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 Final preparations are underway for the 5th Annual CSA Legislative Summit, which will be hosted by Yuma County on October 27-29, 2009, at the Hilton Pivot Point Resort and Conference Center, right on the beautiful Colorado river. We are expecting supervisors and staff from all of Arizona's fifteen counties, and if you haven't registered yet, there's still time to join us by clicking here. CSA is very pleased to welcome Arizona Governor (and former county supervisor) Jan Brewer to the Summit! Governor Brewer will speak during Wednesday's luncheon and will also sign three important county bills passed in the 2009 legislative session (HB 2236: county operation; management, HB 2480: regional transportation authorities; qualifying counties, and HB 2581: library districts; county reimbursement).
Bob McLendon, a former state representative and Yuma county supervisor who now sits on the Arizona Board of Regents, will join us to speak at Tuesday evening's opening dinner reception.
The reception will also include a raffle! Yuma County has arranged a number of incredible raffle prizes that will give supervisors the chance to experience some unique parts of Yuma County during their visits. Prizes could include a flight in a Harrier Jet simulator or a ride at the GM Test Track, and supervisors will get to redeem their prizes Wednesday morning before the Summit's policy development process begins.
 Wednesday evening, Yuma County is hosting a dinner at the Territorial Prison. This casual, "blue-jean affair" will offer a tour of the historic prison, which housed prisoners from 1876 to 1909.
The Summit will also allow supervisors to discuss current and legislative issues and set CSA's legislative agenda for the 2010 session. Sixteen proposals will be considered at the Summit, where the CSA Board of Directors will also select a new member of the Executive Committee and adopt the policy agenda at Thursday morning's Board of Directors meeting.
See you in Yuma!
The website for the Governor's Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting (OSPB) now includes a number of reports that discuss how various state agencies might absorb an additional mid-year 15 percent budget reduction in FY10.
On September 18, OSPB Director Eileen Klein sent a letter to agency directors, asking them to begin preparing for additional budget reductions. Most agencies have taken cuts in both the FY09 and the initial FY10 session, but Klein said the lack of a new revenue solution "necessitates the call for mid-year reductions in expenditures. While it is still possible for the Legislature to provide for needed additional revenues directly or by referring a measure to the ballot, you as directors cannot count on that relief."
Klein asked agencies to "prioritize services based on what is most essential and what the voters or courts have mandated be offered" and suggested that the Governor would "ask the Legislature to relieve agencies of any statutory obligations that are not absolutely essential to fulfilling your missions or mandates."
While some reports have not yet been posted, many major agencies, like AHCCCS, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and the Department of Water Resources (DWR) have released budget reduction plans. Many of the proposed reductions in agency programs can eventually impact county operations. For example, reductions in the DEQ budget may affect county air quality and recycling programs, while DWR cuts might eliminate Rural Water Studies or statewide flood monitoring.
The website emphasizes that the plans are a tool to assess the impact of potential budget reductions but do not represent a proposal from Governor Brewer or her office.
The U.S. Department of Justice has released state and local funding awards from the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) for 2009. Arizona's counties received a collective total of approximately $6.3 million and the State of Arizona received approximately $12.8 million.
SCAAP is a federal program that provides funding for state and local governments for correctional costs associated with incarcerating undocumented immigrants. Changes to SCAAP regulations in 2007 specified that the funds must be used for correctional costs. Counties across the county apply for SCAAP funding annually, which is distributed based on reported correctional populations.
CSA worked with the Border Counties Coalition to secure SCAAP's reauthorization in 2009. The 2010 reauthorization continues to move through Congress; the House has included $400 million in SCAAP funds in its budget (the same amount as last year) while the Senate has reduced its allocation to $228 million. An amendment has been proposed in the Senate to raise the allocation to $400 million.
From Naco.org
 If your county received a funding grant from the Recovery Act (ARRA), you must report on how the funds are being spent by Oct. 20. This is the first deadline for the reports, which will be due in each quarter thereafter.To prepare its members for the reporting requirement, NACo held two webinars: one on July 16 and the latest on Sept. 29. Following are links to recordings of both webinars as well as the presentations made during the webcast. September 29, 2009 -- Essentials of Recovery Act Reporting Update July 16, 2009 -- Reporting Guidance for the Recovery Act Top
NACo is receiving proposals for educational workshops for its members and guests at the 2010 Legislative Conference, March 6-10, in Washington, D.C. Consistent with its mission to provide its members with educational programs designed to meet the challenges of local leadership in the 21st century and, ultimately, to improve the quality of life for local citizens, NACo will offer 24 75-minute workshops, distributed in four time blocks on March 7-8, 2010. The proposal deadline is October 23, and the selected programs will be announced by November 3. Click here for the proposal specifications and the online proposal form.
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County Supervisors Association of Arizona
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