ACCA Legislative Conference just over 3 weeks away
Are you registered for the 2024 ACCA Legislative Conference? Scheduled for December 11-12 at the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel, the Association’s Annual Legislative Conference is one of the most important aspects of the legislative development process for Alabama counties, making it essential that all county officials and employees make plans to participate and learn more about the county issues expected for the 2025 Legislative Session. County leaders can register and book overnight accommodations for the two-day event by turning to the County Family online community or by contacting the ACCA Education and Events Team.
County leaders asked to contact ACCA for any necessary Renaissance room cancellations
The Renaissance Montgomery Hotel — the location for December’s New Commissioner Orientation, AAEM Winter Workshop and ACCA Legislative Conference — has been sold out of ACCA hotel rooms for weeks now, but our waiting list for rooms continues to grow. If you have a Renaissance room reservation and discover before these events that you no longer need your room, we ask that you kindly notify registration@alabamacounties.org to cancel your room reservation. Please do not contact the hotel. Cancelling your room through the Association staff will ensure your room is provided to a fellow county leader — and at the discounted rate.
Registration for ADMH’s “Stepping Up” Summit to close this Friday
As a reminder, the Alabama Department of Mental Health’s (ADMH) first-ever “Stepping Up” Summit will take place December 3-4 at the Alabama Train Station in Downtown Montgomery — and all 67 counties are encouraged to send at least one county leader to participate in this event necessitated by the recent increase in Stepping Up participation. The Summit is designed to educate participants on mental health data collection, case management roles and responsibilities, community buy-in, and several other important topics to aid in the program’s goal of reducing the number of individuals with serious mental illness in jails and emergency rooms. Participation in the Summit is free, and all interested county leaders are urged to register here by the November 22 deadline.
Newly-established ACCA Mental Health Committee to meet today
In an effort to continue county government’s mental health momentum of the past year, a newly-established ACCA committee — composed of probate judges, sheriffs and members of the Passion Leadership Accountability and Networking (PLAN) 2024 group — will conduct its very first meeting today. Items on the agenda for this Mental Health Committee’s first meeting include discussions on growing the number of mental health case workers in county jails, delivering crisis response and intervention training to county law enforcement, expanding access to mental health beds, utilizing opioid settlement dollars and crafting mental health goals for the year ahead.
IAC to conduct ARPA obligation webinar tomorrow for Administrators
As the obligation deadline for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars draws near, the Investing in Alabama Counties (IAC) staff is diligently working with participating counties to ensure every penny is spoken for by December 31. Tomorrow, the IAC staff will gather virtually with Administrators from participating counties to kick off the countdown to December 31 and discuss final obligation strategies for implementing in the days ahead. A virtual invitation with details on how to participate in the webinar has already been sent to the Administrators of participating counties. Administrators who did not receive an invitation or who encounter technical issues related to participation are encouraged to contact IAC Project Manager Jennifer Deese.
Reminder: County Commissions authorized to set 2025 holiday schedule
As the holiday season and the close of 2024 draw near, the Association staff wants to remind county leaders that Alabama law grants County Commissions the authority to annually establish the county holiday schedule. Under Ala. Code Section 11-1-8, Commissions may, by resolution, close county offices on state legal holidays or “for special circumstances deemed necessary or appropriate.” There is no statutory timeframe for establishing the county’s annual holiday schedule, which may be altered as necessary throughout the year, but an annual schedule is typically adopted no later than the Commission’s first regular meeting in January. To access a sample resolution for setting the annual holiday schedule, click here — and for a list of state legal holidays, refer to Ala. Code Section 1-3-8.