UAC Seeks Coordination with Outside Lobbyists

This IssueUAC News 2

NACo News 2

Annual Convention 4-5

Elections at Schools 6

Property Tax Insights 7

Coming SoonNovember 14, 2012UAC Board of Directors MeetingSt. George

November 14-16, 2012UAC Annual ConventionSt. George

February 8, 2012County Legislature DayState Capitol

UAC Contacts5397 S. Vine StreetMurray, UT 84107Ph. (801) 265-1331Fax (801) 265-9485www.UACnet.org

Brent Gardner, Executive Dir.Jill Brown, AccountantChelsie Dalton UBHC Admin.Debbie Goodwin, Office ManagerAlice Hancock, Admin. Asst.Doug Perry, Communications Dir.Adam Trupp, UBHC DirectorArie Van De Graaff, Leg. AnalystMark Ward, Senior Planning Coordinator & Policy Analyst

Lobbyist coordination took front and center at the USACCC’s Fall Conference recently. The topic has been one of concern in recent years as UAC continues to try and represent county positions at the Utah State Legislature. Salt Lake County Council Member Mike Jensen facilitated the discussion, emphasizing the need for counties to coordinate through UAC to keep legislative messages consistent. “Salt Lake County monitors the work of their outside lobbyists very closely and is in constant contact with the Association every day during the session,” he said. But he added that coordination with the broad representative efforts of UAC is critical and simply not happening in every instance. Members of the group cited instances where legislators have complained that the counties are sending mixed messages and also shared examples of confusion over where counties stand on specific bills. “The real advantage of UAC is when we pull together,” said Weber County Commissioner Kerry Gibson. “If we want to be strong we need to find ways to come together and not splinter off.”

The group agreed that improved coordination needs to begin with better communication. As such, they decided to designate, at the beginning of each legislative session, a coordinating commissioner or council member who will provide UAC with the names of lobbyists they are hiring and a list of issues they are working on. In addition, all outside lobbyists will be invited and encouraged to participate in three or four coordinating meetings held by UAC during the upcoming session with all outside lobbyists. “At the end of the day, it’s the elected officials who make the biggest difference. Lobbyists are helpful and get us in the door, but we officials are the difference,” concluded Jensen.

VOICEFALL2012

COUNTY

Utah Association of Counties

thePhoto: Salt Lake County

UAC Executive Director Brent Gardner and Salt Lake Council Member Mike Jensen discuss ways for UAC to coordinate with outside lobbyists during the Legislature.

Please mark your calendars for the following key UAC events in 2012-13. Should there be a change, we will notify you as soon as possible.

November 14, 2012UAC Board of Directors MeetingSt. George

November 14-16, 2012UAC Annual ConventionSt. George

February 8, 2013County Officials Day at the LegislatureState Capitol

March 2-6, 2013NACo Legislative ConferenceWashington Hilton

April 10, 2013UAC Board of Directors MeetingProvo

April 10-12, 2013UAC Management ConferenceProvo

May 22-24, 2013WIR Annual ConferenceFlagstaff, AZ

July 19-22, 2013NACo Annual ConferenceFort Worth, TX

2012-13 CALENDAR

County VOICEthe Fall 2012Page 2

UAC Wants Your Cell Number

Resource Guide Now Online

Iron Commissioner Passes AwayIt is with great sadness that we report the passing of Iron County Commissioner Daniel Webster.

Webster, who took office in 2010, died of a heart attack September 27 during a fishing trip at Panguitch Lake with a friend. UAC acknowledges his great service to the people of Iron County and the State of Utah and extend our condolences to his family and loved ones.

It’s a big book–a whopping 240 pages!

Inside you will find the answers to 99 percent of the questions that new (and even experienced) elected county officials have asked. But now instead of having to heft that monster-of-a-resource, you can have it literally within a few types of your keyboard and taps of your mouse or finger. That’s because the 2008 publication is now online at www.uacnet.org.

The County Official Resource Guide is an in-depth publication designed to assist county officials with all the ins and outs of county government in Utah.

Its primary author is Gavin Anderson, attorney in Salt Lake County’s District Attorney office. Anderson has many decades of experience and knowledge about the inner cogs of county government.

With the emergence of mobile devices as an increasingly important communication tool, UAC would like to collect all county official’s cell phone numbers. This will allow us to notify you by text (SMS) message quickly and reliably should there be message of high importance we need to send. This could include meeting changes that pertain to you (time, location, cancellation, for example), instances where we need timely consensus on legislative issues, or emergency-type notices.

Any message sent will be pertaining to your work as a county official, and to the degree we are capable, we will target the messaging to only those who need to receive it (usually by affiliate group, or perhaps by county). Weanticipate this tool will be used very little and this information will not be sold or provided to other organizations or businesses.

We strongly recommend you give it a try if your phone has the capability. If you feel it has not met your expectations, we are happy to remove you from the list. You can call us at (801) 265-1331 to do so.

To add your number to our list, go here: http://www.uacnet.org/sms-text-messaging-alerts-registration/

County VOICEthe Fall 2012Page 3

Smith ReceivesNational Recognition

Chase Chosen to Steer the NACo ShipPittsburgh, Pa. – The National Association of Counties (NACo), the national association representing county government, recently announced that Matthew D. Chase has been named the Association’s Executive Director. The announcement came as thousands of the country’s local government leaders gathered in Pittsburgh for NACo’s 77th Annual Conference and Exposition.

Mr. Chase, 41, will assume the Executive Director role at NACo on Sept. 17, 2012. As Executive Director, Mr. Chase will serve as the spokesman for NACo and America’s counties, advocate before federal policymakers with aligned organizations and partners, and promote counties and county issues to the media on behalf of NACo’s more than 2,400 members. He will also direct the operations, initiatives and staff of the association.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) has recognized Daron Smith, Commissioner, Millard County, Utah with the Association’s prestigious 2012 County Courthouse Award for Innovative Governance.

Smith was selected as the Rural Category winner by an independent panel of judges. He was recognized for his dedication to improving the lives of county residents, including his leadership addressing the Snake Valley water issue, the West Wide Energy corridor, and governance over a county-owned long term health care facility.

“On behalf of the nation’s counties, I commend Commissioner Smith for his outstanding leadership in addressing these difficult challenges effectively on behalf of Millard County residents,” said NACo President Lenny Eliason, Commissioner, Athens County, Ohio.

This year’s winners were honored at NACo’s 77th Annual Conference and Exposition, July 13-17, in Pittsburgh.

Matthew D. Chase

2012 Annual Convention: At A Glance

This year’s theme, Turning Barriers into Solutions, invites county officials to take a different look at problems and how they shape our perception of the best ways to solve them.

As always, UAC is working to facilitate interesting discussions, useful vendor participation, and important peer idea sharing that aims to help all county officials fulfill the responsibilities of their office.

Overall AgendaNov. 14Morning: Golf, Biking, ATV activitiesAfternoon: Affiliate Breakout Sessions

November 15Morning: Opening General SessionLate Morning: Affiliate Breakout SessionsNoon: General LuncheonAfternoon: Affiliate Breakout Sessions

November 16 Morning: General SessionLate Morning: Affiliate Breakout SessionsAfternoon: General Business SessionEvening: Closing Banquet RegistrationAll registration must be done electronically at the UAC website. This provides UAC costs savings and ensures greater accuracy in the registration process. Go here to register: www.uacmeets.org

LodgingUAC has made arrangements with the following hotels to hold rooms for attendees/exhibitors. Please mention the UAC Annual Convention when making reservations.

Abbey Inn – (888) 222-3946 – ($75/night single)

Clarion Suites – (800) 428-0754 – ($75/night)

Fairfield Inn – (435) 673-6066 – ($89/night)

Hilton Garden – (435) 673-8440 – ($107/night)

County VOICEthe Fall 2012Page 4

Convention SponsorsUAC still has a couple remaining sponsorships, however below are those currently signed up:

SimplifileComcast

Utah Local Governments TrustSelectHealth

Sunrise EngineeringAT&T

Transwest ExpressZions Bank Public Finance

Zions Bank Wealth AdvisorsCCI

SITLAUtah Counties Indemnity Pool

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Turning Barriers

2012 Annual Convention - November 14-16 Utah Association of Counties

Into Solutions

County VOICEthe Fall 2012Page 5

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Convention Keynote Speaker

Convention Entertainment

This year’s Convention will feature Neal Petersen, one of only a handful of individuals brave enough to even attempt this amazing race that began in the early 1980s and occurs only every four years.

A PBS documentary “Into the Wind” profiled Neal and 15 other sailors daring to compete in the famous 1998-99 Around Alone yacht race–27,000 miles around the world, alone in a yacht he designed and built himself.

His challenge to members of UAC (and the theme of this year’s Convention) will be to inspire others to turn barriers into opportunities and then into solutions.

Join us for Friday morning’s general session (November 16) in the Garden Room of the Dixie Center and be prepared to walk away both amazed and inspired.

If you’re still smiling from the Bar J Wranglers performance at the 2011 Annual Convention closing banquet, get ready for some more knee slappin’ fun at this year’s Convention, November 16.

“We do a new show every year,” said Scott Humphreys, lead Wrangler. “We had loads of fun last year so we are pleased to come back for an encore.”

The Bar J Wranglers from Jackson Hole, Wyoming, deliver some of the purest harmony, best musicianship and funniest ranch humor ever seen on stage. As soon as the Bar J Wranglers take to the stage, listeners leave behind their busy lives and settle into a time long ago – a time of the singing cowboy.

Join us again at the Closing Banquet for another fun and relaxing evening with the Bar J Wranglers.

Scott Humphreys, Bar J Wranglers

Neal Petersen, Keynote Speaker

Schools Are In, But Are Counties Out?

County VOICEthe Fall 2012Page 6

Schools may be back in session, but counties may be locked out from using public school buildings as polling locations for elections in the future.

In a presentation to county commissioners and council members recently, Summit County Clerk Kent Jones reported he has been advised by one school used as a polling location that his county will no longer be welcome to use their facility for voting.

Jones said school administrators believe it is too difficult to ensure the safety of school kids with so many extra visitors to the school dropping in and leaving throughout the day on primary and general election days.

Yet schools offer ideal polling locations as they are ADA compliant, often have ample parking space and usually have the extra room needed to set up booths and accommodate large numbers of people visiting.

This could pose a potentially bigger problem in the larger counties who rely heavily on school buildings and could potentially have to find hundreds of new locations, while smaller counties can and have often found other suitable

locations.

“We even agreed to provide two deputies to ease

concerns, and I think that’s helped,” said Jones. But he admits it may not be the most practical long-term solution and that schools have a legitimate concern that must be addressed.

Currently, 17 states close schools (mostly k-12) on election days to accommodate voting. This is one possible solution Jones is urging the Lt Governor’s office or UAC to find a legislative sponsor for.

Some believe vote-by-mail elections are the way to go, as there is tremendous cost savings and usually a higher participation rate. Both Oregon (1998) and Washington (2011) have passed legislation requiring this method. The downside is the time needed to tally the votes, potential for lack of privacy, and some instances of fraud using a similar system in the United Kingdom as recent as 2004.

Another option is to narrow the number of polling locations and simply allow voters to cast their ballot at any location, rather than designated locations by district.

Whatever the case, Jones and others are hopeful the Legislature will come up with a better way so counties can continue to provide current and future citizens the best opportunity to fulfill their civic duty.

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County VOICEthe Fall 2012Page 7

Latest Property Tax Figures Offer Interesting InsightsSeveral interesting facts from the Utah State Tax Commission were presented to the USACCC group recently at their Fall Convention in Midway.

According to the latest data from the Utah State Tax Commission, only two counties saw a decrease in their 2012 certified tax rate. Under Utah’s Truth in Taxation law, the tax rate is calculated to ensure the same budgeted revenue from year to year. That means the tax rate goes down from year to year when property values are rising and the rate goes up when property values are depreciating. The increase in the certified property tax rate in 27 of Utah’s 29 counties suggests that property values are still depreciating four years after the housing bubble burst.

Also of interest from the tax commission’s data is the fact that in 2012, depreciating values of centrally assessed property swallowed up any new growth in three of Utah’s counties. New growth is the aggregate of new development and the depreciation of centrally assessed property and business personal property. Typically, new growth is added to the property tax rolls on top of the certified tax rate resulting in an increase in an entity’s budget to cover the costs associated with an expanding infrastructure, but this year three counties will have to provide for an increasing infrastructure without an increased budget.

The drag depreciated centrally assessed values has on new growth isn’t limited to three counties during particularly difficult times, though. It affects the new growth calculation in every taxing entity every year. The question may be raised: what is the purpose of new growth in the property tax

system? If it is to accurately account for the cost associated with servicing new development, does centrally assessed depreciation belong in the calculation?

Finally, during the current economic downturn, taxing entities in general and counties specifically have looked to raise property taxes through truth in taxation less and less. In early 2008, 94 taxing entities went through truth in taxation hearings for the intent of raising taxes. In 2009 (after the housing bubble burst), 62 entities entered the truth in taxation process. Since then, each year has seen fewer than 40 entities apply for truth in taxation. In the four years since the economic downturn, only four counties have proposed a tax increase through truth in taxation (none of which took place in 2012).

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UTAH COUNTIES INDEMNITY POOL RATE ACTION by the BOARD of TRUSTEES 

 

At their August 16, 2012 meeting, the Board of Trustees met with the Pool’s Actuary, Lisa Dennison, and reviewed the 2013 Rate Analysis. While member exposures have increased from the prior year and costs for catastrophic coverage are expected to increase in 2013, the Board adopted the Actuaries’ Expected Indications and chose not to increase rates for the third consecutive year. Budget estimates were provided to members in August. At the end of 2012, the majority of Pool members will have reached a one-to-one ratio (contribution to equity). Trustees are in the process of establishing a dividend plan. Additional information on enhancements being made to the 2013 Member Program will be forthcoming.

 LOUNGE AREA at UAC’s ANNUAL CONVENTION 

 

Having been created by the Utah Association of Counties, UCIP maintains a close relationship with UAC to address risk related issues affecting counties at the legislature. Taking a proactive approach with law makers has saved county members significantly over time. As a county government based public agency, UCIP supports UAC and county affiliate groups by providing training, conference sponsorship and speakers. Visit your agency’s staff at the upcoming UAC Annual Convention, November 14-16, at the UCIP Lounge Area.

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING Established in 1992, the Utah Counties Indemnity Pool was created by Counties, is owned by Counties and governed by Counties. Pooling is a practical extension of local government’s obligation to be a good steward of public funds. All Member Officials and employees are invited to attend the Annual Membership Meeting on December 6, 2012 at 12:00 noon at Thanksgiving Point. It is important to keep yourself educated as to why Counties joined together to create this Interlocal agency, how its success continues to benefit members and what the future holds. The Pool is one of the great accomplishments by the Utah Association of Counties and local county government officials. Plan to join the Board at this annual event.

PO  Box  95730 ,  Sou th   J o rdan ,  UT    84095 ‐0730          801 ‐565 ‐8500        uc i p . u t ah . gov