TAC Videos Help Explain County Government

Explaining the roles and functions of county government just got easier.

TAC’s 18-minute video, “County Government: There When You Need It,” is now posted online at www.county.org under the “About Texas Counties” pull-down tab on the right side of the page. The direct Web site address is www.county.org/counties/video.

Not only can officials or members of the public view the video, the new page allows Internet browsers to download segments to their local computer as a video file. That means a county official, armed with a laptop computer and projector, can take the production to show to local civic clubs or school classes.

In addition, the video has been cut into smaller “chapters” to explain different elected positions:

• “The Buck Starts Here” describes the roles of county judges and commissioners;
• “Justice for All” talks about the importance of sheriffs, district attorneys, county attorneys and district clerks;
• “The People’s Court” explains the jobs of justices of the peace and constables;
• “They’re Your Dollars” details the role of county treasurers and auditors;
• “Keeping Things Organized,” features county clerks and tax assessor-collectors; and
• “Taking on New Challenges,” explains the additional services that county government provides to taxpayers.

The shorter versions are hosted via YouTube.

Counties are encouraged to add links to the TAC video page onto their own Web sites. Counties with homepages hosted by TAC’s County Information Resources Agency may contact CIRA at 800-456-5974 to have the link added to their Web sites.

DVD or VHS copies of the video may be purchased for $19.95 by contacting the TAC Administration Department at 800-456-5974 or orders@county.org

Former TAC President Larry Craig Remembered for Promoting TAC Database

Larry Craig, former TAC president and four-term Smith County Judge, passed away April 12 in Tyler.

Judge Craig was elected to the Smith County position in 1986 and served until 2002, including the years 1998-99 as TAC president. He is the only four-term county judge in Smith County history.

The focus of his term at the helm of TAC was two-fold: establishment of a comprehensive database of relevant information about Texas counties useful to county and state officials as well as a push to make county officials aware of the array of services offered by TAC.

“Officials may have a need for general demographic information that the Census Bureau or various state agencies collect about counties; they should be able to look to TAC for quick access to what they’re hunting for,” Craig wrote in the March-April 1998 issue of County magazine. “Similarly, if officials are trying to determine the cost or effectiveness of local programs, they should be able get answers at TAC on comparative figures about counties of similar sizes and corresponding local conditions.”

That proposal resulted in the creation of the County Information Project, which maintains and develops databases of county-related data.

During Craig’s tenure, TAC also developed a variety of email listserves and significantly enlarged its Web site, www.county.org.

Craig began his professional career by obtaining a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Houston. His 25-year career in retail pharmacy included 10 years as owner-operator of his own store.

In 1976, prior to his first campaign for office, Craig assisted Sheriff J.B. Smith in organizing an active sheriff’s reserve program, which was twice recognized by the Reserve Law Officers Association of America for outstanding organization and service.

Former TAC President Larry Craig Remembered for Promoting TAC Database Then in 1986, he made his first run for elected office by defeating a two-term incumbent county judge and earned a reputation for stretching the county’s budget dollars.

“I can recall with clarity the uncommon talent he had for finding, from year to year and from seriously restricted county revenue sources, ways to improve county facilities and provide meaningful benefits for county employees and Smith county citizens, while avoiding property tax increases,” former Commissioner Andrew Melontree told the Tyler Telegraph.

The Tyler paper reported that Smith County Commissioner Bill McGinnis, who served throughout Craig’s 16-year tenure as the judge’s administrative assistant, observed that “Judge Craig took the reins of the county right when it was beginning to change from a rural county to the urban county we are today. “Obviously that’s a difficult transition, and there were a lot of unique issues we began to face because of that change,” Commissioner McGinnis said. “And Judge Craig was very instrumental in bringing the county into the 20th and 21st Centuries, if you will. Smith County is where it is today, and I’m certainly where I am, because of Judge Craig.”

Craig was appointed by then-Governor George W. Bush to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and served five years as chair, the longest serving presiding officer in the organization’s history.

In March of 1972 he married Barbara Jean Copeland and they enjoyed raising a family of five children together. Barbara preceded him in death in 2005.

Counties Receive Safety Awards at County Management Institute

Numerous counties who have made an effort to improve and maintain effective safety programs during the last year received recognition for their efforts during TAC’s County Management Institute, held May 14-16 in Austin.

Recipients of TAC’s safety awards are chosen by the Association’s team of safety specialists based on improvements in safety records, employee involvement in safety programs and other factors. Counties with improved safety records can receive a Gold Star Safety Award, and employees are eligible for the highest safety award honors, the Making a Difference Award.

The Gold Star Safety Award recipients for 2008 are Hutchinson, Carson, Scurry, Fisher, Denton, Bell, Nueces, Orange, Hays and Comal counties.

The Making a Difference Awards went to county employees who were most responsible for their program’s success, either by coming up with new and innovative ways to promote safety or by gathering support for installing safety programs in their counties.

The following people earned the 2008 Making a Difference Award for their region:

• In West Texas and the Panhandle, Carson County Safety Coordinator Brenda Vermillion was recognized for her willingness to help other counties in her region set up their own safety programs.
• In North Texas, Gregg County’s Rita Fyffe earned the award for being a positive role model and helping the county achieve a low loss ratio of .09 during 2007.
• In East Texas, San Patricio County Emergency Coordinator W.E. Zagorski earned recognition for maintaining the county’s return to work program and for helping to reduce the county’s workers’ compensation premium while improving employees’ work environments.
• In South Texas, Starr County Loss Control Coordinator Letty Sepulveda was recognized for developing a safety training process for road and bridge crews, the sheriff’s office and courthouse staff.

Brazos, Brooks, Caldwell, Cochran, Coleman, Crockett, Deaf Smith, Ector, Erath, Garza, Gregg, Hardin, Hockley, Hunt, Jackson, Jim Wells, Jones, Kaufman, Kleberg, Lavaca, Lee, Lynn, Madison, McLennan, Menard, Montague, Polk, Rusk, San Patricio, Somervell, Sherman, Starr, Uvalde, Washington, Wichita and Yoakum counties were also recognized for their safety programs and received awards.

NACo Annual Conference in Nearby Kansas City

Officials wanting to attend this year’s National Association of Counties Annual Conference will find that things are fairly close to home, and more affordable than in past years. The conference is being held July 11-15 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Registration for the conference is now open via the NACo Web site, www.naco.org.

Attendance is especially important this year, as Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley is throwing his hat into the running for the NACo second vice president leadership position with the hopes of getting a Texas voice heard at the national level. Elections for the position take place at the conference; only NACo member counties who register for the conference are eligible to vote, though members can vote by proxy via TAC if they cannot make the event.

This is Whitley’s second attempt at the NACo second vice presidency, a position that leads to the NACo presidency in four years. He narrowly missed his bid last year due to a voting irregularity. Those who are interested in finding out more information about Whitley’s campaign can go to www.winwithwhitley.com, where the candidate has posted a video message on his positions.

Officials who are planning to attend the NACo conference can also volunteer to sign up for one of the many NACo steering committees by contacting TAC Executive Director Karen Ann Norris at 800-456-5974.

HR Workshops Wrap Up

The 2008 TAC Human Resources Regional Workshops series attracted hundreds of officials and county HR employees interested in gaining an in-depth look at employment issues. The workshops focused on how to conduct internal investigations. They also touched on unemployment compensation issues and information about the Political Subdivision Workers’ Compensation Alliance, which is composed of five public entity pools.

“We came up with what we thought would be most beneficial to our members, and then we received training on it ourselves,” said HR Specialist Diana Cecil. The workshops took place last month in Lubbock, Corpus Christi, Abilene, Conroe, Odessa, Tyler, Kerrville and Waco.

The developed curriculum included various training exercises and mock investigation scenarios, including how to deal with a hostile witness while conducting an internal investigation.

“I learned quite a bit about unemployment and this seminar gave me the knowledge to review our county’s policies to attempt to limit liability,” wrote one conference attendee when evaluating the workshops.

Another attendee wrote that the seminars helped them acquire “real eye-openers as to where our county is and what needs to be improved or changed.” The workshop curriculum also included a comprehensive listing of the different policies counties should have in order to protect themselves from different employment-related situations. Officials wanting a full list of suggested policies can contact TAC’s HR specialists at 800-456-5974.

TAC Annual Conference Speakers Confirmed

Texas Monthly magazine editor Evan Smith is the keynote speaker for the 2008 TAC Annual Conference, scheduled for Aug. 27-28. Smith, who first joined the Texas Monthly staff in 1992 and has since been nominated for 14 National Magazine Awards (the industry equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize), will address attendees during the Opening General Session. Smith alsohosts the weekly television interview program Texas Monthly Talks. His experience in writing about Texas-centric issues, as well as in interviewing the state’s most influential movers and shakers, give him a unique prospective from which to analyze the state’s recent history and future.

Following Smith’s address will be Jonathan Walters, a staff correspondent for the TAC Annual Conference Speakers Confirmed nationally-focused Governing magazine who has written about topics ranging from finding ways to deal with retirees’ health care costs to the ways in which governments can improve residents’ quality of life. He has more than 20 years of experience writing on issues related to public policy and administration. Other conference speakers will include the executive directors of the Florida Association of Counties and the Association of Indiana Counties, who will talk about tax cap efforts and consequences in their states.

This year’s conference will focus on building partnerships between state and local government, as well as on presentation of pre-legislative issues that will be going through the Legislature beginning in January 2009.

More information about TAC’s Annual Conference can be found on page 32 or by going online at www.county.org.

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