|
News you can use |
TAC Management Institute to Include Health FairThis year’s County Management Institute will include a Health Fair aimed at encouraging healthy habits. The Health Fair will be held May 15 from 10:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., and will feature massage chairs, a photo booth and several other booths to promote healthy lifestyles. Participants will have the opportunity to play games and receive prizes. The Human Resource Roundtable will be held May 14, at 10:30 a.m., before the County Management Institute begins. Participants will join other human-resource professionals for an informal discussion of county-specific HR issues. TAC Field Services HR specialists will moderate the session and offer practical advice and solutions to topics that arise during the discussion. The roundtable is free and open to anyone registered for the County Management Institute. To register for TAC’s County Management Institute or for more information, see page 14.
Justice Center Publication Aids Counties Wanting to Create Mental Health CourtsThe Council of State Governments Justice Center released an updated edition of its publication Improving Responses to People with Mental Illnesses: The Essential Elements of a Mental Health Court. The publication is the result of rigorous review and describes 10 program elements that counties should consider when planning, implementing or enhancing a mental health court, according to the center. Mental health courts have become more popular over the past five years in Texas, with Travis, Tarrant, Bexar, El Paso, Dallas, Harris and other counties recently establishing court teams specifically designed to target mentally ill defendants and provide them with care and alternatives to incarceration. Evidence from several studies has suggested that the creation of such courts reduces recidivism, substance abuse and psychological distress, and reduces jail overcrowding. The mental health courts are modeled after drug courts, which emphasize treatment over punishment; as long as defendants work with the program, they are diverted away from jail. In 2003, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 2618, which allowed county commissioners the authority to use the drug court premise for mentally ill persons charged with misdemeanor offenses; in 2005, House Bill 2518 passed, allowing mental health courts to handle felony cases as well. According to the Justice Center, there are now more than 175 mental health courts in the United States. The Justice Center defines such courts as those that contain a specialized court docket and have judicially supervised community-based treatment plans. “As communities across the country start mental health courts, they must have resources to help focus their efforts and ensure that their programs are based on collaboration among the criminal justice, mental health, substance abuse and related systems,” said Justice Center board member Sheila Leslie. “The essential elements, which reflect the consensus of researchers and practitioners, should be of great use to jurisdictions as they work to improve outcomes for people with mental illnesses in the criminal justice system.” The percentage of mentally ill patients being housed in county jails varies, but is felt to be significant all across the state. The Justice Center’s essential elements report can be downloaded for free online at http://consensusproject.org/mhcp/info/mhresources/pubs. Dewhurst Speaks to TAC Board on Appraisal Caps, Health Care
Appraisal caps and revenue caps were discussed heartedly by both county officials and the lieutenant governor. “We know (the issue) is bubbling,” Brazos County Clerk Marc Hamlin told Dewhurst. “I’ve been to Florida, I’ve been to California, I’ve been to Colorado, and I have yet to see any success story out of any of those states. I promise you, their tax systems are broken. We just do not want to do something that is going to choke us and our survival.” Dewhurst said that though his priority is to help public schools, he hopes to work closely with county officials on the property tax issue. “What I’m concerned about is we cut local school property taxes — not property taxes, not county government, we cut local school property taxes — by one-third, meaning that on the property bill, people had the overall expectation of their property taxes going down by a quarter. That didn’t happen because appraisals kept going up. It’s like no good deed goes unpunished … people want to see some tax relief,” Dewhurst said. “Our objective is to protect this tax cut that we gave homeowners and businesses,” he added. “If there is a way we can separate local government from our local schools — and I have been looking at this for a couple months now and have not been able to figure out how to do this. … Come in and see me.” Dewhurst praised county officials for the work they do in serving their communities and asked them to help him find solutions to the state’s health care problems and tax system. “The voters should be appreciative of you all, your hard work. The counties are functioning well. All around the state, we are doing well,” Dewhurst said. “What I try and do is what you have to do in your jobs, and that is, you can’t just look out one year, you can’t just look out two years, but you have to start looking out 10 years, 20 years, at what do we want the face of Texas to look like?” That kind of thinking, he said, has caused the Senate to make substantive changes as far as how the state invests in water resources and looks at clean air. But it’s also got him concerned about hospital districts and the impact of uninsured patients, as well as transportation. “We have the best health care system in the world, but why do we spend so much more? Because in America versus other countries, we focus exclusively on procedures. Doctors get paid not for best practices, but for procedures. They don’t get paid to keep you healthy, they get paid to do something. How do hospitals get paid? They get paid to do something. And that has changed my thinking,” Dewhurst said. “We have got to re-think our health care system. … But we are going to have to solve it collectively, together.” He said he expects transportation and health care to take up the majority of his time in the upcoming year. “We are going to continue to build roads. I can’t tell you which percentage of them are going to be built by private-public partnerships, there are going to be fewer percentage-wise than in the past. I can’t tell you how much the state is going to do, but it’s going to be more because there is a commitment by the state to go ahead and put the dollars in to get this done,” Dewhurst said.
Law Enforcement Fatalities Rise in 2007 Many deaths are result of automobile accidents Throughout the United States, 186 officers were killed in the line of duty in 2007, making it the deadliest year in law enforcement since 1989 — not counting 2001, when numbers were dramatically altered by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Texas peace officers accounted for 22 of those deaths, followed by Florida with 16 deaths, New York with 12, California with 11 and Louisiana with 9. The increase in law enforcement deaths was attributed mostly to fatal shootings — which rose from 52 in 2006 to 69 in 2007 — and traffic-related incidents, which rose from 73 in 2006 to a new high of 81 in 2007. Traffic incidents have been the leading cause of law enforcement officer deaths every year since 1997. Unfortunately, trends seem to be continuing into 2008. Two Texas law enforcement officers were killed in action in January, according to memorial fund’s data. Nationally, 15 officers died during that month; only Georgia tied Texas. Eight of the deaths were due to traffic incidents, an increase of 167 percent between 2007 and 2008. The Texas Legislature is currently studying potential ways for reducing the Law Enforcement Fatalities Rise in 2007 Many deaths are result of automobile accidents number of law enforcement deaths. According to the interim charges assigned to the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, legislators are hoping to:
In the meantime, it is important for all law enforcement officers to do their jobs as safely as possible and to be as well-trained as possible, said TAC Law Enforcement Specialist James MacMillan. TAC provides a number of services and workshops to help increase deputy safety, including its driving simulator and risk management training workshops. “We are seeing an increase in injuries, even fatalities, in law enforcement and most of them are from motor vehicle accidents. We are also seeing an increase in auto accidents where there may not be an injury, but there is damage,” MacMillan said. “We should be looking at the overall picture,” he added. “Statistically, there are a number of near misses and then a certain number of accidents, and then so many of these will result in damage and injury, then a fatality. Our counties should evaluate the near misses and the no-injury accidents and make changes to help prevent these, instead of waiting for a serious injury or fatality to occur.” City-County Cooperation Award Submissions DueCities and counties who have worked together to meet the challenges local governments face are eligible for the City-County Cooperation Award, given jointly by TAC and the Texas Municipal League. Previous winners of the program have included Burleson County with the City of Somerville for their collaborative health resource center; Parker County with the City of Weatherford for their special crimes unit; Titus County and the City of Mount Pleasant for their effort to build a traffic loop around the city; and Williamson County and the cities of Cedar Park, Hutto, Leander and Round Rock for their regional animal shelter. In order to qualify for the award, the project must have concluded or showed significant results between November 6, 2006, and May 1, 2008. The deadline to apply for the award is 5 p.m. May 2. Five copies of a printed document outlining the program and acting as the application should be mailed to the Texas Municipal League headquarters at: TML City-County Cooperation Awards Program 1821 Rutherford Lane, Suite 400 Austin, TX 78754 The document should include the names and populations of the city and the county, the title of the project, signatures and printed names of the chief city and county officials, and a contact person’s name, title, phone number and email address. Descriptions of the programs should be 1,200 words or less and address:
For additional information, contact TAC Media Relations Director Elna Christopher at 800-456-5974. TAC’s Pools Among Country’s Largest, Magazine ReportsTexas Municipal League, Association of School Boards pools make the list as well TAC’s Health and Employment Benefits Pool is the eighth largest public entity risk pool in the country, according to a December ranking in the market sourcebook published by Business Insurance Magazine. The publication rated the public entity pools according to 2006 member contributions. HEBP’s total 2006 contributions were reported at $92,330,088. TAC’s other pools were also ranked:
The 2006 numbers were reported to the organization last fall by Program Administration Director Jim Jean. The TAC pools’ ranking in next year’s listing should change significantly, once numbers are reported based on the recent merger of the Workers’ Comp, Risk Management and Property & Casualty operations into the new TAC Risk Management Pool. Had the three pools been combined in the magazine’s recent listing, the new Risk Management Pool would have ranked 11th overall, with more than $64,223,789 in contributions. For the record, the largest public entity risk pool for 2006 was the Local Government Center HealthTrust, an organization operated by the New Hampshire Municipal Association. The pool provides health, workers’ comp and property/liability coverage for cities, counties and schools in that state. Its contributions totaled $316,402,602 in 2006. Other Texas public pools were ranked fifth (Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool, with $141,772,929), sixth (Texas Association of School Boards Risk Management Pool, with $96,477,795) and 56th (Deep East Texas Self-Insurance Fund, with $8,900,000). Best Practice Submissions Due May 15The deadline to submit nominations for Best Practices Awards is nearing. Application forms must be mailed into TAC by May 15. The goal of the TAC Leadership Foundation Best Practices Program is to award counties for their innovations and commitment to making a more effective and efficient local government, and to disseminate information regarding those practices around the state so that other counties can copy or adapt those programs for their own needs. In order for a service, innovation or achievement to qualify for the award, programs must be fully operational and must have been established within 36 months of the submission deadline, and should be replicable in other counties and show measurable results. Applications are available within this magazine or by contacting Kali O’Neill at kalio@county.org. Winners will be honored at the TAC Annual Conference in August and will be featured in upcoming editions of County. TAC will also provide winning counties with press releases and other services so that counties can promote their innovations, services and achievements to their residents. Leadership Foundation Seeks Nominations for Next Class of Leaders The TAC Leadership Foundation is in the process of selecting its 2008-2009 Leadership Class and is seeking submissions and nominations for interested parties. The deadline to apply for the Leadership Class is May 15; enrollees will be selected by the Leadership Foundation Board and will be announced during the TAC Annual Conference in August. The Leadership Foundation seeks to build leadership capacity among Texas county officials, so that together they may sustain civil, livable, healthy and economically viable communities. The foundation focuses on helping attendees further develop leadership skills, implement strategic policy planning, and disseminate information about the best programs, achievements and innovations from around the state. The Leadership Class is a selective program geared toward emerging and veteran county leaders from across the state. Participants meet over the course of a year. Meetings are centered on leadership skill development and critical issues affecting county government. “The Leadership Class is different from other workshops and seminars because it’s more of an interactive discussion about the challenges Texas counties are facing, where we want to go and how to get there. It’s for experienced leaders who want to pass along their knowledge to the next generation, as well as those just entering county government who plan on staying with us for a long time,” said class facilitator Mark Warren. “My goal is teaching leaders to serve and lead at a higher level. Learn to play on the team before you try to be its leader, learn how to be a member of a team. Leading at a higher level means putting the needs of others above the needs of yourself, which is way simple, but in government, that’s not always the way it turns out.” El Paso County Auditor Edward Dion, a Leadership Class graduate, said he found the program to be “truly beneficial” because it stresses the importance of county officials understanding each other and working together. “The class offered a well-rounded program emphasizing collaboration of government officials to create more synergy in county government,” he said. “Participation in the Leadership Class and successive retreats has opened doors for me to other county officials and their associations. The Leadership Class without a doubt bridges unity in county government by bringing individuals together in a neutral environment.” Applications and nomination forms are available via the TAC Web site at www.county.org/cms/leader/class/app.asp or by contacting Kali O’Neill at kalio@county.org. Certified County Investment Officer Training Scheduled TAC is offering its CIO Level I certification training Oct. 5-11. The training will offer valuable insight into the latest financial trends as well as prepare attendees for the Level II training. The Level I program is designed for county staff and officials who invest public funds. Participants will receive an overview of the Texas Public Funds Investment Act and learn valuable ways to invest county funds responsibly. The $395 seven-day workshop, held in the TAC Events Center, will culminate in a CIO certification exam for those seeking certification. The training is open to any county official but is specifically designed for those overseeing public funds such as auditors, commissioners court members, county investment officers and treasurers. Registration is limited to 25 and will be available online at www.county.org in the coming months. For more information or to register by phone, call the TAC Education Department at 800-456-5974. Prescription Cards Flying Out to Brazos County CitizensThe job of district clerk is not normally associated with lower cost health care but in Brazos County, District Clerk Marc Hamlin’s office has taken on a program to offer citizens access to average discounts of 20 percent on prescription drugs, with significant success. 
In the first two months of offering the National Association of Counties prescription drug discount cards, Brazos County residents saved more than $24,000 in pharmaceutical expenses. County residents filled 2,228 prescriptions with the cards at discounts averaging $10.85 per prescription. Those figures rank the county with a population of 159,000 behind only Tarrant and Dallas counties in number of prescriptions filled by residents, Hamlin said at a press conference highlighting the program’s initial success. County Judge Randy Sims also praised the program “It’s working out real well,” Sims told the Bryan-College Station Eagle. “I think it’s great if people will keep using it. Those who don’t have insurance can really save some money.” The cards may be used by all county residents, regardless of age, income, or existing health coverage, and are accepted at a national network of more than 59,000 participating retail pharmacies. Hamlin, who was elected by the TAC Board of Directors last year to serve on the NACo board, took full advantage of the national organization’s staff support to spread the word among Texas residents. He said the county implemented NACo’s marketing package, which includes tips on holding a press conference, preparing a press release and contacting local media, who responded enthusiastically. “The press conference turned out to be a tremendous help in getting the word out about the discount card,” Hamlin said. “The local newspaper released an article about it (and) our local television station released a story on the card more than once.” In addition, the county had great support from the local participating pharmaPrescription Cards Flying Out to Brazos County Citizens cies, he said. “Sam’s, Walgreens, and Target were just a few of the many local pharmacies that attended the press conference and picked up their initial supply of cards then,” he said. Their attendance was not by happenstance; they had been contacted in advance by Hamlin’s staff, which took on the drug card program as a joint task. He said that early on, many of them volunteered to distribute the cards to the different businesses on their own personal time, he said. “We called each business and set up a contact person that we could call in the future to ensure that they had a constant supply of cards,” he said. “The list kept growing due to the spreading knowledge and popularity of the cards.” The cards were also placed around town at city government buildings, nonprofit organizations and churches. “We have even had businesses like medical facilities, banks, pharmacies and daycares contact us that were interested in housing the cards.” Ease of use is part of the appeal of the discount cards. “No one asks you for your Social Security or driver’s license number,” Hamlin said. “You don’t fill out an application. You just pick up the card. I liken it to getting a coupon in the Sunday paper.” Brazos County became eligible to join the program, which is administered by Caremark Rx, Inc., through its membership with the National Association of Counties. “For an investment of $2,980.00 annual dues to NACo from the District Clerk’s dedicated fund, Brazos County has saved its residents $24,040.60 in just its first two months,” Hamlin said. Sixty-four Texas counties are participating in the drug program. There are 149 Texas counties that are members of NACo. Counties interested in initiating the drug card program or joining NACo are encouraged to contact Andrew Goldschmidt at 202-942-4221. Whitley to Seek NACo Post AgainTarrant County Judge Glen Whitley is continuing the quest for the top leadership of the National Association of Counties after an election screw-up last year denied him the post of NACo second vice president. In January, Whitley emailed county leaders around the country to inform them of his intent to again seek the position that evolves over the next three years into the presidency of the 3,066-county organization. Whitley’s bid for the post last year was denied after a delegate from New York state cast the state’s 218 votes incorrectly – contrary to the state’s written proxy to vote the state’s ballots for Whitley. As a result, the Texan lost the race by 21 votes out of a total of more than 6,400 votes in the election (for more information, see “Ill Cast Votes Deny Whitley NACo Post” in the September- October 2007 edition of County magazine). The Tarrant County judge emphasized that he will once again call for greater public awareness of county government as the centerpiece of his campaign. “Too often, county efforts go unnoticed and are underappreciated,” Whitley wrote to his fellow county officials. “This compelling need to explain county government and services to the public is essential for NACo. “America’s counties will enjoy far greater support from voters, property owners, businesses and those who receive services, if the role of county government is clearly understood.” Toward that goal, Whitley proposed an annual month-long campaign devoted to raising county awareness. “NACo should work closely with our state associations to provide us with greater resources to tell the county story,” he said. He also announced his renewed effort at the County Judges and Commissioners Education Seminar at College Station in February. At that meeting, he emphasized the importance of Texas counties joining NACo. He cited the organization’s success last year in turning back a Congressional proposal that would have ditched thousands of recently purchased electronic voting machines without assurances of funding for even newer replacement equipment. In addition to NACo’s ongoing lobbying efforts in Washington D.C., Whitley also highlighted programs that are available to individual counties, including the prescription drug discount program, cooperative purchasing through the U.S. Communities Government Purchasing Alliance and the Deferred Compensation Program through Nationwide Retirement Solutions. Whitley played a key role last year in encouraging Texas counties to join NACo. Texas membership in the national organization increased from 120 to 149 – an 11 percent increase. The election for NACo second vice president will be held at NACo’s Annual Conference July 11-15 in Kansas City, Missouri. NACo-Sponsored Deferred Compensation Investment Plan Rated Tops by Officials The hiccups and throat-clearing of the national economy in recent months do not have to be a source of long-term concern for county employees who are eligible to participate in the Nationwide Retirement Solutions deferred compensation investment plan, endorsed by both the National Association of Counties and TAC. More than 360,000 county employees across the country invest in Nationwide’s 457 plan that allows them to set aside a self-determined amount from their paychecks and invest the money tax-free in an assortment of more than 40 investment options. “It’s a great way for county employees to set aside money for their retirement on a tax-free basis,” noted Dallas County Commissioner Ken Mayfield. “Who knows if Social Security will be around in 15 or 20 years, but you can count on Nationwide being a good program with a solid track record.” Dallas County recently signed a 10-year agreement with Nationwide. What makes the Nationwide program trustworthy is that it is overseen by an advisory committee appointed by the leadership of NACo, said Mayfield, who made those types of appointments when he served as NACo’s president in 2002-3. “That board is typically comprised of not only commissioners and judges but also auditors and treasurers and other folks with financial expertise,” he said. At NACo, Lisa Cole said the 15-member advisory group annually employs a consultant to assess the appropriateness of the various investment options and to determine the program’s financial soundness. In addition, each year the consultant is charged with analyzing potentially troubling impacts of the national economy. Last year, for example, the effect of sub-prime mortgages was reviewed and before that, the consultant examined the impact of Hurricane Katrina on the company’s property and casualty insurance coverage. One of the investment options available to participants is a fixed annuity that offers county employees the opportunity to earn an investment return at a fixed rate that is established quarterly by Nationwide. The consultants concluded the 2006 return on this investment option placed highest among its competitors. In Texas, the Nationwide staff is headed by William Sawyers of Houston. He said the organization’s local staff focuses on educating Nationwide participants on effective investment strategies. Sawyers said the education effort focuses on each individual’s “time horizon” — their age and when they hope to retire — and their “risk tolerance” — how comfortable a person feels in taking chances on their retirement investments. And finally, participants are asked to assess how much money they expect to have at retirement, from all sources. People who begin investing in Nationwide at a young age, for example, may be inclined to take more risks, with the understanding that over time, market fluctuation corrects itself, Sawyers said. At present, 183 Texas counties have authorized Nationwide to offer its retirement plan. Prescription Tobacco-Cessation Medication Added to CoverageIn order to encourage the health of its members, the TAC Health and Employee Benefits Pool has added the coverage of prescription tobacco-cessation medication for its Pool members. Beginning March 1, TAC Health and Employee Benefits Pool members will automatically receive a new benefit that covers prescription tobacco-cessation medication. Members have the option of filling a one-month prescription for $30 or ordering a three-month supply for $90. For counties that have a prescription deductible, that deductible will be waived for the new benefit. Prescription drugs that are available include:
According to the American Lung Association, smoking-related diseases claim 430,700 American lives each year. Smoking costs the United States $97.2 billion each year in health-care costs and lost productivity. Smoking is directly responsible for 87 percent of lung cancer cases and causes most cases of emphysema and chronic bronchitis. In the United States, an estimated 46.6 million people are smokers. People that smoke also have a a higher risk for suffering heart attacks and strokes. Many people that smoke say they would like to quit, but don’t know how. Because tobacco use threatens the health of many Americans, doctors have become more proactive in their approach to treatment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved several prescription medications that doctors are prescribing to their patients in order to help curb tobacco use. The new coverage only applies to prescribed medication. Members who are interested in curbing their tobacco use should visit their doctors for advice on which medication would be the most beneficial to them. For additional information on tobacco cessation, visit the Health Improvement Program section of the TAC Web site at www.county.org. Grimes County Wins NACo Rural Technical Assistance Grant Grimes County was selected as one of three counties from across the country to receive an $18,000 Rural Health Works Technical Assistance Package from the National Association of Counties. The other two grant recipients were Holmes County, Fla. and Summers County, W.Va. Rural Health Works grants help provide the tools for rural counties to revitalize their local health care systems and keep their health care dollars and services at home. “America’s health care systems serving rural communities are under enormous pressure to provide adequate care,” said NACo President Eric Coleman, a commissioner from Oakland County, Mich. “Counties believe that health care is critical to the physical and mental well-being of its residents and strength of local economies. Without local health care, as much as 20 percent of the local economy would be lost. NACo is proud to award Rural Health Works grants to assist these rural counties.” “The selection process was very competitive and [Grimes County’s] proposal was among the top for the very best fit for the Rural Health Works technical assistance,” NACo informed Grimes County in an email announcing the county had won the grant. The county applied for the grant and technical assistance in order to help improve transportation services connected to the county’s health systems. “For a lot of people, especially in our rural area, transportation is a really tough thing. Some residents don’t have vehicles, and the transportation that is offered is not the most reliable since it comes all the way out of Bryan-College Station. We have a van that was purchased through another grant with Texas A&M, and we are trying to figure out better ways of improving this service for our residents, to make sure they are getting to their health care providers,” said Commissioner Pam Finke. The technical assistance will help show the county “where the real problems are” by coming up with a program that will allow the county to combine the information it has to better coordinate transportation and utilize its van more effectively, Finke added. The county is also hoping the grant can be used to further the work of a Health Assessment Survey recently completed by the Brazos Valley Health Partnership, she added. The survey asked residents if they had health problems and insurance; the transportation services are meant to help those residents focus on preventative care. “We want to know if our preventative maintenance program is truly working,” Finke said. The NACo grant package also includes access to expert health care consultants. Officials, Staff Turn Out for TAC’s First Stand-Alone Local Government Technology ConferenceThe first stand-alone Courts and Local Government Technology Conference attracted officials and staff from around the state, resulting in a 40 percent increase in county government participation over last year’s joint TAC/Government Technology conference. “Technology continues to evolve and become an integral part of our court systems,” said TAC Education Director Jay Johnson. “The TAC Technology Conference is committed to helping counties implement technology-driven solutions to problems, and solve technology issues.” The January conference included sessions on the evolution of technology, types of electronic evidence, how to use the search engine LexisNexis and direct electronic filing. County officials and staff were involved in leading the several of the conference’s education seminars. Genoveva Perez, Montgomery County’s indigent defense director, helped demonstrate real time video court procedures with the 410th District Judge, Michael Mayes, who was shown via web conferencing equipment assigning defense attorneys to jail inmates. And Williamson County Court at Law# 2 Judge Tim Wright moderated discussions with vendors selling high-tech monitoring and screening devices as alternatives to incarceration. Rural Innovators Discuss 2008 NeedsInternet access, healthcare, education and regional partnerships with urban areas lead list What does rural Texas need more than anything else in 2008? That was the question policy makers and rural area leaders addressed during the year’s first Texas Rural Innovators Forum, held last month in Bastrop County. Speakers — including state senators, mayors and policy makers — tended to agree that the three biggest issues facing rural Texas are access to healthcare, high-speed Internet and quality education. Colleen Landkamer, the past president of the National Association of Counties who formed NACo’s Rural Action Caucus and a county commissioner from Blue Earth, Minn., said it is important for urban and rural counties to work together and recognize that America’s economies are not competing with each other locally — competition is global. “Frequently nobody pays attention to us because there isn’t a critical mass. When you bring urban America and rural America together, you have a critical mass and all of a sudden, whichever entity you’re dealing with, be it the state Legislature or Congress, they can’t pit you against each other,” Landkamer said, adding that it’s important areas work together as regions. “Rural America brings to urban America food, energy, workforce. … We also bring stewardship. Clean air, clean water, ensure that the land does not erode.” Some suggestions discussed at the forum were controversial. Glynis Strause, the continuing education coordinator at Coastal Bend College, advocated for a statewide community college tax, which she said was necessary in order to make the community colleges more accessible for out-of-county students. Others said that such inequities should be worked out locally, but almost everyone agreed that pouring resources into education and other infrastructure is essential for rural sustainability. Co-sponsored by TAC, the Texas Rural Innovators Forum is a series of dialogues focusing on successful rural programs. The next Texas Rural Innovators Forum will be held April 15 in Bastrop and will focus on how rural communities can support entrepreneurship. Speakers will include Mary Ellen McClanahan, the director of the Georgia Governor’s Entrepreneur & Small Business Office, and Deb Markley, the co-director of the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship in Chapel Hill, N.C. For more information, visit the innovator’s Web site at www.ruraltx.org. |
Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst spoke to a roomful
of county leaders during last month’s Board of Directors meeting, hoping to send a message to county officials about the importance of finding new solutions to longtime problems.
Texas had more law enforcement fatalities last year than any other state, according to a report by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund and the Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.) group.