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Nebraska Association of County Officials
1335 H Street Lincoln, NE 68508
Phone: (402) 434-5660
Fax: (402) 434-5673
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NACO's Legislative Committee Meeting
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NACO's Legislative Committee will meet on Friday, January 25 to review and take positions on 2019 legislation. The meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the NACO office at 1335 H Street in Lincoln.
After brief introductory remarks, affiliate groups will meet for discussion of bills pertinent to their membership. After the groups have met, the NACO Legislative Committee will reconvene as a whole to review and take positions on the entire list of bills. All county officials are encouraged to attend or discuss areas of concern with their NACO Board representative prior to the meeting. The NACO Board of Directors makes up the NACO Legislative Committee.
Because lunch will be provided, please notify the NACO office at (402)434-5660 or
leslie@nacone.org
if you plan to attend. Because the Legislature is in session, parking around the Capitol may be limited. Public parking is not available behind the NACO office or in the MIPS lot. A parking garage is available at the Lincoln Marriott Cornhusker Hotel at 12th and L Streets.
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New County Board Member Training
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On January 19 and 26, 2019 NACO will be sponsoring a training for newly elected county board members. The first training will be held at the Sandhills Convention Center & Quality Inn & Suites in North Platte on January 19. The second one will be held at the NACO office at 1335 H Street in Lincoln on January 26. They will both be held on Saturdays to be able to attract the most registrants. The trainings will be an afternoon session from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. at each location and the same training will be given at each location. Attendees will be able to choose which date and location works best for them.
Registration is free for each session. Each new county board member will be given an $80 county board handbook for attending.
The Clerks, Register of Deeds and Election Commissioners have requested use of the NACO conference room for training on January 10 and the Treasurers have asked for February 8 for their new member training.
Other county elected official's associations are asked to contact NACO if they are interested in using the NACO conference room to conduct training for their newly elected members.
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NACO has been working on its social media presence, and plans on using these tools as a means of quickly disseminating information relevant to county government. We hope you will find them helpful.
We have updated our Facebook page, and will use it to provide news on what is going on in the office, as well as upcoming events of interest to the counties. We have also registered an account on Twitter, as @NACO_Nebraska, and will use this account to provide newsworthy items and to get information out more quickly if needed.
As part of this initiative, we are developing a policy on social media use, which will be presented to the NACO Board for approval. We would certainly welcome any suggestions or feedback. The Facebook and Twitter icons will be coming soon to the
NACO homepage
, and please friend us on
Facebook
and follow us on
Twitter
!
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2019 NACO Scholarships Available
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Nebraska high school seniors who are the children, stepchildren, or under the legal guardianship of county officials or employees are encouraged to apply for one of twelve $1,000 NACO scholarships. In addition to the twelve NACO scholarships, a special award, the Ronda Dix Memorial Scholarship, may be awarded to an applicant planning a career in nursing, physical therapy, or another medical field.
Additional information and the application form can be found on the front page of the NACO website.
The scholarship application deadline is March 1, 2019.
To access the application from this article, click
here
.
NACO began its scholarship program in 1999 when it presented six high school seniors with $500 awards to be used toward their post-secondary educations. Since 2004, NACO has presented twelve high school seniors with $1,000 awards. Scholarships are available for one year and are not renewable. Since its inception, NACO has offered nearly $200,000 to students of higher education due to this scholarship program.
To be considered for a NACO scholarship, students must complete the required application form, submit a seven-semester transcript from an accredited Nebraska high school and prepare essays on the importance of county government in Nebraska and their future goals and career plans.
Scholarship recipients must attend a post-secondary educational institution within the state of Nebraska and may use the NACO scholarship for any costs associated with their continuing education.
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Court Judgement Interest Rate Set
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Judgment Interest Rate
Effective January 17, 2019, the judgment interest rate will be 4.573%.
Click the link below to view the full table, which includes past interest rates:
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Reorganization Meetings in January
& New Officials Sworn In
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After elections, questions arise of swearing in dates and related issues. Terms of office, oath of office, bonds and in lieu of individual bonds and pro-rata salaries are addressed in
this article
that is intended to provide an overview of those issues.
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Redistricting Workshop To Be Held in January
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John Watermolen from the Office of the Nebraska Chief Information Officer has announced that the MAGIC Group is hosting a redistricting workshop in Wichita, Kansas on January 15. Click
here
to determine if you might be interested and how to register.
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Dollar Thresholds For County Purchases
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Effective July 19, 2018, the competitive bidding amounts for purchasing property and services under the County Purchasing Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 23-3101 to 23-3115) were increased. Such changes were enacted by
LB 1098
(2018).
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As with any form of technology, at some point it will likely need upgraded or repaired. With so many new county officials coming into office from this last election, it is helpful to understand who to contact for help.
Generally, there are a few areas that each county has someone they go to who specializes in that specific area. Some examples might be their internet service provider (ISP), internal network (such as routers, switches, and ethernet cabling), or general IT issues like printers and computers within each office. Additionally, there may be software vendors that are contracted to keep specific software in working order. Unfortunately, knowing who to contact isn’t always so straightforward.
Some issues make it easier to determine who to contact than others. For instance, if everyone in the courthouse doesn’t have internet access, it’s likely a networking issue with the courthouse or the ISP. On the other hand, if a piece of software isn’t functioning correctly, depending on the problem, it could again be an issue with the county network or it could be a potential problem with the software itself. In this case, it’s best to start with the software vendor. They would be the most knowledgeable as to what the issue might be or they might know who else to contact for additional help.
In the end, narrowing the number of companies that serve the county, the more knowledge they will have about the county’s needs and the fewer phone calls that have to be made to figure out who can help resolve any issues.
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County Government Day PowerPoint
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The PowerPoint presentation is available electronically at no charge (sent via e-mail) for use by counties during their annual County Government Day. The PowerPoint provides a comprehensive look at county government functions in the State of Nebraska and can be customized by each county. CD's are also available for $10.00 each to cover processing, shipping and handling. To request the County Government Day PowerPoint electronically, please e-mail your request to
larrydix@nacone.org
.
The CD order form is available
here
.
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Registration is Now Open
2019 NACo Legislative Conference
March 2–6, 2019 | Washington Hilton | Washington, D.C.
The National Association of Counties (NACo)
Legislative Conference
brings together over 1,500 elected and appointed county officials to focus on federal policy issues that impact counties and our residents. Attendees engage in relevant and timely policy and educational sessions, interact with federal officials and participate in congressional briefings and meetings.
Don't miss this unique policy advocacy opportunity!
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“Stepping Up” Your Efforts to Reduce Mental Illness in Jails
Feb. 14, 2019
1:00 pm – 2:15 pm
(202) 942-4289
Since May 2015, more than 450 counties have joined the national Stepping Up initiative to reduce the number of people who have mental illnesses in jails. Counties have shown significant progress on impacting this goal, but many still struggle with how to get started or how to keep their team motivated and moving toward their priorities. The Stepping Up partners have released a number of tools to help counties at various phases of their efforts to get to the next level. On this webinar, hear from the national Stepping Up partners and your peers about how to best leverage the resources available through the initiative to help your county meet your goals.
Since May 2015, more than 450 counties have joined the national Stepping Up initiative to reduce the number of people who have mental illnesses in jails. Counties have shown significant progress on impacting this goal, but many still struggle with how to get started or how to keep their team motivated and moving toward their priorities. The Stepping Up partners have released a number of tools to help counties at various phases of their efforts to get to the next level. On this webinar, hear from the national Stepping Up partners and your peers about how to best leverage the resources available through the initiative to help your county meet your goals.
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New County Board Member Training
January 19 - North Platte
January 26 - NACO Office/Lincoln
Legislative Bill Review Day
January 25 - NACO Office/Lincoln
(Notify the NACO Office if you plan to attend lunch)
New Treasurers Training
February 8, 2019 - NACO Office/Lincoln
2019 NACO Institute of Excellence
Lincoln & North Platte
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Thank you for keeping up to date on the latest NACO News,
Sincerely,
Nebraska Association of County Officials
1335 H Street Lincoln, NE 68508
Phone: (402) 434-5660
Fax: (402) 434-5673
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