New Site Goes Live

I apologize for the lack of activity on this blog. Over the last few months, we have been in the process of developing a new website for the association. It can be found on the old URL for the main association page, www.tncountycommissioners.org. There will be much more content there and that site will also host my blog for future posts. Please explore that site and let us know if you have any thoughts or questions about it and the resources there. We'll leave this site up for now in case any of you are looking for old articles or posts.

Constitutional Officers Re-Elected Today

In joint session, the Tennessee General Assembly re-elected all three constitutional officers to new terms.  Secretary of State Tre Hargett, Comptroller of the Treasury Justin Wilson and Treasurer David Lillard were all unopposed in the nominations and were elected to new terms by acclimation.

Bill Limitation Proposed for House of Representatives

Speaker Harwell this year proposed a House rule to set a ten bill limit for all members of the House of Representatives.  Exempt from the bill would be private acts, some sunset bills for boards and commissions and administration legislation. The initial proposal met with some resistance from both Republicans and Democrats, raised concerns with Senators (who are not looking at such a limit and might have to scramble to find House sponsors) and others who thought the proposal would strengthen the executive branch to the detriment of the legislative branch.  The initial proposal exempted bills that were proposed by the Governor's Administration from the limitations and set no limit on the number the Haslam administration could bring. The limit also raised concern in the lobbying community from professional lobbyists who were concerned that legislators might have a full slate of bills and be unable to bring legislation that were lobbying for.

After discussions and caucus meetings this week, a modified version of the limit is now being considered that would raise the limit from 10 to 15, place a 75 bill cap on the Governor and allow some additional exemptions. The proposal also now provides a means by which a member could petition the rules committee to authorize the Representative to carry additional bills above the limit. This modified version of the rule is expected to be considered and voted on tomorrow (Thursday) as the General Assembly concludes the organizational session of the 108th General Assembly. Also expected tomorrow will be the announcement of   committee officers and members for this session of the legislature.

CTAS County Officials Certificate Training Program Spring 2013 Schedule

The 2013 training schedule is posted on the UT- County Technical Assistance Service website in their Solution Point Training Management System.  Courses are open for registration with classes beginning in early February through the end of June.  The courses that are being offered include a diverse mix of topics which are listed below.

February 2013 - How to Be Your Boss's Favorite - Category B

March 2013 - Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace - Category B

April 2013 - Risk Management - Category A

May 2013 - Energy 101 - Category A

CTAS will soon be sending out a  detailed Spring 2013 Training Calendar via mail.

  

If you are already registered with the COCTP training program, you can click here to log-in to your Solution Point account. Select the "Register for a Class" link towards the bottom of your homepage. Click "Classroom Training" and select the workshop. Look for the class session you would like from the list that is displayed. Select the "Register" link beside that location to complete the process.

Should you have any questions on how to register in Solution Point, please contact the CTAS Training Department at (615) 532-3555.

Fiscal Cliff Analysis from the National Association of Counties

The National Association of Counties (NACo) has released a new summary of the fiscal cliff deal signed by President Obama today.  After weeks of negotiation, Congress approved legislation (H.R. 8) on New Year's day that delays the across-the-board sequestration cuts for two months, extends most of the Bush era tax cuts and extends the Farm Bill for another year. The measure passed the U.S. House of Representatives late on January 1 after the U.S. Senate had approved it overwhelmingly earlier that same day. While the passage of this measure will temporarily avert and delay various elements of the fiscal cliff, Congress and the administration are already opening talks on the next round of federal debt and deficit issues that may have significant consequences for counties.

The full NACo summary can be found at http://www.naco.org/legislation/Documents/NACo-Fiscal-Cliff-Legislative-Briefing.pdf

Schools Report Card issued by the Department of Education

The 2012 state Report Card—posted Thursday on the Tennessee Department of Education website—offers detailed breakdowns of last year’s unprecedented statewide student achievement growth and presents the most recent data on graduation rate, demographics and school-level test scores. This summer, the department released statewide and district-by-district achievement results, and now Tennesseans can view data by grade level, subject and subgroup for each of the 136 districts and 1,784 schools in the state.

They can also see the achievement and gap closure measures that earned various designations under the new accountability system, such as Exemplary District and Reward School status.  “We think it’s important for parents and students, as well as school and district leaders, to know how well their schools are doing each year,” said Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman. “Tennessee is focused on continuous growth, and our Report Card shows us where we are making gains and where we need more work.”

As Tennessee continued to implement its First to the Top education reforms, performance on the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) improved for the second year in a row in 2012, as students made the largest gains in the history of the test.  Last year, elementary and middle school students grew in 23 out of 24 TCAP measures, and proficiency levels on several high school End of Course exams improved, even as more students enrolled in higher-level classes such as Algebra II due to more rigorous graduation requirements. The statewide graduation rate increased from 85.5 percent to 87.2 percent for the Class of 2012.

Nearly every district in the state grew student achievement overall, but many did not successfully narrow achievement gaps or saw declines among particular student subgroups.  As the state strives to advance outcomes for all Tennessee students, these results allow educators to identify areas that need the most improvement. Through its regional offices, the department provides resources, support and expert analysis to help districts and schools with data-driven interventions.

Complementing the data released today in the department’s Report Card, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission released a report card on teacher preparation in Tennessee. The department also re-released its public TVAAS site, giving parents and community members an in-depth look at the academic growth in the state’s schools and districts. When used together, these three tools help paint a picture of the state of Tennessee education.

For the 2012 state Report Card, visit: www.tn.gov/education/reportcard
From this page, you can also access the public TVAAS site and archives of prior years' report cards.

For the Tennessee Report Card on the Effectiveness of Teacher Training Programs, visit: www.tn.gov/thec/Divisions/fttt/report_card.shtml.

State Budget Hearings Begin Today

Governor Haslam's cabinet members will begin public hearings today with regard to next year's budget and continue through Thursday this week.  Information about the hearings and a link to streaming video of the hearings can be found here: http://news.tn.gov/node/9851

The schedule is as follows:

Davidson Room, 3rd Floor, Tennessee Tower, Nashville


9:30-10 a.m. CST – Safety

10-10:30 a.m. – Tourist Development

10:30-11 a.m. – Military

11-11:30 a.m. – Veterans Affairs

11:30 a.m.-noon – Agriculture

Noon – Break

1:30-2:30 p.m. – Education

2:30-3:30 p.m. – Environment and Conservation

4-5 p.m. – Health



Wednesday, November 7

Budget hearings

Davidson Room, 3rd Floor, Tennessee Tower, Nashville

10:30-11 a.m. CST – Revenue

11 a.m.-noon – Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services

Noon – Break

1:15-1:45 p.m. – Commerce and Insurance

1:45-2:30 p.m. – Human Services

2:30-3 p.m. – Tennessee Bureau of Investigation

3-3:45 p.m. – General Services

3:45-4:30 p.m. – Transportation



Thursday, November 8

Budget hearings

Davidson Room, 3rd Floor, Tennessee Tower, Nashville

10-11 a.m. CST – Children’s Services

11 a.m.-noon – Correction

Noon – Break

1:30-2 p.m. – Education Lottery Corporation

2-3 p.m. – Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

3-3:30 p.m. – Finance and Administration

3:30-4 p.m. – Labor and Workforce Development

4-4:30 p.m. – Financial Institutions

Election Day

If you haven't already, get out and vote.  It's an exciting day.  The Presidential election of course gathers the most attention, but after today we will also see a new General Assembly for Tennessee.  With the number of retirements and the changes that occurred back during the primaries in August, there will be a significant number of new faces to work with at the state legislature.

Regional Meetings Begin Next Week

Over the next few weeks TCCA will host a series of 8 regional meetings across the state. These meetings are a great time for discussion, learning and networking.  This year former Senator and former Montgomery County Commissioner Rosalind Kurita will be speaking at the meetings about an important health issue affecting all Tennessee communities.  She was recently appointed by Governor Bill Haslam as a Health Policy Advisor to spearhead an initiative to address the growing obesity problem in our state.  During the meetings, we will also hear presentations about programs and services that can save counties money, enhance economic development and improve communities. And of course, the program always includes a discussion of current and upcoming legislative issues of interest to county government. 

A number of incumbant state legislators and candidates for state office have already indicated that are coming to one or more of these meetings.  The meetings are a good opportunity to share the concerns and thoughts of county officials on the topics impacting our state. The regional meetings all start with a dinner (we begin serving at 6:30 p.m. local time), followed by presentations and discussions.
The dates and locations for the meetings are as follows:

Tuesday Sept. 4th, Jonesborough Visitors Center (Washington County)
Wednesday Sept 5th, Knoxville City County Building (Knox County)
Thursday September 6th, Leslie Town Centre (Putnam County)
Tuesday Sept. 11th, Mountain View Inn, Cleveland Tennessee (Bradley County)
Tuesday Sept 18th Paris Landing State Park (Henry County)
Thursday Sept 20th UT Ag Extension Center, Jackson TN (Madison County)
Tuesday Sept. 25th Catfish House Restaurant, Springfield TN, (Robertson County)
Thursday Sept. 27th Henry Horton State Park (Marshall County)

I hope to see you at one of these events!

Brownfield Workshops

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will be hosting brownfield grant writing workshops across the state in August and September. Brownfields are real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. EPA plans to offer millions of dollars in Brownfields Redevelopment Grants for the upcoming year. Brownfields funding is from $200,000 to $1,000,000 to help assess and cleanup properties.

At the workshops there will be a presentation designed to empower communities and stakeholders to work together in a timely manner to assess, safely clean up, and reuse brownfields in a sustainable manner. EPA's Brownfields Program provides financial and technical assistance for brownfields revitalization, including grants for environmental assessments, cleanups, and job training. The workshop will also include a hands-on class exercise on how to write specific sections of a brownfields grant, followed up by discussion on what constitutes a winning grant proposal.

Please RSVP to Paula Larson by August 24, 2012 at Paula.Larson@tn.gov or 615-532-0926 with your name, contact information and the workshop location you’d like to attend. General information about brownfields is at www.epa.gov/brownfields

The workshop schedule is as follows:

Memphis, August 28th
Rhodes College
Paul Barret Jr Library, Room 051
2000 N Parkway
1 PM to 3:30 PM

Jackson, August 29th
Southwest Tennessee Development District Office (SWTDD)
102 East College Street
9 AM to 11:30 AM

Knoxville, September 5th
Chamber of Commerce
Markethouse Room
17 Market Square, #17
9 AM to 11:30 AM

Nashville, September 6th
Nashville Public Main Library
Conference Room 2
615 Church Street
9:30 AM to noon

Grant Assistance Programs through TDEC

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has posted information about grant assistance programs available through that agency.  These grants relate to alternative energy, energy conservation, healthy watersheds, local parks and recreation, trail development, recreation initiatives, recycling equipment, waste tire recycling and clean-up, used old recycling, brownfield assessment and clean-up, historic preservation and more.  There is an on-line document available through the state's website that provides simple summaries of the grants, overviews of the eligible projects and applications and information about deadlines all in one place.  This information can be accessed at: http://www.tn.gov/environment/grants/docs/tdec_grant_program_summary.pdf

Your community may be able to benefit from one of these programs.  I encourage you to take a look at the available opportunities and consider whether your county should pursue one of these grants.

SERDC Workshops

The Southeast Recycling Development Council is holding workshops in Tennessee on August 13th in Oak Ridge at the UT Outreach Center, August 14th in Burns at the Montgomery Bell State Park Conference Center and August 15th in Jackson at the West Tennessee Research and Education Center.  These workshops will bring together members of industry with state and local officials to discuss how recycling can play a role in job creation and economic development in Tennessee while also reducing landfill costs.

Registration for the workshops ends this Friday, August 10th.  To register for a workshop in your area, contact SERDC nat (828) 507-0123.

CTAS Index of Acts for 2012

The University of Tennessee County Technical Assistance Service has released its summary of all new legislation affecting county governments in Tennessee.  The Index of Acts can be downloaded here http://www.ctas.tennessee.edu/PUBLIC/web/ctas.nsf/0/846F0034AA0CD08086257A1A004E7F3C/$file/Index+of+Acts+2012.pdf?openelement.  It is divided into summaries of general law, public acts of local application and private acts.  The summaries are listed by subject categories. 

New AG Opinion on Open Meetings Act

The Tennessee Attorney General issued an opinion earlier this month answering a question related to the Tennessee Open Meetings Act.  The question posed to the Attorney General was whether members of a county or city legislative body could share a meal together and casually discuss issues before the governing body if the discussion is for informative purposes only and no decisions are reached or attempts made to obtain commitments.  The opinion discusses much of the case law interpreting these statutes and advises that while public business could possibly be discussed without violating the law, the discussion of the members must not constitute "deliberations."  The opinion cites a recent court case out of Metro Nashville to provide guidance on what are "deliberations."  The court defined the term to mean examining and consulting in order to form an opinion or weighing arguments for and against a proposed course of action. While the A.G. Opinion (the full text of which can be found here: http://www.tn.gov/attorneygeneral/op/2012/op12-60.pdf) allows for the possibility of informal discussions about county business that would not violate the act, it is hard to imagine a substantive conversation about county business that included no content that could be challenged as related to forming an opinion or weighing sides of an issue.

State Revenue Collections for April

Tennessee revenue collections continued an upward growth trend in April, with a net positive growth of 9.67% over April collections one year ago. Finance and Administration Commissioner Mark Emkes reported this month that overall April revenues were $1,386.4 million or $82.8 million more than the state budgeted.


“Sales tax collections recorded the 25th consecutive month of positive growth dating back to April of 2010,” Emkes said. “In addition, corporate Franchise and Excise tax collections continue to be very encouraging, but the Hall Income Tax recorded a negative growth over last April and fell considerably short of the budgeted estimate.

Sales tax collections were $42.9 million more than the budgeted estimate for April. The April growth rate was positive 8.77%. For nine months revenues are over collected by $183.4 million. The year-to-date growth rate for nine months was positive 7.26%.

Hall Income tax collections for April were $15.7 million less than the budgeted estimate. For nine months collections are $18.1 million below the budgeted estimate. The growth rate for the nine month period was negative 4.41%.

Of note to County Highway Departments, gasoline and motor fuel collections for April decreased by 4.07%, and were $2.7 million less than the budgeted estimate. For nine months revenues are negative 1.03%, and $6.4 million below the budgeted estimate of $625.9 million.

From all sources, year-to-date collections for nine months were $412.9 million more than the budgeted estimate. The general fund was over collected by $400 million and the four other funds were over collected by $12.9 million.

CTAS Updates Model Debt Policy

The UT County Technical Assistance Service has recently updated its guidance for county debt policies.  The revised memorandum is available at the CTAS website: http://www.ctas.tennessee.edu/ under the news and featured items.  Beginning January 1, 2012, the Tennessee State Funding Board requires counties issuing debt to have adopted a written debt management policy that complies with certain minimum requirements.  The 43 page memorandum on the CTAS website will help any county that has not already adopted its policy. 

TBI Releases Crime in Tennessee and School Crime Reports

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation recently released the "Crime in Tennessee 2011" report which showed a 1.7% decrease in overall crimes reported in Tennessee in 2011 compared with 2010. This is third year in a row that reported offenses decreased when compared with the previous year. The full report is available for download on-line at:

http://www.tbi.tn.gov/tn_crime_stats/publications/Crime%20in%20Tennessee%202011.pdf

For the 2011, the largest majority of crimes reported were committed against property at more than 58% which is a decrease of 2.5% from the previous year. Crimes against persons also decreased approximately 2%, however, crimes against society increased 3%. Overall, Tennessee has seen crime drop a total of 4.6% since 2009.

In addition, the TBI has also released its special study on crime in Tennessee's schools. Produced by TBI's Crime Statistics Unit, the study spans a three-year period between 2009 and 2011 This report is the second of its kind, following up on the state's first ever school crimes study released in May of 2009.

The reported number of crimes that occurred at schools decreased by 5.5% from 2010 to 2011 with an overall decrease of 6.7% between 2009 and 2011. There were 12,435 crimes reported at schools in 2011 compared to 13,155 in 2010.

The 33 page full report on School Crime can be accessed here:

http://www.tbi.tn.gov/tn_crime_stats/documents/SchoolCrimeStudy2011_FINAL.pdf

It profiles both the offenders and victims of the crimes on school campuses and discusses the involvement of weapons, drugs and alcohol and gangs.

Tennessee Gets No Child Left Behind Waiver

Tennessee was one of ten states today to receive a waiver from the Obama administration from requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. For a full article on this issue from the Knoxville News Sentinnel go here.

Next TCCA Board Meeting - February 2

President Ronnie Raper of Rhea County has called for the next meeting of the board of the Tennessee County Commissioners Association from 10:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. central time on Thursday, February 2nd in Nashville in the ground floor conference room of our office building at 226 Capitol Boulevard. Much of this meeting will focus on specific legislation and consideration of policy positions for the upcoming legislative session. New bills are being filed on a daily basis with bill filing deadlines of February 1 for the House and January 26 for the Senate. To date, approximately 600-700 new bills have been filed in each chamber. It's expected that number with grow to around 2000 total new bills by the end of the month.

State Revenue Collections

Higher than expected business tax collections in December pushed Tennessee revenues past budgeted projections. Finance and Administration commissioner Mark Emkes reported that state revenue collections for December were $965.7 million, or 16.54% above December 2010. December collections posted the eighth consecutive month in which the growth rate has been 5.0% or higher.

“While it's encouraging to see an improvement in business profits, the unexpected overcollection in December could be a timing issue, and as a result future months could be negatively impacted," Emkes said. "Typically, about one-fourth of all franchise and excise tax collections are realized in the month of April, so we’ll continue to closely monitor our spending for the balance of this year.

“We’re very pleased with December sales tax collections, which reflect renewed consumer confidence in our economy. It's important to remember, though, that we’re still not back to pre-2008 collection levels on sales taxes.”

December collections were $123.2 million more than the budgeted estimate. The general fund was over collected by $118.9 million and the four other funds were over collected by $4.3 million.
Sales tax collections were $12.9 million more than the estimate for December. The December growth rate was 6.78%. For five months revenues are over collected by $56.3 million, and the year-to-date growth rate is 6.29%.

Gasoline and motor fuel collections for December increased by 7.65%, and they were $3.2 million above the budgeted estimate of $64.6 million. For five months revenues are under collected by $3.0 million.

Year-to-date collections for five months were $194.2 million more than the budgeted estimate. The general fund was over collected by $188.4 million and the four other funds were over collected by $5.8 million.

The State Funding Board met on December 9th and 14th to hear updated revenue projections from the state’s various economists. The board met again on December 19th and adopted revised revenue ranges for 2011-2012. The revised ranges assume an over collection from the July 2011 budgeted estimate in the amount of $187.8 million to $220.5 million in total taxes and in the amount of $177.0 million to $209.6 million in general fund taxes for the current fiscal year.