TCSA Annual Fall Conference Concludes in Chattanooga

The TCSA Fall Conference and Trade Show this year in Chattanooga was a huge success. Thanks to all of you who attended and participated in our board meetings, committee meetings, membership meetings, educational workshops and training programs. County Commissioners at the conference had opportunities to learn about a host of topics including Economic Development, Mental Health Issues, Land Use Regulations, the 2010 Census, and much more. The TCCA board met and discussed strategies and outlooks for the upcoming legislative session. Our nominating committee also made recommendations for officers and directors for the next year which were adopted by the membership (see article above).

The conference General Session included a panel of excellent speakers, including Commissioner Tim Webb of the Department of Education and Tom Kilgore, CEO of the Tennessee Valley Authority. We also heard a presentation on the recruitment of Volkswagon to the Chattanooga area. The final business meeting on Friday morning included a discussion by Tom Griscom, Editor/Publisher of the Chattanooga Times/Free Press on his impressions of the 2010 Gubernatorial Campaign so far.

Regional Meetings Conclude

Thanks to all of you who came out to one of our 8 regional meetings. They wrapped up last night at Henry Horton State Park in Marshall County. We had excellent attendance this year, good discussions and heard some great ideas and thoughts from county officials. Also this year we had wonderful participation from state legislators with numerous House and Senate members joining us at meetings across the state.

The association will continuing working to formulate its platform and set of legislative initiatives for next year as we move toward our annual fall conference in Chattanooga next month.

Regional Meetings Updates

The 2009 Regional Meetings are off to a great start. We've had good turnouts and good discussions at our first two meetings: Vol State Community College in Sumner County and Paris Landing State Park in Henry County. I want to say a special thank you as well to the state legislators who have been so kind as to join us at these meetings. Tomorrow morning I get on the road for East Tennessee and we have a three day swing through Jonesborough on September 1st, Knoxville on September 2nd and Cookeville on September 3rd.

I hope to see you at one of these events.

TCSA Post Legislative Conference

As happens on rare occasions, it looks like this year the TCSA "Post" Legislative Conference will not be "post." Although it is likely the General Assembly will still be meeting in June, we will be meeting as well. There is registration information on our main association website including this form and an agenda available here. If you have not already registered, I encourage you to do so. To the extent possible, we will update you on the latest developments with the state legislature and there will also be updates and information about the federal Recovery Act.

I hope to see you there.

County Government Day Conference

It was a busy week last week as we had around 450 county officials in town for the annual county government day event in addition to the usual legislative hearings and committees. Included among the conference attendees were approximately 150 county commissioners from across the state. They took part in our TCCA board meeting and membership meeting and had opportunities to meet and greet with state legislators. At our Wednesday morning breakfast we were honored to have Governor Phil Bredesen, Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey and Speaker of the House Kent Williams there to address county officials. We were also joined by many other legislators at our breakfast.

More than 100 of the county officials in town also took advantage of a special session we organized on Wednesday to hear an update from state and federal departments and agencies on the Economic Recovery Act. Officials from the Governor’s Office, the State Departments of Transportation, Education, Economic and Community Development and Environment and Conservation and the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development office presented an update on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (often referred to as the federal economic stimulus legislation). The speakers outlined in general terms the funds that would be available to Tennessee and how such funds are planned to be distributed. A recurring message from the speakers was that the details of this legislation are still being sorted out as various federal departments and agencies continue to develop rules and regulations for the administration of the funds. If you would like more information about the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, contact our office via e-mail at tcca.connor@tncounties.org or by phone at (615) 532-3767 to request copies of a handout we distributed.

TCCA Board Meetings for 2009

The dates for TCCA Board Meetings have been set for 2009. Our first meeting will be Tuesday, February 3rd in Nashville in the ground floor conference room of our office building located at 226 Capitol Boulevard, Nashville, TN. The meeting will start at 11:00 AM with lunch provided for board members.

Our other meetings will occur in conjunction with the 3 TCSA annual conferences and meetings. These will be as follows:

March 3 at 1:00 p.m. in conjunction with the County Government Day event at the Nashville Downtown Sheraton.

Tuesday June 2 at 1:00 p.m. in conjunction with the Post Legislative Conference in Gatlinburg, TN.

Thursday, October 8 in conjunction with the TCSA Fall Conference and Trade Show, Chattanooga, TN.

If additional meetings are necessary to conduct the business of the TCCA, these will be called by the president and proper notice will be provided.

Mental Health Forums

As the State is considering potential budget cuts to deal with its projected revenue losses, many critical services will potentially be affected. One such area relates to mental health services.

An organization called the Tennessee Coalition for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services has scheduled a series of 7 forums across the state to discuss the potential impact of these proposed budget cuts. That group has requested that I make information regarding these forums available to you as there is a potential that cuts in state services could impact county health facilities.

During these difficult economic times, both state and county governments are facing severe revenue shortfalls and painful budget cuts. Obviously, because of the interrelated manner in which many services (education, corrections, transportation, etc.) are delivered, cuts to many state programs and funding can impact county governments. For example, changes in ambulance reimbursement rates made last year negatively impacted many county ambulance services as well as private ambulance services serving other counties.

With the potential of up to $1 billion in state budget cuts, it is unreleastic to think no local programs or services will be affected by the state budget crisis. But by keeping aware of these issues, we can be better prepared to handle the cuts or respond to changes in service delivery. These forums will help you be aware of how potential changes to mental health and substance abuse services may impact your community. If you are interested in attending a forum, you can find information about a meeting in your area here:

http://www.tncountycommissioners.org/files/2008_TCMHSAS_Forum_Invitation.pdf

TCSA Annual Conference a Success

It was good to see many of you in Memphis last week for the TCSA annual fall conference. We had a number of good meetings and informative workshops. During the conference, our association selected its new slate of officers for next year. We recognized out-going president Phil King of Greene County for his service this past year as our president and welcomed in Wallace Austin, White County commissioner as our new president for 2008-2009. Jim Westbrook of Weakley County who had been serving as association treasurer was selelcted as president-elect. Houston Naron of Williamson County was named to replace him as treasurer. Most of the board members are continuing to serve, but we have two new members: Scott Gillenwaters of Anderson County and Robert Barnwell of Williamson County. I look forward to working with all these good folks during the upcoming year.