County-Related News

Texas leaders honored by NACo

Two leaders of the Texas Association of Counties were named National Co-Membership “Recruiters of the Year” at the recent annual conference of the National Association of Counties (NACo) in Nashville.

Denton County Clerk Cynthia Mitchell, vice-chair of TAC’s Risk Management Pool, and Brazos County District Clerk Marc Hamlin, former TAC president, are co-chairs of NACo’s Texas membership team.

Out of all 50 states, Texas had the largest membership growth in NACo, with 16 new counties joining the organization.

Just like membership in TAC at the state level, membership in NACo is important for counties because NACo works at the national level to ensure county government remains strong and viable while supporting local counties in many of their needs. NACo lobbies the federal government for funding many very expensive and otherwise unfunded mandates they place on county governments.

NACo also provides many opportunities for county governments to participate in national buying power programs that save them a lot of money each year.

Brazos, Denton and many other Texas counties also participate in NACo’s Prescription Drug Card Program, allowing county residents to save money on prescriptions with use of the free NACo prescription card. Nationwide, the Prescription Drug Card program has saved individuals $196 million to date.

Also during the conference, NACo recognized Harris County Justice of the Peace Russ Ridgway with the association’s prestigious 2009 County Courthouse Award for Innovative Governance.

Ridgway was selected as the Large Urban County Caucus winner by an independent panel of judges. He was recognized for his dedication to improving the lives of those in his community, including his work to increase
efficiency and transparency in county operations and a 10-step program to combat school dropout and absenteeism rates. This initiative has improved the court docket system, created a probationary program that allows students to change behaviors, and participate in community service, which increased student return rates to an impressive 90 percent.