NACo and two state associations are teaming up on behalf of county employees in Minnesota and North Dakota who have been affected by the recent flooding in those states by establishing the NACo/ND/MN Flood Relief Fund.
"The fund is our effort to give county employees across the country an opportunity to directly help their county colleagues in North Dakota and Minnesota by making tax-deductible, free-will donations," says NACo Executive Director Larry Naake.
All money collected in the fund will go to help county employees struggling with rebuilding after the devastation of the flood.
The North Dakota Association of Counties (NDAC) and the Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC), along with NACo, hope other state associations will also join their efforts in getting the word out about the fund.
"None of us would want to trade places with the flood victims in these states. County officials and employees, as well as the majority of the citizens bordering the Red River of the North, have been displaced from their homes. The damages are only beginning to be assessed, but many people will be unable to return to their homes for months as structural damages are repaired," observed NDAC Executive Director Mark Johnson.
Johnson related the story of Annette, a Grand Forks County, N.D. employee, whose family, along with a brother, sister and pets, has been evacuated from their home and are now on the waiting list for housing because of the time it will take to repair their home.
All donations to the relief fund are tax-deductible. Checks (no cash please) should be made out to NACo/ND/MN Flood Relief Fund and mailed to the National Association of Counties, P.O. Box 79135, Baltimore, MD 21279-0135.
Once distributed to the affected counties, the employees of the county will decide how to disperse the funds to meet the greatest need, said Jim Mulder, AMC executive director. "Through our united efforts, we can help to get county employees back on their feet as soon as possible," he added.
(For more information, contact NACo's public affairs department at
202/942-4222, or e-mail: <tgoodman@naco.org>.)