NACo Board of Directors Annual Business Meeting
15 Dec 2020, by Kristin Cundiff Share :
On December 4th, 2020, the National Association of Counties (NACo) held its annual business meeting for the NACo Board of Directors. The meeting was called to order by Honorable Gary Moore, President of NACo. This meeting is usually held in the state and county of the current president but was held virtually this year due to COVID-19. After the prayer and Pledge of Allegiance, the board was split into groups of five where we did introductions to get to know each other.
There were 10 new nominations to the board of directors. The board then listened to the Financial Audit Reports and the Nationwide Partnership Contract Renewal. All were approved by the board. The 2020-2021 Federal Policy Landscape Review and NACo Policy Priorities were presented by Mr. Mark Ritacco, NACo Director of Government Affairs.
The priorities that were approved were:
- COVID-19 relief packages
- Infrastructure (NACo continues to lobby for federal funds to help our aging roads and bridges)
- PILT and SRS payments to counties for PILT and SRS are critical
- Regulations – NACo will continue to lobby for fewer federal regulations
- Restore the Partnership Act – Legislation that would strengthen the communication and consultation process with all levels of government
There were 9 emergency resolutions that were submitted by members and policy committees:
- Resolution on additional workforce funding
- Resolution on increased allocations of Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA)
- Resolution in opposition of Material Preference Legislation
- Resolution supporting urgent action to provide state and local fiscal relief
- Resolution declaring racism a national public health crisis
- Resolution supporting urgent congressional action on COVID-19 responses
- Resolution to enhance federal resources for veteran’s mental health during the COVID-19 crisis
- Resolution urging Congress to maintain county child welfare flexibility and funding
- Resolution opposing the use of land and water conservation funds to acquire private lands for federal estate in states with more than 50% of federal land ownership
After the emergency resolutions were presented, the board listened to President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. It is my pleasure to serve as Idaho’s NACo representative. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about NACo.
Mark R. Bair, Bingham County Commissioner