From the President

I hope everyone had an enjoyable summer. For those of us with school-age children, it sure seems that the summer months go very quickly.
Summer also means budget preparation for those of us in county government. It is the time of the year that we really come face to face with the effect of unfunded mandates, county revenue source limitations, and restrictions placed upon our operations by legislative action. Trying to determine the hearing notice contents for our budget adoption is particularly confusing this year, and scheduling for those of us without a daily newspaper can be difficult, particularly if we are conducting several meetings as a result of an increase in tax revenue above the effective rate. Congratulations to those of you who are finished with your budget, and good luck to those who are still in the adoption process, especially if you have to raise the tax rate to fund your county’s operation. I know the difficult choices and decisions you are making.
This time of the year is also unique in that while we are setting our goals and planning for the next fiscal year, we can also look back over the last year and hopefully be encouraged by our accomplishments and successes, even if our biggest success is just in meeting our first priority