IAC Spring County Officials Institute: IAC Legislative Review

As part of the Spring County Officials Institute – Online, IAC is offering a free 2020 Legislative Review for county officials. IAC policy staff is tailoring this two-hour webinar to our different county elected official members: assessors, clerks, commissioners, treasurers, and a general session for all other positions.  Please only register for one session. You …

COVID-19 in Blaine County

By Jacob Greenberg, Blaine County Commissioner It’s a wild story. Blaine County, home to the famous Sun Valley Ski Resort, is a tourist-driven economy. With that comes large scale events and close proximity partying. Just what this virus likes. The first positive COVID-19 test results were reported on March 13th, 2020. Community spread was determined …

CFAC Begins Process of Setting CARES Act Allocation

The Governor’s COVID-19 Financial Accountability Committee (CFAC) met Friday to continue the process of developing a framework to allocate the state’s $1.25 billion in CARES Act funding. To date, the state has received approximately $600 million of its allocation. The committee has agreed to allocate 55% of the funds to state agencies. Another 30% will …

Self-Care in Times of Stress

We are living in a strange, historic time where are expected to cope with many different changes and challenges at the same time. County officials are on the front lines trying to provide the support and resources needed to fight this pandemic while also dealing with the stress of continuing to fund mandated services, provide …

IMD Waiver Approved

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced last week that it had approved the state of Idaho’s IMD waiver. Under federal Medicaid rules, institutions for mental disease (IMDs) are excluded from accepting Medicaid as payment for behavioral health services. The state of Idaho applied last fall for a waiver to allow IMDs in Idaho …

Federal Aid for COVID-19

Over the past two months, the Federal Government has passed three support packages and are working on a fourth. IAC has been tracking this information to determine how it affects us here in Idaho. We’ve been in close contact with our federal delegation and Governor Little and his staff. Seth Grigg was appointed by the …

Idaho Congressmen Answer County Commissioner Questions

On Friday, IAC hosted a call for County Commissioners in the first district with Representative Russ Fulcher and a call with Representative Mike Simpson for County Commissioners in the 2nd district. Both had words of encouragement for Idaho county officials. Here are some of the highlights from the calls. Representative Russ Fulcher Rep. Fulcher shared …

COVID-19 Financial Advisory Committee (CFAC) Update

The Governor’s COVID-19 Financial Advisory Committee (CFAC) met for the first time last week to begin the process of prioritizing how to allocate the $1.25 billion allocated to the state of Idaho through the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF). Idaho estimates that it will receive its CRF funds from the US Treasury around April 24th. The …

Don’t Get Zoombombed: Tips for Creating Safe Virtual Meetings

All of us are adapting to meeting in a visual setting. We are “zooming” to meet with colleagues rather than meeting with them face to face. As you embark in this new reality, be aware of the security implications of meeting virtually. Many of you have seen recent news articles about “zoombombing.” “Zoombombing” or “zoom …

Expanded Paid Sick Leave for COVID-19

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was signed into law on March 18, 2020. It is effective after April 2, 2020 and will sunset, unless extended, on December 31, 2020. The Act provides eligible employees a right to emergency paid sick leave and paid leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for …