News From Across the Nation - May 14, 2018

Last year, NEW CASTLE COUNTY police received 760 calls from people struggling with mental health issues. Licensed professional counselors are now riding along in police cars, responding to calls where a person may be in crisis and benefit from a mental health professional, The News Journal reported.

The partnership between the county police and Connections Community Support Programs is the latest way the county is working to combat mental health issues in the community.

“I really feel like we’re making a difference,” Officer Colleen Kearns said. “We’re just not going there putting a Band-Aid on it. We’re putting people in connection with services that are going to make a difference.”

FLORIDA

— Under a new law signed by Gov. Rick Scott (R), counties are required to hire armed security guards on every school campus. The new mandate leaves nearly all the state’s counties scrambling to fund the new position. At least two counties — MONROE and HERNANDO — are considering raising their local property taxes to pay for the costs, the Tampa Bay Times reported. PUTNAM COUNTY has put together a 21-person task force to figure out what type of armed security the district will choose.

Some counties including HILLSBOROUGH, POLK and DUVAL are considering hiring ex-police officers or retired military.

The new law prohibits full-time teachers from being armed but allows other employees such as coaches to take the required 132 hours of training if the county approves. Some county officials say they are worried that there will be a shortage of personnel to hire for the armed security positions.

— BROWARD COUNTY has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Rick Scott (R) over a state law that preempts counties from passing tighter restrictions on firearms, the Miami Herald reported. The county said it took action after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and mentioned that “repeated, horrific, mass shootings have devastated American communities.”

Broward County Commissioner Nan Rich, a co-plaintiff, said “it is very important for our county to take a stand on this because it affects our ability to keep people safe in our communities.”

— SANTA ROSA COUNTY will charge an annual $500 fee for the use of its tourism logos and slogans, the Pensacola News Journal reported.

The slogans and logos are part of the county’s $700,000 ad campaign with a Florida ad agency. Copyrighted slogans “Navarre Beach, Florida’s Most Relaxing Place” and “Navarre Beach, Florida’s Panhandle” were popular picks. Requests for use go through the county attorney and county commission for final approval.

HAWAII

Triggered by a series of small earthquakes and later a 5-magnitude quake, Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano erupted May 3, rolling lava into the streets of a subdivision and forcing 2,000 people to evacuate the area, about 220 miles from Honolulu, according to the Associated Press. HAWAII COUNTY Civil Defense and the entire county emergency response team was on high alert around the clock after the eruption. The county warned citizens to be on alert for lava, fire, smoke, methane gas, earthquakes and poor air quality.

IDAHO

ADA COUNTY Highway District has begun a $61 million road construction season, starting nearly 90 projects, the Idaho Statesman reported. The projects include widening roads, repairing bridges, adding and improving sidewalks, putting in bike lanes, installing pedestrian ramps, improving curbs and storm drains and sealing cracked pavement.

A bigger infusion of developer fees is helping fund what the district is calling “Constructionmageddon.” The “impact fees” help offset the future traffic impact of buildings on local roads. The region’s rapid growth is fueling a projected $20 million in fees this year.

ILLINOIS

EFFINGHAM, IROQUOIS, SALINE, JEFFERSON and PERRY counties have declared themselves to be ‘sanctuary cities’ for gun owners. The five counties recently passed resolutions to provide sanctuary for gun owners from any state legislation that would place restrictions on gun ownership. 

“It’s a buzzword that really gets attention. With all these sanctuary cities, we just decided to turn it around to protect our Second Amendment rights,” said David Campbell, vice chairman of the Effingham County Board, in a New York Times article.

He said at least 20 Illinois counties and local officials in Oregon and Washington have asked for copies of Effingham County’s resolution.

MARYLAND

The state’s most populous county may follow in the footsteps of other local jurisdictions across the country and dedicate funds to help defend undocumented immigrants facing deportation.

At a packed public hearing May 1, MONTGOMERY COUNTY Council members got an earful from both supporters and opponents of a controversial plan to set aside $374,000 in legal aid money for low income residents facing removal from the country. A vote has not yet been scheduled.

Montgomery County has nearly 1 million residents, one-third of whom are foreign-born.

MICHIGAN

OAKLAND COUNTY will add 42,000 jobs by 2020, according to a new report out by the University of Michigan. Many of the jobs will pay $75,000 or more, an economist who worked on the report said. The job market continues to grow due to economic diversity, a highly educated labor force and policy initiatives that focus on future growth sectors. Oakland County has added more than 119,000 new jobs since 2010, and its average growth pace of 2.6 percent “well outpaced” the nation, the report said. The only problem the county faces: the possibility of a labor shortage in the next few years.

MISSOURI

JACKSON COUNTY voters may be asked in November to approve a 5 percent property tax increase to raise roughly $5.3 million a year to help fund programs for senior citizens, The Kansas City Star reported. The county would levy a countywide tax at the rate of 5 cents per each $100 of assessed valuation. The funds would be used to provide programs for the health, nutrition and quality of life for those 60 and older. An oversight board would be appointed to sort through grant requests from agencies serving the elderly. The Jackson County Legislature passed the ordinance April 30 with eight votes (and one member absent) and the measure will be on the ballot come November, according to Jackson County Legislature Chairman Scott Burnett.

MONTANA

A proposal to create a new county in Montana is being considered by GLACIER and PONDERA county commissioners, the Missoulian newspaper reported. A state lawmaker plans to ask the counties to chip in for a feasibility study that would look at the costs of creating and running the state’s 57th county from Blackfeet Reservation. The proposal comes after a long winter when residents on the reservation were stranded for weeks due to deep snow drifts. Pondera County Commissioner Janice Hoppes told the newspaper the neighbor county has no authority to plow roads on the reservation.

She said she’s open to the idea of creating a new county. “This is the first I’ve heard of this concept and I’m anxious to hear more,” she said. Harold Blattie, executive director of the Montana Association of Counties, estimates that the cost of transcribing records would be exorbitant. Montana’s original counties were created between 1865 and 1923. Meanwhile state Rep. George Kipp III, whose district includes Glacier and Ponderosa counties, is still interested in exploring the idea and a new name is already being discussed — Pikuni or Pikini, one of the three branches of the Blackfeet Nation.

NEVADA

— There’s a distinct difference between a baseball game and a protest, and CLARK COUNTY may act accordingly, banning potential weapons — like bats — from demonstrations within the county.

The long list of items that would be banned includes torches, bricks, knives, ice picks, bats, slingshots, shields and nunchucks. Stun guns and pepper spray containers larger than a half-ounce would also be banned. Small sticks and pipes used to hoist signs and flags would be allowed at protests. Larger sticks and pipes would not, according to The Review-Journal.

 — WASHOE COUNTY’s Recorder’s Office is testing a blockchain-based system for the digitization of certified marriage certificates. Residents currently have to call the clerk’s office to get a certified copy of their certificate mailed to them, which takes 5–7 business days to arrive.  The pilot program uses blockchain-based tools — which will prevent certificates from being deleted or changed — to allow the recorder’s office to offer expedited certified copies of marriage certificates, News 4 reported.

Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) signed a bill last year integrating companies that use blockchain technology into the state’s infrastructure, prohibiting taxation and regulations regarding the use and implementation of the technology.

NEW JERSEY

— PILT issues aren’t only confined to public lands counties. On the East Coast, specifically ATLANTIC COUNTY, a PILT (they call it “PILOT”) settlement with the state over Atlantic City casinos  will eventually steer 13.5 percent of the money the casinos pay in lieu of property taxes to the county, according to The Press.

The 10-year casino payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program, or PILOT, was passed into law in 2016. It required casinos to collectively pay $120 million in its first year in 2017, with amounts in subsequent years determined by how well the casinos do financially.

—  OCEAN COUNTY has adopted a resolution of protest against a state Senate bill that would force counties to change the name of their freeholder boards to boards of commissioners.

It is a change from an earlier draft that, like the state Assembly’s version, allows counties the choice of what to call their legislative bodies. MONMOUTH COUNTY Freeholder Director Thomas Arnone said the bill would be an unfunded mandate because counties would have to change their names on literature and signage, the Asbury Park Press reported.

Bill sponsor Sen. Joseph Pennacchio has said the title of freeholder needs to be changed because the name is a vestige of 18th-century civic life in New Jersey, before there was universal suffrage. In 18th century New Jersey, only a freeholder, a male who owned land free of debts or legal claims, could be elected or appointed to serve on the Chosen Freeholders Board.

OHIO

CUYAHOGA COUNTY’s Department of Consumer Affairs can now investigate and enforce consumer laws.

Before the County Council approved legislation for a new section in the county’s code to that effect, investigators with the department could attempt to mediate a resolution to a complaint against a business, but were unable to pursue legal action, instead referring the cases to the appropriate agency. SUMMIT COUNTY also has a similar setup, The Plain Dealer reported.

OREGON

Women and minorities entering the construction trades will get a boost from a new fund set up by the MULTNOMAH COUNTY Board.

 It will fund small business development, providing technical assistance, mentoring, association sponsorships and other support to certified disadvantaged, minority and female-owned small businesses. It will also support worker retention, to increase the number of apprentices who continue onto journey-level work.

 The Construction Diversity and Equity Fund will draw 1 percent from county remodeling projects with budgets above $200,000 and new construction over $1 million, and it will benefit organizations that provide pre-apprenticeship training to young people who often come from minority and low-income families with no connection to the trades.

TENNESSEE

On primary election night, a distributed denial of service attack crashed KNOX COUNTY’s election website.

Such an attack overwhelmed the website with an unsustainable amount of internet traffic. Though the website was down for roughly an hour, CNET reported, it only affected public viewing of results, because the voting machines themselves are not connected online.

TEXAS

Three border counties are joining a lawsuit against the federal government’s inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 census, concerned that the question could dissuade residents from participating and causing their population count to be inaccurate. That would affect congressional representation and reduce federal funding for the counties.

 HIDALGO, CAMERON and EL PASO counties joined 31 other plaintiffs in an amended federal lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Commerce, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur L. Ross Jr., the Census Bureau and its director, Ron Jarmin. All three counties have similar demographics, with a large percentage of residents who are foreign-born, Hispanic or undocumented, The Monitor reported. At least 18 states, Texas not included, and a number of other governmental jurisdictions have joined the lawsuit.

VIRGINIA

—  LOUDOUN COUNTY is considering offering its employees paid family leave.

The Board of Supervisors passed a measure directing the county to study and develop family leave options and to research their costs, including whether to start with just maternity leave.

County workers can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave under the federal Family Medical Leave Act, and Supervisor Ron Meyer said family leave could make the county more competitive when hiring, WTOP News reported,.

—  A recycled materials manufacturer of wood-alternative outdoor items has pledged to give YORK COUNTY free benches if 500 pounds of plastic bags are collected for recycling within six months.

If the county collects the 500 pounds multiple times, the York County Beautification Committee plans to donate the benches first to county schools and then place them in other public areas.

The county will hold collections during farmer’s markets and at the waste management center for plastic bags and other plastic materials that cannot be included in curbside recycling, The Williamsburg Yorktown Daily reported.

Plastic film products can’t be processed like other plastics and end up harming the recycling machinery when they are mixed with regular recycling. The Trex Company, which will supply the benches, will accept the unusable plastics.