Overview
More than 40 years ago, the Texas Association of Counties was formed to represent county interests in the legislative process and inform counties of issues that affected them. Since, TAC services have expanded to meet the growing needs of counties. Below is a summary of the varied services you will find from your Association.

Providing a Connection to the Capitol
TAC's Legislative Department serves as the main link between county officials and elected officials in Austin. Legislators turn to legislative staff to find out how county officials feel about particular issues, while county officials use TAC legislative liaisons to voice concerns to state officials.

The primary role of TAC’s legislative staff is actively gathering, analyzing and distributing vital information on legislative issues affecting county government. Our legislative staff keeps county officials abreast of current developments through its monthly newsletter County Issues (bimonthly during legislative sessions) and on the TAC Web site.

Our staff members also serve on state and federal advisory committees and workgroups and conduct legislative training throughout the state.

Legal Research You Can Count On
One of county officials' greatest challenges is ensuring that operations are within the many state and federal guidelines. Through a toll-free legal hotline at (888) ASK-TAC4, our legal specialists assist county officials in researching issues to find statutes, opinions and court cases relevant to particular county situations. In addition, we provide many legal resources online including upcoming legal deadlines, a wide variety of legal publications, law links and a search engine for laws and codes.

Upon request, TAC also distributes a number of helpful legal guides on topics including election laws, oath and bond requirements, open meetings, public information, financial disclosure for county officers, county subdivision regulations, county economic development and animal control.

Keeping You Covered
Since 1974, counties have been banding together through the Texas Association of Counties to self-insure against a broad range of liabilities. Owned and managed by counties, these programs through the years have saved Texas taxpayers millions of dollars and grown into a stable, sustainable resource of protection.

In addition to rates below the commercial market, TAC’s loss control programs work for our counties to help curb rising insurance costs. Our self-insurance pools include coverage for workers’ compensation, liability, health and employee benefits, unemployment compensation, and property and casualty.

Our self-insurance pools offer members:

Sound county leadership Each self-insurance fund is governed by a separate board of directors made up of county officials. County leaders conservatively navigate policy development, program enhancements and negotiations with vendors.

Many program options Pools work to provide all counties with a variety of viable options for coverages to fit their needs and budgets.

Long-term stability of rates Having their own insurance companies to see them through the good times and bad is an advantage few employers can realize. One of the clear benefits to pooling is the ability to stabilize rates from year to year due to volume purchasing.

Proven track record of financial stability The Texas Association of Counties has a 25-year proven track record of effectively administering self-insurance pools on behalf of counties. Every year, all self-insurance pools undergo outside audits to ensure financial accountability.

Personal Service from Professionals
The Texas Association of Counties has representatives for every county to act as
an important resource that county officials can rely upon for day-to-day questions
and to help identify needs. TAC’s field representatives provide risk management
consultation and technical assistance on coverages and pooling.

Our Field Services Department staff possess expertise in risk management, safety, human resources and law enforcement to work with counties to minimize their losses.

Assisting members in controlling losses is the primary reason TAC’s self-insurance pools have been able to provide coverage at prices consistently lower than the commercial market.

Services regularly offered free of charge to members include on-site training,
policy reviews, technical assistance when issues arise, safety inspections and videotraining programs.

Information You Can Use
In 1998, the TAC Board of Directors formed the County Information Project to serve as a central source for county data, which before was scattered and often difficult to locate among the various state and federal agencies.

County officials now have easy access to a wealth of county data including tax information, county profiles, census and financial data. TAC also offers useful comparative county data such as specific property tax and demographic information. The County Information Project provides county data on the TAC Web site or upon request.

TAC also offers services utilizing GIS (Geographic Information Systems) technology, including mapping and data analysis. The way maps and other data have been stored or filed as layers of information in a GIS enables counties to see the big picture.

Targeted Ongoing Training for a Busy Schedule
Providing a wide variety of training opportunities relevant to the daily challenges
in public office is another important service the Texas Association of Counties
provides its members. Our training events are designed and guided by county
officials to target county needs.

Workshops, conferences and seminars provide a unique opportunity for county officials and employees to network with their colleagues while participating in coordinated, professionally planned educational activities.

TAC training programs are offered at several locations around the state and meet the mandatory education requirements of most county offices. Many TAC programs are co-sponsored by state institutions of higher learning including the University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs and Texas Tech University.

We regularly mail out information regarding upcoming education events and feature announcements in County magazine. The Education section of the TAC Web site includes a comprehensive summary of TAC-sponsored education events and offers easy online registration. You’ll also find continuing-education information and an extensive calendar of events.

Fostering a Continuing Network of Communication
The Association delivers a variety of award-winning publications, both online and in print, to keep county officials informed of issues affecting local governments. For more than 10 years, TAC has published County, a bimonthly magazine offering specific and timely information.

We offer publications that provide regular information and assistance on a wide variety of current topics and publications that address particular needs such as a final analysis report following each legislative session and reports on county officials’ salaries.

In addition to our publications, the Association offers a variety of ways for county officials to effectively communicate with one other, get their questions answered and stay current on issues of interest:

• Listservs have become a popular form of information exchange between members. A listserv is an electronic discussion group where members communicate with each other by sending a single email to the entire group. The Association currently administers 11 listservs for officials and other groups of common interest.
  
  
• TAC now offers the majority of our services, in addition to many other resources, online. Over the last several years, our Web site has experienced tremendous growth in both its depth of information and services offered to become a valuable resource for county officials and staff.
  
  
• TAC’s communications department also launched a Facebook site. The site announces TAC conference updates, reviews county-related legislation, provides links to recently published county-focused new articles and more. Social media is an effective and cutting edge communication tool.

Accessible Technology for a Digital World
Created in 2001 upon the recommendation of the E-County Task Force, the County Information Resources Agency (CIRA) is an intergovernmental agency supported by TAC and dedicated to helping counties with their technology needs.

The agency provides essential information and technology news to counties and coordinates with counties, state and other entities to leverage resources. CIRA also is developing a variety of services to attend to unmet county needs. More than 200 counties have joined CIRA, and the agency hosts half of all county Web sites.

Planning for Now, Preparing for the Future

County Market TAC’s County Market provides members with efficient access to cooperative purchasing opportunities and other online purchasing services. In addition to the benefit of cost savings, the ability to acquire products quickly without having to go through a formal, advertised bidding procedure makes cooperative purchasing valuable. Counties can purchase a variety of products and services through TAC’s County Market like office supplies, copy machines, furniture, janitorial supplies, automobiles, road equipment and more.

Leadership Program Created by TAC’s Board of Directors in 2000, the Texas Association of Counties Leadership Program focuses on developing leadership skills, strategic policy planning and disseminating best practices of innovation and achievement. The Program features an intensive leadership class designed for county officials and sponsors Best Practices Awards annually.

Retirement Benefits Although most county officials and employees have an excellent retirement program with the Texas County and District Retirement System, many choose to supplement their retirement benefits with a deferred-compensation program. Nationwide Retirement Solutions, cosponsored by the National Association of Counties and TAC, offers the largest deferred-compensation program in the country for county employees and provides an array of tax-deferred investments. For county retirees, TAC also offers CountyChoice Silver, a supplemental Medicare program, that gives added protection at affordable rates.