Jefferson County (Ky.) Executive David Armstrong was elected president of the National Council of Elected County Executives (NCECE) for 19971998 on May 8 at NCECE's Eighth Annual Spring Conference in New Orleans, La.
Armstrong replaces Dane County (Wis.) Executive Richard Phelps, who is leaving his county position.
Other officers elected were New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, first vice president; Harris County (Texas) Judge Robert Eckels, second vice president; Milwaukee County (Wis.) Executive Tom Ament, third vice president; and Prince George's County (Md.) Executive Wayne Curry, president pro tempore.
NACo President Michael Hightower spoke at the conference on May 9 about his priorities for the Large Urban County Caucus and the Rural Renaissance, and for encouraging counties to become more involved with arts programs.
The county executives discussed a number of key legislative issues. Among them were arbitrage, utility deregulation, EPA regulations, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and the federal budget. The executives adopted a resolution supporting legislation that would provide counties with a "safe harbor" on arbitrage and another resolution opposing stricter EPA regulations on clean air.
NCECE officials also heard presentations on three different programs.
Representatives of Fiscal Planning Services, Inc. provided information on
their service which tracks federal aid to state and local governments. A
Paine Webber official discussed a program for municipal tax-lien securitization.
PhoneCharge, Inc. gave the final presentation. PhoneCharge's system enables
citizens to pay a government bill or tax from their touch-tone phone via
credit card or ATM card.