Georgia County Government - February 2009 - (Page 9)

Elected Commissioners Conference offered every other year. Additionally, ACCG’s Board of Managers appoints a Training Committee to guide the activities of the association’s training programs and is made up of eight commissioners, a county attorney, a county manager/administrator, and a county clerk. The committee is staffed by ACCG and Vinson Institute staff. The committee exists to maintain and protect the integrity and the quality of the certificate process of the Certified Commissioner and the Certified Commissioner Advanced Program (CCAP) as well as the Academy of ACCG Leadership. The committee’s roles are also to monitor emerging trends and needs of Georgia’s county elected and appointed officials and set training policy that ensures the continued quality and integrity of the program. The committee also serves to review proposals for new courses, approves new courses and directs staff to develop curriculum. Additionally, committee members serve as the eyes and ears of staff by listening to ACCG members’ feedback regarding their learning needs, attending classes and providing feedback to ACCG and Vinson Institute staff. Committee members seek feedback from training program attendees regarding training course content, delivery and participant engagement and encourage participants to reflect their experiences on the class evaluations. They are also responsible for the regular monitoring of course content and curriculum to ensure freshness and relevancy of material and methods. Finally, committee members promote the training program to their peers at district meetings and support training attendance of their respective commissions. What Training Participants Say Bruce Yates, Commissioner Jackson County Board of Commissioners “The ACCG training courses have not only been educational, informative, interesting and thought provoking, they have given me the practical knowledge to look ‘outside the box’ in dealing with and solving the challenges facing Jackson County. I have a better understanding of government’s responsibilities and relationships with the people I serve. All this while getting to know other commissioner form other counties and making new friends.” Barbie Womble, Chairperson Miller County Board of Commissioners “I have used the training provided by ACCG to better inform my board of the dos and don’ts of county government. Just recently through the Fundamentals of Property Appraisal and Taxation course I learned that our county digest was way off-base. We now have used what I learned to start changes and corrections to that department.” Kevin Tanner, County Manager Dawson County “Having spent the past 19 years in local government service I have come to appreciate the necessity of quality training. I have found the quality of training provided by ACCG to be second to none. Each class I have attended has not only made me a better manager, but the classes have allowed me an invaluable opportunity to network with leaders from around our state. I would recommend that all county mangers take advantage of the numerous ACCG training opportunities that are available.” Tommy Lyon, Chairman Elbert County Board of Commissioners “The Commissioner’s Training program sponsored by ACCG and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government has been a large factor in altering our county government from a defensive method of governing to one of progress. Classes that have led to this change of orientation include: 1. The Law classes that gave the commissioners an understanding of how things get done within the legal and ethical standards as set by federal, state and local laws. 2. The tax, revenue and finance courses that explained where the revenues for the county are derived along with the knowledge of how a meaningful budget for spending is created. 3. The growth planning courses explaining how to control growth in addition where that growth should be placed in order to maximize the infrastructure efficiencies. 4. The important public image courses that teach public speaking and the importance of being an open government. The best evaluation of the training program is to compare where Elbert County is today versus years ago when no commissioners were certified. Our county ran a deficit five out of seven years, turned over seven county administrators in five years and had continual battles with cities. Since then, commissioners have all been certified, with most also being CCAP certified. We have reduced our debt to zero in the last three fiscal years; we have passed county-wide zoning and made other significant progress. We now have established a close relationship with the two city governments and the school board. All told, our progress has been phenomenal.” Training Evaluation and Impact The ultimate goal of the county training program is to improve government and governance. High-quality training is one important tool used to bring about positive change in individual and organizational behavior and performance that can produce more efficiency and effectiveness in operations. In order to maintain and consistently improve the quality of training provided ACCG members, the Vinson Institute and ACCG conduct a rigorous and ongoing evaluation of all training programs. ACCG training is evaluated in several ways: • All participants complete end-of-class evaluations designed to measure the effectiveness TRAINING continued on page 10 FEBRUARY 2009 www.accg.org 9 http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - February 2009

Georgia County Government - February 2009 Contents President’s Message County Matters ACCG Training Programs: A Foundation for Excellence in County Government ACCG Welcomes Newly Elected Commissioners Georgia’s Trauma System: The Emergency Management System Component Demographics Program Addresses County Planning Extension News: 4-H Camping Program Benefits Georgia Youth Research Corner: Promote Economic Development in Your Rural County County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - February 2009

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