ACC-OC Monthly Newsletter

May 31th, 2022

Greetings From Hon. Dave Harrington, Aliso Viejo, ACC-OC's 1st Vice President

Greetings ACC-OC Members!

Summer is fast approaching and that means it will be time for one of life's great pleasures, a sunset enjoyed on a beach in Orange County. The beaches of Orange County are arguably the best in the world and there is nothing like enjoying a sunset and looking to the future. I look forward to those days and am looking forward to the work of ACCOC.

Leadership scholar, Warren G. Bennis, said, “the manager has his eye on the bottom line; the leader has his eye on the horizon.” I believe the horizon is great for Orange County; so long as we, the individuals in leadership in the County, from Board of Supervisors to every member of City Councils, continue to advocate for local control. There should never be a one size fits all solution to the issues our Cities and Counties face every day. Local leaders know best what will and won’t work in their communities. Together, we can learn from one another and come up with innovative solutions to the many issues we all face.

ACC-OC gives the opportunity for us to collectively advocate for local control and consistently provides education on what is on that proverbial horizon. For example, at the upcoming Quarterly Dinner on June 23^rd we will have the chance to learn more about the economic outlook for Orange County, so that we as leaders can be better equipped to serve our great region and our individual cities to meet the needs of our treasured communities. As first vice president of ACC-OC, I am committed to ensuring that ACC-OC continues to provide meaningful educational opportunities and advocacy efforts to keep the “OC” in lOCal control.

Keep your eye to the horizon, leaders, and Orange County will continue to be a prosperous and thriving region.

Sincerely,

Dave Harrington

Councilmember, Aliso Viejo

Member to Remember

Each month, the Association recognizes one of our Affiliate Members for the important job they provide to the Orange County region. This month, we are proud to recognize COX Communications.

Earlier this month, Cox Communications announced its alignment with the federal government’s Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP), making high-speed internet even more accessible and affordable for households across the country, including Orange County.

Whether learning from home, working remotely or surfing the web, staying connected is crucial for children and adults, alike. Cox is dedicated to ensuring digital equity for households of all income levels and economic statuses in its communities.

Cox has a long-standing commitment to narrowing the digital divide and has connected more than 1.4 million people nationwide to the internet through its digital equity programs. For almost a decade, Cox’s Connect2Compete program has offered $9.95/month internet to qualifying households with children in grades K-12. Last November, Cox added ConnectAssist, a $30/month internet option for qualifying households without K-12 students. Now, eligible households receiving the ACP’s subsidy of up to $30/month for their internet bill have access to Cox’s 100 Mbps internet service at no cost.

Always investing in its technology to better serve homes and businesses, Cox is making a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure investment to reinforce reliability and support the growing bandwidth needs of customers in Orange County and nationwide, today and in the future.

For more information on Cox’s participation in the ACP, visit cox.com/digitalequity.

Click Here to Register Now!

ACC-OC Members Tour the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill

On May 20th, ACC-OC Members were able to get a first-hand look at the operations at the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill in Irvine and learn about not only landfill operations, but the impacts of SB 1383 and how OC Waste & Recycling is implementing composting measures to help Cities be able to stay in compliance with the recent mandates around organic waste.

"A big part of SB 1383 is educating the public and businesses that things have changed,” said Tom Koutroulis, Director of OC Waste & Recycling. “It is a learning process and there are educational outreach programs to teach our community how to sort correctly."

In addition to great education, members also walked away with free compost, the first batch made available to the public directly from the landfill! The Frank R. Bowerman landfill boasts a state of the art Windrow Composting System which turns organic waste and food waste into a rich, garden-ready compost.

"I learned so much on this tour, it is amazing how intricate and involved our landfills are. Plus, I am definitely going to look into composting myself, it is so interesting!" said Kelley Lee, Government Relations Manager, Southern California Edison.

Click HERE to learn more about OCWR's composting efforts.

Members listen as OC Waste & Recycling Director Tom Koutroulis demonstrates how the Windrow Composting System works at the Frank R. Bowerman Landfill.

OC Waste & Recycling employees turn and water a line of compost, this is done every three days to maintain proper breakdown.

Missed the Tour? Let Us Know What You'd Be Interested In Seeing Next!

Wastewater Recycling

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Landfill/Composting Measures

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Anerobic Digestion

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Save The Date! ACC-OC Announces Our 2nd Annual Leadership Conference

ACC-OC is proud to announce our 2nd Annual Leadership Conference! This day-long conference in will be held in beautiful Huntington Beach at the Waterfront Resort.

Attendees will receive insight and education on topics most relevant to Orange County Regional issues and experience an unparalleled networking and educational opportunity!

The day will also include a luncheon and cocktail reception. More details coming soon!

Click Here to Save the Date to Your Calendar

May Revise & Care Court - Updates

At the May Legislative and Regulatory Committee Meeting, ACC-OC Legislative Analysts Wendy Strack and Kevin O'Connor provided updates on the Governor's May Budget Revise and Care Court Proposals.

CLICK HERE to view the update on the May Budget Revise.

CLICK HERE to view the Care Court Update.