You can't beat free

Eliminating Annual Conference registration fee is Association's latest cost-saving measure

These are not easy times for counties, and it seems like the hits just keep on coming. At our recent Board of Directors meeting, Wells Fargo economist Mark Vitner said that while the economy is showing signs of a rebound, there are also signs that the recession may be in the shape of a "U," with an extended bottoming out period, instead of a "V," with a quick bounce back. Luckily for counties, the Association is taking action to help us get through.

In recent years the Association has undertaken numerous initiatives to help reduce costs for counties. In each of the past two years, the Board of Directors has approved a reduction in our dues structure, saving counties more than $300,000.

In 2009, we eliminated the registration fee for our district meetings, a practice that we continued in 2010 and expect to do so in 2011 and the immediate future. Fortunately, we are able to count on some great sponsors to help us underwrite the costs of these meetings.

In 2009, we dropped the registration fee for our Annual Conference by more than 25 percent. This year we eliminated it completely for county commissioners and managers as long as they registered during the pre-registration period, which expired July 26. Our Annual Conference is our most important meeting of the year. It is a wonderful educational opportunity for county officials to learn about important state and national issues, and the membership also elects our future leaders during this meeting.

The Board of Directors wanted to remove as many barriers to attending our Annual Conference as possible. Given that travel budgets are often among the first casualties when counties are looking for budget cuts, we decided to give commissioners and managers an opportunity to register for this year's conference for free.

We have also taken steps to help our Risk Management Pools remain competitive by reducing the fees charged to the pools. This has helped keep our rates competitive so that we can continue to grow this important part of our Association. The Risk Management Pools have upped their wellness and safety programs also, helping counties to save on insurance costs and to reduce costly accidents.

The Association has worked with the Department of Revenue to expand the Debt Setoff Program. This year, legislation was passed to include corporate income tax refunds in the program, meaning that if a business is due a refund but it owes a local government a debt, the debt will be deducted from the refund and sent to the governing body.

Since the program began in 2002, more than $75 million in debts have been collected by counties and county agencies, and 20 counties have collected at least $1 million in unpaid debts.

As we move forward, just know the Association and the Board of Directors will continue to seek ways to help counties during these difficult times of crisis.