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Paige Mellerio

Legislative Director, Finance, Pensions & Intergovernmental Affairs | Local Government Legal Center
Emma Conover

Emma Conover

Legislative Assistant

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Advocacy

County Countdown – May 19, 2025

America’s counties use tax exempt municipal bonds to invest in roads, bridges, public transportation, ports, libraries, police stations and more. Preserving the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds will ensure counties can build critical local infrastructure for residents without burdening taxpayers with higher costs.

Below, find resources designed to help county officials educate Congress, the administration and the public on the importance of protecting the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds.  

NACo Municipal Bond One Pager

Write Your Members of Congress

Download NACo's letter template and send a letter to Congress written on county letterhead, either through the U.S. Postal Service or via email, that explains why it is critical to your county that Congress preserves the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. Information on office locations and contact numbers can be found on members’ websites. Links to U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate websites can be found below.  

Publish a Letter to the Editor

Connect with your local media outlets to highlight the importance of Congress to preserve the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds. Write and submit op-ed columns, letters to the editor or guest commentaries to local newspapers outlining the importance of municipal bonds to your county and urging Congress to take action. Below are issue-specific talking points to consider. Remember, tailoring the message to fit your community is important to publishing an op-ed. County-specific examples and other local information will significantly enhance your advocacy. NACo’s Media Relations Guide for Counties is also available to assist county officials with local media outreach.

Engage Your Members of Congress on Social Media

Demonstrate how counties are built by bonds by sharing pictures and stories to encourage Congress to preserve their tax-exempt status. Most Senators and Representatives are on Twitter and monitor their Twitter feeds regularly. The easiest way to find your members of Congress is to utilize the search function on Twitter or by visiting your members’ website. In addition to reaching out to your members of Congress on Twitter, consider targeting House and Senate leadership. You can keep NACo in the loop on your social media advocacy by being sure to include both @NACoTweets and #BuiltByBonds in your tweets.

Sample Tweets
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Advocacy

What Counties Need to Know: ARPA reporting requirements for program income

 On May 20, the U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) distributed a memo to counties that received American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRF) dollars who had program income or reported $0 obligated on their recent program & expenditure reports. 

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Advocacy

County Countdown – May 19, 2025

Every other week, NACo's County Countdown reviews top federal policy advocacy items with an eye towards counties and the intergovernmental partnership. This week features reconciliation bill advancement, a FEMA reform proposal and more.

Higgins Infra Week 2025
Advocacy

Counties talk about tax-exempt municipal bonds during 2025 Infrastructure Week

On May 13, during the 13th Annual Infrastructure Week, NACo hosted a working group discussion titled “The Case for Tax-Exempt Municipal Bonds” with Commissioner Eileen Higgins of Miami-Dade County, Fla.