County Commission | The Magazine April 2020 | Page 10

FROM THE COVER
ACAA: Improving Management
of County Operations
W
hether they count their time
on the job in years or decades,
members say the Association of
County Administrators of Alabama
is an unparalleled source of critical
information and an invaluable
network of colleagues.
“Most of the time, administrators
are alone in their county in dealing
with very complex issues, and it is
very important to talk with peers
around the state who have dealt with
the same or similar problems,”
said the group’s current
president, Matt Sharp of
DeKalb County. “In my
career, I have found it to
be extremely helpful.”
As vitally important
to members as ACAA is, it
is just as important to its parent
organization, the Association of
County Commissions of Alabama.
The president of the administrators’
group occupies an ex officio seat
on the ACCA’s Board of Directors
to ensure that an administrator’s
expertise about day-to-day county
operations is part of deliberations.
Most administrators come to the
job with a background in accounting
or finance, and ACAA offers a wealth
of professional development to help
them operate in county government’s
one-of-a-kind legal environment and
stay abreast of changes.
When the Legislature is in
session, ACCA provides each
affiliate group with tracking lists of
pending legislation pertaining to
their responsibilities — and due to
administrators’ broad responsibilities,
their group usually receives the
10 | APRIL 2020
The ACAA Regional Meetings bring members together for roundtable
discussions on topical concerns. Cleburne County held one in February
this year that brought together, from left, Travis Heard (Randolph),
Melissia Wood (Calhoun), Regina Chambers (Chambers), Lisa Holmes
(Randolph), Donna Wood and Tina Morgan (St. Clair), Kim Brown
(Cleburne), and Sandra Wolfe and Corey Phillips (St. Clair).
longest list.
ACCA’s most recent research
publication, “Alabama’s Unresolved
Inmate Crisis: A Report on the
Unintended Impact of the 2015
Prison Reform Act” would not have
been possible without a 67-county
effort from administrators to show
the true magnitude of the financial
hardship borne by counties.
Administrators also played a vital
role in advocating for the Simplified
Sellers Use Tax Act of 2015, the
innovative legislation that has made
Alabama a leader in the collection of
taxes on online transactions. Over
the years, the Legislature has passed
a series of County Modernization
Acts to reform and update laws
governing many of counties’ most
basic functions. In the late 1990s,
a successful statewide referendum
added language to the Alabama
Constitution to shield counties from
unfunded mandates, and yet again,
administrators were crucial to
that effort.
These days, after a slew of
retirements, about half of Alabama’s
county administrators have been on
the job 5 years or less.
Heather Dyar of Lawrence
County is one of those relative
newcomers, and she has worked
hard to take advantage of all the
benefits her affiliate group offers. In
fact, Dyar has already completed
the education program and earned
the Certified County Administrator
designation, which requires prior
coursework and three years of
experience to become eligible.
“The ACAA has provided me
with knowledge and expertise that I