Georgia County Government - March 2008 - (Page 7)

President’sMessage Take Advantage of NACo: Counties’ Advocate in Washington Association County Commissioners of Georgia President TOM McMICHAEL Houston County First Vice President VIRGINIA GRAY Clayton County Second Vice President JAN TANKERSLEY Bulloch County C By Tom McMichael President At the level of the federal government, counties also need a unified presence, and NACo is counties’ advocate in Washington. ommissioners all over the state know there’s no shortage of challenges in our communities that must be dealt with through interaction with state government, especially when the General Assembly convenes. While many of us have to pull strings and plan ahead to come to Atlanta to participate in lobbying efforts that are crucial to our communities, few of us question anymore whether our presence before the Legislature as a group will further our policy goals. We have learned that we will accomplish much more if we visit in person. Therefore, we attend Association County Commissioners of Georgia’s (ACCG) Legislative Conference, and come to the capitol at other times during the session when the agenda concerns policy matters we need to advocate. We could not be effective in the Legislature, though, if ACCG did not also guide us all year through the policy process. Throughout the year, our association lays groundwork, conducts research and fosters our “having a seat at the table” in the intergovernmental arena. So it also goes with counties in Washington, D.C., through involvement in the National Association of Counties (NACo). At t he level of t he federa l gove r n me nt , c ou nt ie s a l s o ne e d a u nif ied presence, a nd NACo is counties’ advocate in Washington. I had the opportunity in January to travel to Washing ton, with ACCG Executive Director Jerry Griffin and Deputy Director Ross King, to attend t he Nat iona l C ou nc i l of C ou nt y Association Presidents and Executives meeting at the White House. We heard from HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, USDA Undersecretary Thomas Dorr PRESIDENT continued on page 8 Third Vice President LAMAR PARIS Union County Executive Director JERRY R. GRIFFIN Board of Managers 1st District JERRY SHEARIN, Paulding County 2nd District STEPHEN W. GOOCH, Lumpkin County 3rd District BURRELL ELLIS, DeKalb County 4th District GENE HARDWICK, Lamar County 5th District G. MELVIN DAVIS, Oconee County 6th District WILLIAM R. BLIZZARD, Baldwin County 7th District JOHN R. GRAHAM, Warren County 8th District CLINTON PERRY, Taylor County 9th District D. M. MULLIS, Laurens County 10th District CHARLES LINGLE, Dougherty County 11th District EUGENE DYAL, Bacon County 12th District JOHN McIVER, Liberty County Consolidated Government Representative HEIDI DAVISON, Athens-Clarke County At-Large MIKE BERG, Dawson County JAMES KHOURY, Peach County SAM OLENS, Cobb County HELEN STONE, Chatham County AARON VARNER, Newton County Active Past Presidents GLENDA BATTLE, Decatur County CLARENCE BROWN, Bartow County BILLY CROKER, Polk County JAMES V. HAM, Monroe County BENJAMIN HAYWARD, Mitchell County O. D. NETTER, Ben Hill County Ex-Officio NACo Board Members/Officers: JIMMY DIXON, Burke County RICHARD ENGLISH, Troup County Section Presidents Attorneys’ Section: WALTER ELLIOTT, Lowndes County Managers’/Administrators’ Section: PAUL BRYAN, Jefferson County Clerks’ Section: PAM GIBSON, Ware County Service Program Chairs ACCG Insurance Program Representatives (IRMA) JOHN STRICKLAND, Clinch County Group Self Insurance Workers’ Compensation Fund (GSIWCF) WALTER L. SANDERS, Greene County Pension Representative H. JAY WALKER, Houston County MARCH 2008 www.accg.org 7 http://www.accg.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Georgia County Government - March 2008

Georgia County Government - March 2008 Contents President's Message County Matters Guest Editorial: Our Future Depends On Statesmanship Bryan County in Step With State Coastal Plan Solid Waste Management in Georgia Hazardous Waste Management in Georgia Extension News: Georgians Growing Older, Fatter County Parade Index of Advertisers

Georgia County Government - March 2008

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