I recently had the privilege of attending the Annual Meeting of the National Council of County Association Executives (NCCAE) in Rockingham County (Portsmouth), New Hampshire. NCCAE is a sister organization of the National Association of Counties (NACo), and our group has some influence on NACo. Our primary purpose for meeting is to exchange ideas and experiences in our respective states. 37 state association executive directors attended; while every state is different, there are a lot of common issues that face counties across our great country.
Monday: Our host, New Hampshire association Executive Director Kate Horgan (whose father Tom, by the way, served in our Nebraska Legislature in the 1990s) took us on a tour of the New Hampshire State House in Concord. Out front, we were greeted by statues of Daniel Webster, John Stark, John Parker Hale, and Christa McAuliffe. Their state legislature has two houses; the House of Representatives has 400 members, while their Senate has 24. Advocating for issues struck me as far more chaotic than in our Capitol – there is a literally a small room outside each chamber, capable of holding no more than 8 or 9 people comfortably; most lobbyists roam the halls of the building, trying to catch a senator or representative to discuss issues or bills.
Tuesday: After a brief ice-breaker where we shared our personal mottos (my favorite, from Wisconsin Executive Director Mark O’Connell: “Always tip street musicians. They put everything they have out in public.”), our Enterprise & Business Development Committee discussed the various ways state associations generate revenues so they can keep dues down. There are several states that, like Nebraska, engage businesses throughout their state to sponsor various association events. Next, as Chair of the Research Committee, I presented on the Federal-State Policy Exchange held earlier this year. Property taxes and county revenues dominated the conversation (no fewer than a dozen states are seriously considering proposals to eliminate or severely curtail property taxes in their states, with no consideration given to how the local governments will pay for the duties imposed on them by the State), and we discussed how each of us has been adapting to the shifting political landscape. Finally, my peers from California, Colorado, and Florida discussed their strategies for engaging the media, targeting policymakers, and winning public policy debates. Some states are more aggressive (California’s Governor has frequently blasted my counterpart there, Graham Knaus, in the press) while some wield the personal relationships they have built (my counterpart in Missouri, Steve Hobbs, served in their Legislature and seems to know everybody in the state).
Wednesday: The morning was primarily a briefing from NACo about what is going on at the national level. NACo has been growing their business lines and partnerships, and they have done a lot of analysis on how H.R. 1 (the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act”) will have downstream effects on all 3,069 counties, parishes, and boroughs across the country. In the afternoon, we focused on different association innovations:
· North Carolina has a dedicated film production unit which has produced several documentaries about different issues affecting county government
· Illinois’ State Association of Counties (ISACo), with their staff of 3, described how they leverage technology to create content for their various audiences and stakeholders
· Virginia described how they are making greater use of political action committees (PACs) to influence policymakers in their state
Thursday: had no official programming; NCCAE has traditionally used the final day of the conference either as a travel day or to do something as a group. In the past several years, it has mostly involved hiking. We went to Franconia Notch State Park and hiked the Flume Gorge Trail and had lunch at Cannon Mountain (and yes, everyone remarked on how we were dining at “my” lodge).
My counterparts across the country are a dedicated bunch. All of them took different paths to get where they are, but they all have that spirit of service and that conviction that county government is the purest and best form of government. I always come back from this conference inspired and with greater resolve to help make our association better, day by day.
