Out and About with President Hall
Since being elected in November, AOC President and Lincoln County Commissioner Bill Hall has hit the ground running. As he nears the three-month mark of his AOC presidency, he has already contributed much to the organization. President Hall welcomed newly elected officials to the county family, attended the Oregon Business Council Leadership Summit, shared his gratitude for being elected president and his vision for the coming year, selected his presidential initiative - Stepping Up: A National Initiative to Reduce the Number of People with Mental Illness in Jail and made this the focus of the AOC C3 Summit in May, attended the Northwest Presidents and Executives Annual Meeting in Seattle and the National Council of County Association Executives (NCCAE) state association presidents and state executive directors meeting in Washington, D.C., and even added his perspective on how his previous role as a journalist has prepared him for elected office. On January 30 President Hall participated in an AOC community mental health tour in the Columbia Gorge with Senator Steiner-Hayward, Representative Barker, Representative Malstrom, and Representative Meek. And since the 2017 Legislative Session began on February 1, he has been in Salem weekly to testify on various issues - including housing, meet with the Governor, and touch base with Congressman Kurt Schrader. As we look forward to the next nine months we expect great things from President Hall and appreciate his dedication to AOC. 
Policy Updates
Critical Transportation Committee Outlines Plans for Session
One of the top two issues of the 2017 legislative session, transportation funding, kicked off in earnest last Wednesday with the first evening meeting of the Joint Legislative Committee on Transportation Preservation and Modernization. Charged with cobbling together a comprehensive funding package... read more
Support Veterans: Testify at Community Hearings
Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved Ballot Measure 96 by 83 percent last year, dedicating additional funding for veterans services. AOC urges the Legislature to sustain the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs' general funding this biennium so the BM 96 funds can go toward strengthening and ... read more
The Oregon Legislative Assembly's budget-writing Joint Ways and Means Committee will hold a series of public hearings in seven cities across the state beginning February 10. The town hall events will create opportunities for Oregonians to provide... read more
EQ is presenting information regarding the Woodsmoke Workgroup's recommendations to the House Energy and Environment Committee on February 1st, 2017. After the presentation, the committee has scheduled a public hearing on two bills related to  to woodstove replacement programs... read more
Co-Chairs Budget Framework - Public Safety
Senator Richard Devlin and Representative Nancy Nathanson, co-chairs of the Joint Ways & Means Committee, released their budget framework today to prepare for the upcoming legislative session. Public Safety programs will see a 3.1% reduction from the current service level in the current biennium... read more
The Association of Oregon Counties and the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) have joined in a strategic partnership with 15 Oregon Counties to hire six regional public safety coordinators. Federal grant funding will allow the six coordinators to work for three years in the following counties... read more
The Governor's 2017-19 Budget reduced general fund support to the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs (ODVA) by $10 million. In November's General Election, Ballot Measure 96 was passed by an overwhelming majority of the voters... read more

News
Welcome Newly Elected Officials
The new year brings new faces to county government. As newly elected officials begin your role in county government we look forward to your participation in AOC. For many of you this may be your first time holding public office. We encourage you to leverage your AOC membership to benefit your work and community.
Oregon Receives Demonstration Grant for Behavioral Health
SAMHSA Selects Eight States for further CCBHC Work In March 2014, Congress passed the Protecting Access to Medicare Act (H.R. 4302). The legislation included...  read more
Life Saving App Helps You be a Hero
A new app launching February 1 in Jackson County could end up saving lives. The app is called PulsePoint Respond and immediately alerts nearby CPR-trained... read more
County Assessors Hold Winter Conference in Salem
Continuing education is only part of the focus Oregon's County Assessors and their staffs, along with several County Tax Collectors convened in Salem January 23 to 26... read more
Oregon Awards First Juniper Removal Loan
Advocates have long maintained that removing Western juniper trees improves rangeland and can provide jobs in rural areas. A Spray, Ore., landowner was awarded the state's... read more
Deschutes County Mental Health Services Expanding
County will be part of federally-funded pilot project Deschutes County will open a new behavioral health clinic this spring as part of a federally funded pilot project... read more
Forest Service Funds Face 90 percent Cut in Oregon Counties
A Forest Service program that pumped millions of dollars into rural communities has expired and with it the advent of sharply reduced revenue sharing timber harvest... read more
Oregon's Medicaid Waiver Approved
Confirmation Comes of Fed's Okay on 1115 Waiver For decades, Oregon has had a waiver from the federal government to allow for state-level innovation in our Medicaid... read more
OJDDP Announces New Funding Opportunities
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the U.S. Department of Justice has announced two funding opportunities available for counties.  The Smart on... read more
Spend 10 minutes providing feedback to DSL The Department of State Lands is getting to the final stages of migrating to a new website, and they need to complete some... read more
USDA Seeks Applications for Rural Economic Development Loans and Grants
The Rural Economic Development Loan (REDL) and Grant (REDG) programs provide funding to rural projects through local utility organizations.  Under the REDLoan program... read more
For a complete list of news and information visit oregoncounties.org
Events
AOC C3 Summit - Connect. Communicate. Collaborate.
May 9, 2017 | Salem, Oregon | SAVE-THE-DATE

The 2017 AOC C3 Summit will focus on initiatives, policies and efforts around building stronger collaboration between the public safety and behavioral health systems, encompassing everything from treatment capacity, diversion and transition programs to supportive housing. Through the Stepping Up Initiative - a national effort to reduce the number of people in the criminal justice system due to mental illness - Oregon counties are working to improve public safety, reduce costs and help put people on the path to recovery.
AOC County College |  February 16-18, 2017 | Salem, Oregon 
AOC Logo Vertica Transparent

The second session of AOC County College is scheduled for next week, February 16-18 in Salem. Newly elected officials and county staff will converge over three days to discuss advocacy, staying safe as an elected official, Oregon's property tax system, state finance, budgeting, federal/state land ownership payment programs, investments and bonding, and county roads. 

As always each session is jammed packed with helpful information to give class members much-needed information to support their community. 

Interested in more information? 
Contact Laura Cleland , AOC Communications and Operations Manager. 
For a complete list of events visit oregoncounties.org
NACo News
NACo 2017 Legislative Conference 
The NACo Legislative Conference, held annually in Washington, D.C., brings together 2,000 elected and appointed county officials to focus on federal policy issues that impact counties and our residents.  Join the AOC delegation as we deliver the message that federal policies matter to counties, and counties matter to America... learn more
Stepping Up in 2017
Since May 2015, more than 300 counties have passed a resolution to join Stepping Up: A National Initiative to Reduce the Number of People with Mental Illnesses in Jails. The support for this initiative has been overwhelming, and the Stepping Up partners want to help YOU keep up the momentum... read more
NACo and the National League of Cities (NLC) are inviting county and city leaders across the country to "Pledge to Take Action" as part of the organizations' joint efforts to help local leaders address the opioid epidemic in their communities. NACo and NLC members who take the pledge will receive up-to-date... read more
State Revenue Limitations and Mandates on County Finances
States increasingly limit counties' capacity to raise adequate revenue to fund their activities. At the same time, state and federal governments are imposing more mandates on  counties, without providing adequate funding, new research from the National Association of Counties (NACo) shows.  An analysis ... read more
For more information on NACo news visit naco.org
Partner Spotlight
Make Sure You're Prepared for an Emergency
You can't foresee natural disasters, broken pipes, fires or other emergencies, but being prepared will help you recover more quickly. U.S. Communities has competitively-solicited contracts to help agencies prepare and recover from a disaster. Don't wait, let
U.S. Communities help with your emergency preparedness solutions... read more
Navigating Treacherous Waters of Direct Threats in the Workplace
When Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990, it was the first time in our nation's history that the civil rights of people with disabilities had been comprehensively addressed in law. The ADA protects qualified employees and applicants from job discrimination based on disability. It also requires employers to engage in the interactive process with qualified individuals to... read more
The Last Word
Knock-Knock. Who's there? Opportunity. Don't be silly - opportunity doesn't knock twice.

As always, please feel free to submit your story ideas, announcements, recipes, events, photos and job changes to your  Oregon  Trails  staff for inclusion in the next riveting edition. 
 
Your  Oregon Trails staff,
 
Laura Cleland & Mckenzie Farrell
Association of  Oregon  Counties

Representing Oregon counties since 1906, the Association of Oregon Counties unites counties to advocate, communicate, and educate through information sharing and consensus development.