County Commission | The Magazine June 2017 | Page 7

director actually worked the phones
as effectively as possible, while also
dodging Atlanta traffic on the way
to the airport.
Here's the honest truth. On the
last week of the legislative session
everyone in county government
should have been focused on what
was going on in Montgomery.
Everyone should have been ready
to react when called upon. And all
county staff members should have
given priority to any calls for action
that came from the Association.
The amendment drew the
Association’s opposition for two
reasons. First, the amendment was
poorly drawn and would not allow
for the costs of the electronic poll
books to qualify as a reimbursable
expense, meaning the county
commission would be responsible
for all costs. And, secondly, because
many rural counties will not be
able to afford the electronic tablets
(software alone will be about $300
per tablet), the amendment will
produce unequal resources during
statewide elections.
In the end, the list of legislators
who voted against the Association's
position looks like a "who's who" of
county supporters. And, because our
effort failed by only one vote, any
one of our usual supporters could
have changed the outcome if he or
she had received a personal request
to stand alongside the Association.
All of this is not written in an
effort to "second guess" or to assign
blame. The hope is that this loss,
relatively small in the grand scheme
of things, will serve as motivation
for this Association to re-energize
its advocacy efforts. And, perhaps,
we'll be better prepared to defeat the
other, more serious efforts that are
clearly on the horizon.
Now that the session has
concluded, the staff will closely
re-evaluate how, when and through
what methods we communicate with
you during a legislative session. We'll
look at the tools we are giving you
to aid your communication efforts
with state and federal officials. At
the convention in August, we’ll ask
you to give us some input, while also
doing some self-evaluation of our
own. And between now and then,
we welcome your input and advice.
And, at the county level, we
hope you’ll take a few minutes to
evaluate your involvement in the
Association’s unified policy efforts.
These efforts are not confined
to the short three months of the
Legislature’s annual work session.
Real involvement translates into an
acceptance of your individual role in
protecting and enhancing counties,
even if there is short notice on the
last week of a long and tiring session.
Losing by any margin is not in
our nature. Losing by one vote, as
some of my old friends can attest, is
especially frustrating. n
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