County Commission | The Magazine March 2019 | Page 4

President’s PERSPECTIVE
I
Hon. Tony Cherry
President
Staying Informed
Will Be Critical
to County
Success Amid
Controversial
Session
t’s almost that time of the year,
folks. It’s almost that time
when we can effect positive
change in our communities by
talking with our state lawmakers
and providing them with the
information and data they need to
pass our priority legislation or to
join our efforts to delay or amend
proposals that will negatively
impact counties and the people
“back home.”
Yes, it’s almost time for the 2019
Regular Legislative Session. And
with county issues at the forefront
of everyone’s mind on Goat Hill,
the next four months offer us an
opportunity to be actively involved
in something really special.
Our staff in Montgomery works
tirelessly to prepare themselves and
us for this most important time of
the year. But they can’t walk alone;
in fact, when the Legislature is in
session, the responsibility should
largely be on the backs of county
officials and employees. While the
staff is busy reading bills, speaking
at public hearings, counting votes
and doing all of the grunt work we
don’t see, we must be playing our
part. And our part begins and ends
with keeping ourselves informed
and being ready to act.
So, throughout this session, I
ask that you do these few simple
things. And, just as importantly,
I ask that you encourage your
colleagues to do the same.
Watch the Goat Hill Glance
video on Fridays
Every Friday, be sure to check
your email for a Goat Hill Glance
video recapping the week’s activities
in Montgomery. Our Executive
Director, Sonny Brasfield, will
4 | MARCH 2019
provide the Association’s insight on
the legislative climate and a list of
critical items for us to complete over
the weekend – such as contacting
our legislators about a particular
bill. Again, this is what WE bring
to the table and where WE must do
the heavy lifting.
Read the Goat Hill Prep
email on Mondays
Every Monday, locate the Goat
Hill Prep in your “inbox” and be
sure to read it in its entirety. The
ACCA staff does an excellent job
of keeping us informed on issues of
the utmost importance – which is
why the Goat Hill Prep is always
broken down into just a few updates
we need to know about and a few
actions we need to take.
Stay on the lookout for
important Goat Hill Alert
emails throughout the week
Throughout the week, monitor
your “inbox” for any ACCA emails
containing the term “alert.” There
may be weeks in which you receive
several of these emails or not a
one, but when you do receive
one, all of county government
will be depending on you to
open it immediately and respond
accordingly.
Download the ACCA67 app for
critical “act now” alerts
If you haven’t already, make
sure you download the ACCA67
app to your cell phone and turn on
the push notifications. Often times,
legislative plans change on a dime
while at the Statehouse, and if the
ACCA staff has no way of easily
and quickly reaching all of us, it
could be the difference in a county
win or loss. n