we have increased our effi ciencies. We now have state-wide and mandated training that all of our staff goes through, and we will be fi nishing up our policies and procedures, having those fully implemented by April.”

Bragg advised counties interested revamping their own child welfare systems to make sure they build a strong infrastructure to support a strong system. She also suggested engaging stakeholders in the politi-cal world as partners.

“We couldn’t have done this alone

without support from the county, state and external community,” she said. “You need them onboard with you, informed and giving you feedback on whether or not what you’re doing is working.”

For more information about Safe Futures, call Tom Morton at 702/455-3263.

(Model Programs from the Nation’s Counties highlights Achievement Award-winning programs. For more information on this and other NACo Achievement Award winners, visit NACo’s Web site, www.naco.org.)

Research News

The use of local libraries across the country is booming. As the economy slows the stream of residents using their local libraries increases.

Many of these new users are job seekers who have recently been laid off and who are using the Internet as part of their job search. Other users are applying for unemployment via the library computers.

As Reginald Williams, director of Wayne County, Mich. library said, “When the economy goes bust, libraries go boom.”

Nearly all of the branches in his library system are reporting increased usage, often having to restrict computer use to one hour at a time to accommodate all patrons. Increased use of library computers with Internet connections is directly related to people stopping their home Internet service as a cost saving measure.

Individual or group study rooms at the libraries have historically been used largely by high school students, but libraries report that older patrons are using them to brush up on their job skills. De-mand by older residents has been so great in some county libraries that teens are being used to help tutor seniors and others in computer use. This allows the librarians’ time to be used for other activities.

Lake County, Ill. libraries are also seeing an increase in usage. As family budgets get tighter and some expenses go by the wayside, library

As Economy Slows,Library Use Grows

services and items come at the right price. As one library worker said, “families put away the credit card and pull out the library card.”

Many libraries report increased circulation as the purchase of books from traditional bookstores and rentals from video stores drop because of belt tightening. Patrons bring their children to the library and allow them to select as many books or videos as they want.

In addition to the use of the library as free entertainment, users are also looking for money-managing tips, books on cooking economically and other useful reference materials.

The American Library Associa-tion (ALA) claims that the average annual cost to the taxpayer for ac-cess to the wide variety of services offered at most public libraries is

$31, which is just about the price of purchasing a new hardcover book.

ALA also reports that library card registration is up 5 percent since 2006, in-person library visits are up 10 percent and the percentage of library card users visiting library Web sites is up 18 percent. The ALA’s most recent report showed that Americans visited libraries 1.3 billion times between 2007 and 2008, and checked out more than 2 billion items, a more than 10 percent increase from the last economic downturn in 2001.

Howard County, Md. libraries reported a 26 percent increase in usage from 2007 to 2008, and a 15 percent increase in borrowing items up to 5.6 million in a county with a population of 273,000. Portage County, Wis. reports that it will soon set a circulation record. The state of Wisconsin, which has a population of 5.6 million reported 33.3 million visits to public libraries and 60 mil-lion items checked out in 2008.

Libraries also deliver many other types of programs that address community needs. These include guidance sessions with career advis-ers, career training and workshops, job search resources and links, and connections to outside agencies that can offer training and job placement. A newer and popular entertain-ment offered at many libraries is the availability of reading or book

Within two years of the plan’s implementation, the

number of children in the county’s emergency shelter

for children was reduced from 230 in 2006 to 58 in 2008.

related to open County Protective Services cases.

“Problems in the performance of child welfare agencies generally arise due to inadequate or poorly designed infrastructure, as well as inadequate or poor implementation by management and leadership,” Thomas Morton, director, Clark County family services, wrote in a February 2008 report, Status of Child Welfare Improvements.

Taking into account the Insti-tute’s suggestions, the Safe Futures strategic plan was drafted in 2006 by Morton, with the purpose of reform-ing of the child welfare system.

His goal was to work with local and state governments, child advo-cates, stakeholders and members of the community to implement new policies and procedures, add management staff and bring the agency up to speed with national performance and outcome stan-dards.

Within two years of the plan’s implementation, the number of children in the county’s emergency shelter for children was reduced from 230 in 2006 to 58 in 2008, and the number of police removals of children into protective custody dropped from 39 percent in March 2007 to 19.7 percent in December 2007.

“The changes were astounding in some ways because we have had See RESEARCH page 15


Job Market / Classifi eds

Is the Media Out to Get You or Just Doing Its Job?

When do journalists cross the line?• What are your rights to privacy?• What does the public have a right to know?•

Register now to attend NACo’s half day seminar, co-sponsored by NACIO on March 7, 2009 • Individual: $150 • Team of two or more: $95 each

To learn more about this session, contact Ruth Nybro at [email protected] or 202/942-4277.

Register online at ...www.naco.org/legislative conference

CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR – GARFIELD COUNTY , COLO.

Salary: $44,580 – $55,728; DOQ.The Purchasing Department is

seeking applicants for this full time, exempt position to maintain and implement policies, procedures, formats and systems for purchas-ing and contract administration in Glenwood Springs. Starting salary: mid $40k to upper $50k DOQ with excellent benefi ts. Applicants must possess a Bachelor’s Degree in Busi-ness, Engineering or closely related fi eld and Five (5) years’ experience in contract negotiation or equivalent combination of education and related experience that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities in the areas of contract administration and contract negotiation.) ADA/EOE. Principals only.

JOHNSON COUNTY MANAGER – JOHNSON COUNTY, KAN.

Salary: $190,000 +/-; DOQ.Johnson County, Kan. (popula-

tion 516,731), is seeking candidates with a record of successful leader-ship in a large, multidisciplinary organization of comparable size and complexity to Johnson County. A bachelor’s degree in public ad-ministration, urban management, or related field is required plus ten (10) years’ increasingly responsible public management experience as chief executive or senior leadership position in similar or larger organi-zation or combination of relevant experience and training. Master’s degree in Public Administration or Business Administration is highly desired. Appointed by and reports to Chairman and Members of the Board of County Commissioners.

Submit resume, cover letter with salary history and fi ve references by March 20 to Heidi Voorhees, President, or Bill Lichter, Vice-President, The PAR Group, 100 N. Waukegan Road, Suite 211, Lake Bluff, IL 60044. TEL: 847-234-0005; FAX: 847-234-8309; E-Mail: [email protected].

Initiative, Hennepin County is tak-ing part in Offi ce Depot’s Green Substitution Program. When a purchaser tries to order a non-green product such as pens, Offi ce Depot’s program automatically replaces these pens with those containing recycled content.

Reinbold likes the Green Sub-stitution Program because it is automatic. “With more than 200 individuals ordering educational resources or offi ce supplies, this program facilitates the green pur-chasing process,” Reinbold said.

The city of L.A.’s strategic purchasing alliance with Offi ce Depot dates back to 2000, starting with recycled pens, binders and toner cartridges, and evolving into a strong relationship as Office Depot began proposing new green products. It was the fi rst to test out the Green Substitution Program and has reported some signifi cant cost savings from making this move to greener purchasing.

Staying in the ‘Green’ with Office Depot

For a city such as L.A., which has an $8 million spending budget with Offi ce Depot, the savings are signifi cant. This past year, for ex-ample, Los Angeles saved $100,000 on its Offi ce Depot purchases.

Hennepin County has realized cost savings county-wide and be-lieves it will save more than $100,000 this year. Contrary to the expecta-tion that green products cost more, Reinbold fi nds his county is able to

purchase at a cheaper cost. “Greener” paper and ink toner

cartridges typically run below the cost of their regular product counterparts, while supplies such as scissors and staplers are generally just above standard prices. When purchasing lists are tallied, the result typically ends in savings.

Communication Is KeyPurchasing programs go from

red to green when staff is educated about the choices they are making. To bring widespread awareness to the Green Substitution Program, Reinbold is letting his purchasers know about the Offi ce Depot con-tract through mini-promo sheets that say, “You’ve been Greened!”

“This is a communication piece we developed to make sure staff are aware of the change,” Reinbold said. Another tactic employed by Reinbold is the use of wall posters on offi ce supply cabinets educat-ing employees about the greener products found inside.

Procurement professionals will find the transition from old to greener purchasing habits much smoother when accompanied by marketing and communication ef-forts that explain the change as well as the associated benefi ts.

For more information, contact Connie Kuranko, director of the U.S. Communities Going Green Program at [email protected].

(Financial Services News was written by Connie Kuranko, director, U.S. Com-munities Going Green Program.)

Going green affordable through Green Substitution ProgramFS NEWS from page 13

clubs. Libraries make packets of books available to reading groups. These packets include copies of the books for each member, guidelines for conducting reading clubs and discussion questions. Many also offer space for the clubs to meet and discuss the books.

Another new feature in Whitley County, Ky. is a Movie Club. All members must be at least 16 years of age and pay a onetime fee of $5. The age restriction is primarily so that borrowers will properly care for the DVDs. The library reports an in-crease in usage between November 2007 and November 2008 of more than 100 percent. Story times for

young children are also a highlight of many library programs.

Just as some county libraries are experiencing huge increases in usage, they are facing budget cuts. In the regional library system that serves Frederick and Clarke coun-ties in Va., the boards of supervisors anticipate a 14 percent reduction in the hours of operation at all of its branches. They also expect that library vacancies will not be fi lled and an increase in certain fees.

In New Castle County, Del., as the commissioners struggle to close their budget gap, libraries are taking cuts, just as are other areas. Although there are no plans to cut staff, library hours will be reduced on certain days of the week. Some

branches will end Sunday hours and others will shorten hours on weekdays. Offi cials in the county will be seeking grants and donations that will help fund libraries which they consider a core service of the county government.

Wake County, N.C. libraries are also facing cuts. A proposal from county offi cials would include closing several branch libraries and closing the electronic information center in the downtown Raleigh branch. It will also include shutting down a book mobile. Staff cuts and reduction in hours are also among the possibilities.

To avoid layoffs and meet the required cutbacks, the Kitsap Regional Library in Washington has implemented salary freezes for employees, reduced branch hours and reduced book and material purchases. Putnam County, Ohio is facing a cut in state funding for its libraries and has closed all of its libraries on Fridays. Portage County, Ohio is also reducing its hours of operations for several of its branches by closing on Thursdays.

For additional information about the growth in library usage, go to the American Library Association at www.ala.org.

(Research News was written by Jacque-line Byers, director of research.)

County libraries experience usage jumps, struggles due to economic downturnRESEARCH from page 14


May 3–9, 2009The theme for the 2009 celebration of National County Government Week is “Greening Our Future.” All counties are encouraged to participate, especially those that are pursuing green government initiatives. They should tell their residents about what they are doing to conserve energy, protect the environment and save taxpayersʼ dollars. A comprehensive booklet of ideas on ways to celebrate NCGW, including draft proclamations and news releases, is available. Promotional kits will also be made available for download.

Visit NACoʼs Web site at www.naco.org for more information or contact Tom Goodman at 202/942-4222 or [email protected].

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