Franklin County Continues To Lead At The National Association Of Counties

All three Franklin County Commissioners have been named to leadership roles with the National Association of Counties (NACo), which represents Americas more than 3,000 counties, nearly 40,000 elected county officials, and 3.6 million county employees.  In addition to the commissioners’ roles, County Administrator Kenneth N. Wilson is Midwest Regional Vice President for the National Association for County Administrators, and several other Franklin County staff are taking on leadership roles in their own areas of expertise.
 
The commissioners and key staff members recently attended the NACo Annual Conference and Exposition in Clark County, Nevada, and hosted the conference in 2017, which brought 3.000 commissioners and other elected leaders to our community from across the nation.  The National Association of Counties unites America’s 3,069 counties to share best practices, and advocates on behalf of county governments in Washington, D.C.
 
This year, Board of Commissioners President, Marilyn Brown has been appointed to membership in NACo’s Large Urban County Caucus Steering Committee (LUCC), the Arts and Culture Commission, and the Healthy County Initiative Advisory Board.
 
Commissioner John O’Grady is the Vice Chair of the LUCC Steering Committee, subcommittee chair for Economic Development in the Community Economic and Workforce Development Steering Committee, and a member of the Arts and Culture Commission and the International Economic Development Taskforce.
 
Commissioner Kevin L. Boyce is chairperson of the Finance, Pensions, and Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee, vice chair of the Immigration Reform Taskforce, a member of LUCC, and is one of only 20 county officials across the nation chosen to participate in NACo’s new Economic Mobility Leadership Network, which brings together a bipartisan group of leaders to explore the role counties can play in positively affecting economic mobility and is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
 
“Committee participation at the national level is a serious commitment and responsibility”, wrote NACo President Mary Ann Borgerson in her letter making the leadership appointments.  “We must continue working with government, nonprofit, and industry partners to highlight the importance of local government.”
 
“Participation in NACo is important to what we do in Franklin County,” said County Administrator, Kenneth N. Wilson.  “It’s a way for us to learn from other counties about what works well for them and how they’re addressing the challenges that we all face, and a chance for us to show off all of the exciting things we have going on in Franklin County.  It’s also important for our commissioners and staff to be leaders at the national level.  That’s part of how we stay at the forefront both of innovative local leadership and of the policy discussions that are going on in Washington.”
 
In addition to his role at NACA, Administrator Wilson is a member of the LUCC Steering Committee and International Economic Development Taskforce, and vice chair of the Healthy Counties Initiative Advisory Board and Health Steering Committee.  Several other Franklin County staff members are also helping to lead at NACo.  Director of county Job and Family Services, Joy Bivens, is a subcommittee vice chair in the Human Services and Education Steering Committee, and Michael Daniels, the commissioners’ Director of Justice Policy and Programs is a subcommittee vice chair in the Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee.