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By Karen Norris, Executive Director, Texas Association of Counties |
The TAC Annual Conference always provides
interesting insights to share and this
year was no exception. A couple years ago,
the National Association of Counties established
the “Restore the Partnership” campaign, which
was initially crafted as a way for county officials
from the early presidential primary states to work
in their home counties with the presidential candidates
from both parties during the primary
election season. The focus of the initiative is on
restoring a collaborative approach to governance at
a time when the relationship between federal, state
and local government seems to be more and more
dysfunctional. Since that time, the initiative has
spread across the country and is a message county
officials are now using with congressional candidates
and in their dealings with state governmental
officials. Restoring the partnership was the focus of
this year’s NACo conference.
The February issue of Governing magazine gave an in-depth analysis of the governmental partnership issues and Governing contributing writer Jonathan Walters commented on them in his address. He traced the unraveling back to the Reagan era and Ronald Reagan’s spectacular success with his two major objectives: reducing the size of the federal government and restoring America’s pride and sense of international prominence. By the end of his years in Washington, Reagan’s New Federalism had institutionalized a pattern of shrinking federal responsibility, with roles and responsibilities shifting to the state and local levels through a combination of mandates and incentives. Exactly when and how federal and state government began to look upon cities and counties as one more special interest takes more space than I have but it’s a fundamental part of today’s struggles.
Walters urged county officials to get involved, establish relationships with key state and federal partners and build strength in numbers.
Another part of Walters’ message was to urge local governments to strengthen their credibility by focusing on providing effective local service and innovative programs. Throughout the conference, video presentations highlighted 24 exemplary county programs honored with 2008 County Best Practice Awards by the TAC Leadership Foundation. Programs were recognized for innovation, delivery of services and achievement. This issue of County has details on each program along with contact information for the county folks willing and able to help you and your county learn from their achievements. The section begins on page 38. While short, the videos give a wonderful glimpse of the impact these officials are having on making county government more effective for their taxpayers. The videos are now available for all to view at www.county.org.
The conference also offered projections on Texas and national politics and insight on what the 81st legislative session will bring. There was plenty of information on property tax reform issues and you’ll find in-depth coverage of these comments beginning on page 12 of this issue of County. The consistent theme heard from panels and speakers, including Rep. Jim Keffer, chair of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, and Rep. John Otto, chair of the Select Committee on Property Tax Relief and Appraisal Reform, was that changes in the appraisal process and the effective tax rate and rollback process will again be part of the legislative agenda.
The executive directors from two state county associations – Florida and Indiana – visited the conference to give insight on how their counties are adjusting to last year’s passages of restrictive tax measures in their states. I need to express my thanks to Chris Holley and David Bottorff for taking the time to journey to Texas to share their stories. It’s always beneficial to learn of the county revenue structures of other states and the initiatives that are brought forth to reduce property tax burdens. You’ll find details from their presentations on page 16.
Next year’s conference is scheduled for Aug. 23- 26 here in Austin. It will be a special one as we celebrate TAC’s 40th Anniversary. We hope to see all of you then.
By Karen Ann Norris, Executive Director, Texas Association of Counties