FROM THE COVER
“ I’ m always amazed by counties’ ability to find a way forward. Counties overcome complex challenges, provide essential services to residents, save taxpayers money and constantly do more with less.”
Those are the words of Bryan Desloge, president of the National Association of Counties( NACo), who has chosen to focus his presidential initiative – and the 2017 celebration of National County Government Month – on recognizing innovations and sharing best practices.
He calls them Brilliant Ideas at Work, and there are plenty of examples right here in Alabama. There must be – because counties accomplish so much for so many, working with resources that are all too scarce.
What are the characteristics of Brilliant Ideas at Work? Are they unique? Sometimes. The wheel did have to be invented, and you could say the same about Simplified Sellers Use Tax remittance. But there is brilliance too in taking inspiration from another county’ s success or in making the most of something that seems routine.
Bottom line, the brilliant part is what Desloge would call“ finding a way forward” despite countless challenges. And counties in Alabama do that every single day.
Editor’ s Note:
This month, County Commission magazine is saluting a few of the Brilliant Ideas at Work in Alabama counties. The Brilliant Ideas on these pages are surely just the tip of the iceberg. Undoubtedly, there are many more. We would love to hear about Brilliant Ideas at Work in your county! Please email us at sgowan @ alabamacounties. org.
Blount County’ s town hall meeting goes live
Last fall things were coming down to the wire for the Moving Blount County Forward initiative.
The coalition had been working for months to secure support for a 1-cent sales tax to benefit county and municipal infrastructure, public schools and public safety. County voters would decide the issue in a referendum on the same ballot as a presidential election predicted to generate massive turnout.
Advocates were not satisfied that extensive community meetings and other communication efforts had been sufficient.
“ Even with 30 town hall meetings, we were only reaching a small part of the population,” said Zac Marsh, county administrator.
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And then came the brilliant idea. What about a virtual town hall meeting? Citizens wouldn’ t have to go out of their way to attend an event at a fixed time and location. The meeting could go to them via social media.
“ It blew my mind,” said Commissioner Dean Calvert.“ I said I’ m willing to do anything we can to get the information out as efficiently as possible.”
Next thing he knew, it was the Sunday afternoon before Election Day. Chris Green, the probate judge and commission chairman, had the county school superintendent and Calvert over to his house for a half-hour conversation about the 1-cent tax.
The hardware was pretty simple – a Samsung tablet and $ 100 microphone from Best Buy. But it was enough to livestream their conversation to more than a thousand viewers using Facebook Live.
“ Within a few days, we had something like 7,000 views,” Marsh said.
The referendum passed with 57 percent support from voters, and the virtual