Georgia County Government-August 2008

President’sMessage An Aging Population Can Yield Community Beneﬁts Association County Commissioners of Georgia Officers serving through April 2009 President VIRGINIA GRAY Clayton County First Vice President JAN TANKERSLEY Bulloch County Second Vice President LAMAR PARIS Union County Third Vice President G. MELVIN DAVIS Oconee County Executive Director JERRY R. GRIFFIN Board of Managers 1st District JERRY SHEARIN, Paulding County 2nd District MIKE BERG, Dawson County 3rd District BURRELL ELLIS, DeKalb County 4th District EUGENE HARDWICK, Lamar County 5th District KEVIN LITTLE, Walton County 6th District C. BROOKS BAILEY, Pulaski 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 DAVID GAULT, Jones 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 TOM MCMICHAEL, Houston County O. D. NETTER, Ben Hill County Ex-Officio NACo Board Members/Officers: RICHARD ENGLISH, Troup County JAMES HAM, Monroe County Section Presidents Attorneys’ Section: MICHAEL LONG, Houston County Managers’/Administrators’ Section: KEVIN POE, Floyd County Clerks’ Section: BRENDA STALVEY, Echols 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 AUGUST 2008 www.accg.org By Virginia Gray President Counties will be serving a public that is, on average, older than that of any previous generation. This is a trend that is expected to continue. s summer wanes we begin the most active period of the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG) policy process, fall, which sees county commissioners statewide convene at the Fall Policy Conference to vote on the 2009 County Platform. This document represents the consensus of ACCG’s entire membership with regard to the legislative goals the association has formed over several months of policy committee deliberations. Many commissioners like myself, who have been in office for more than a decade, would agree that certain problems have consistently been ongoing concerns – such as securing an adequate per diem allowance for county jails housing state inmates, or the uphill battle for funding to maintain Georgia’s local transportation networks, comprising some 80 percent of the state’s roads that must bring economic vitality to all regions. Some problems, like the rising cost of health care, emergency preparedness, and the need to guarantee all communities reliable sources of drinking water, we’ve anticipated for years and have also made great progress with. Counties have learned the value of forming viable regional partnerships to put in place services they could not undertake alone. We’ve seen regions strengthen rural health care access and emergency medical services, and working together, put in place water supply and treatment facilities that can serve their needs for the future. Leveraging economic development is yet another area in which regional partnerships have made great strides – from joint marketing initiatives and revitalization programs to building new facilities and expanding airports. Some challenges we’ve seen emerge in the last decade have been unanticipated, however, such as the realization that counties will be serving a public that is, on average, older than that of any previous generation. This is a trend that is expected to continue. We’re familiar with PRESIDENT continued on page 8 A 7 http://www.accg.org

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

Georgia County Government- August 2008 Contents President’s Message County Matters Georgia’s Transportation Issues More Critical to Counties than Ever Expanding Rural Airports: Partnering for Economic Development in Upson County Meet DOT Commissioner Gena Abraham Bridge Infrastructure and Risk Counties and the Law: Georgia’s Fair Employment Practices Act Georgia’s Grand Old Courthouses: Coffee County Extension News: Infrastructure Investments Save County Funds Research Corner: Getting the Most Out of Your Research Discover the New Georgia Encyclopedia NACo News Staff News County Parade Index of Advertisers

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