acgm0810

AUGUST 2010

www.accg.org

G OV E R N M E N T

Focus on

Southwest Georgia

ALSO INSIDE: Presorted Std. U.S. Postage PAID FARGO, ND PERMIT 43

• ACCG Honors 10 Georgia Lawmakers For Outstanding Service During 2010 Session

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We’ve extended our reach.

Flint Equipment Company announces the acquisition of Metrac, Inc. Wherever you see action, you ll find FlintCo companies providing the power and support to get the job done. From construction equipment to Ag equipment to diesel power units, if John Deere makes it – we rent it, sell it, finance it, insure it, service it and provide parts for it – all over the Southeast.

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Albany, GA Adairsville, GA Atlanta, GA Aynor, SC Braselton, GA Columbus, GA Cuthbert, GA

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ALBANY TRACTOR COMPANY 229-432-7468 Albany, GA Americus, GA Colquitt, GA Cordele, GA Cuthbert, GA Pelham, GA Sycamore, GA Sylvester, GA

FLINT POWER SYSTEMS 229-888-1900 Albany, GA Alabama Florida Georgia North Carolina South Carolina Tennessee The Caribbean

GEORGIACOUNTY

www.accg.org

G OV E R N M E N T VOLUME 61 NO. 12 • AUGUST 2010

ROSS KING Executive Director, Publisher

Policy

Risk Management and Insurance

CLINT MUELLER Legislative Director Revenue and Finance

DAVID A. PAULK Director

TODD EDWARDS General County Government Natural Resources and Environment MATTHEW HICKS Economic Development and Transportation DEBRA NESBIT Health and Human Services Public Safety and the Courts

DAVID UHLMAN Manager

PENNY HENDERSON Administrative Assistant

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Legal

LINDA JUDGE GSIWCF Claims Supervisor

Communications BETH BROWN Director of Communications DEBORAH DEWBERRY Magazine Editor

ABBY GARLAND Membership Services Coordinator

Accounting and Finance J.C. McBEE Chief Financial Officer

Technical and Other Assistance

DARRYLE CRAWFORD Senior Accountant

CAROL BAKER Meeting Planner KATHLEEN BOWEN Special Projects Coordinator BETH BRADLEY Land Initiative Director

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DEONTÉ BURDEN Staff Accountant

Administrative Services

Southwest Georgia Counties Pursue Real Innovations to Fight Poverty, Improve Future

By Deborah Dewberry, Editor

31

Leading Edge Waste-to-Energy Methane Gas Facilities Depend on County Landfills

By Deborah Dewberry, Editor

35

ACCG Honors 10 Georgia Lawmakers For Outstanding Service During 2010 Session

39

Federal Health Reform: Implications for Counties

SHERYL DALLAS Vice President, Client Services

EFRAIN RODRIGUEZ Multimedia Designer & Webmaster

Lee County: Prospering North of Albany

By Deborah Dewberry, Editor

GEBCorp STEVE VAUGHN President and CEO

Focus on Southwest Georgia

By Deborah Dewberry, Editor

Claims Administration JOHN SMITH Claims Operations Manager

President’s Message

Features 10

ROBERT KISSELL IRMA Claims Supervisor

KELLY PRIDGEN Assistant General Counsel

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BEN PITTARELLI Manager of Marketing and Field Services

MICHELE NeSMITH Research and Policy Development Director JAMES F. GRUBIAK General Counsel

Upfront

By Rick Jones, CEBS

Departments 42

Index of Advertisers

CARMENZA WHITLEY Administrative Services Manager

JEFF CHRISTIE Staff Liaison, UGA Cooperative Extension

NATALIE FITZGERALD Legal Assistant

QUINT ROBINSON Chief Operating Officer

RHONDA LIGONS Front Office Assistant

DAVE WILLS Government Relations Manager

KIMBERLY OWENS Administrative Assistant

Georgia County Government is published for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia 50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 1000, Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Phone: 404-522-5022 • Toll Free: 800-858-2224 Fax: 404-525-2477 • Web: www.accg.org

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Price per issue $1.50; Georgia County Government Directory is $50. Direct magazine subscription rate effective July 2006 is $45 per year for subscribers who are non-ACCG members.

PUBLISHED JULY 2010/ACG-M0810/9902

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On the Cover: A view of the Flint River from downtown Albany. Photo courtesy of Picture Georgia, GDEcD.

In this issue, Georgia County Government will provide extended coverage for some articles in the CountyLine e-newsletter. Watch for this icon at the end of the article to indicate more information is available and check out the August CountyLine or www.accg.org to learn more.

AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

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President’sMessage Get on Board with Wellness

Association County Commissioners of Georgia President Lamar Paris Union County Sole Commissioner First Vice President Second Vice President MELVIN DAVIS CLINTON PERRY Oconee County Taylor County Third Vice President Immediate Past President MIKE BERG TOM McMICHAEL Dawson County Houston County Executive Director ROSS KING

By Lamar Paris President

A

s president of Association County Commissioners of Georgia, I feel a tremendous obligation to make some accomplishments that will transcend my short tenure, and be of benefit to ACCG, Georgia’s county commissioners, our constituents the taxpayers and the state as a whole. One excellent way to start is by advocating that your county get on board with a wellness program.

ACCG’s Insurance Programs, among the finest available to counties anywhere, recently returned a record dividend to members of $1.75 million, the largest in the programs’ 23-year history. Outstanding management of these programs leads to their success and cost-effectiveness for counties. Promoting employee

Improving yourself, your employees and your constituents’ health constitutes a win-win situation for everyone.

health and wellness programs has also been embraced by ACCG Insurance Programs, with counties receiving grants to put these programs into place, with guidance from Local Government Risk Management Services Wellness Coordinator Sherea Robinson.

So far, ACCG has awarded 38 counties and authorities with wellness grants totaling $90,000. These grants can be used for almost any wellness program purpose — health fairs, lunch and learns, smoking cessation programs, flu shots, weight loss programs, exercise classes and so on.

Any county or authority with health insurance through the ACCG Health Benefits Plan is eligible to receive wellness assistance from LGRMS. Some call LGRMS for advice only, while others are very active. Many counties have independently developed their own such programs. However, all are logging progress and mark a trend toward counties doing what they can to promote employee productivity, reduce preventable illness and help control health care costs.

In April, ACCG joined the National Association of Counties’ (NACo) and other counties and county associations nationally in celebration of National County Government Month, with a theme of “Healthy Counties.” County health departments and recreation facilities play a huge role in promoting the objectives of community health and wellness, justification for us to celebrate “Healthy Counties” all year long. A major tenet of wellness programs is that much unnecessary disease

Board of Managers 1st District MIKE COWAN, Whitfield County 2nd District JONESY HAYGOOD, Stephens County 3rd District KATHIE GANNON, DeKalb County 4th District EDDIE FREEMAN, Spalding County 5th District KEVIN LITTLE, Walton County 6th District JANIE REID, Putnam County 7th District RON CROSS, Columbia County 8th District TERRELL HUDSON, Dooly County 9th District JOE C. WEBB, Treutlen County 10th District LAMAR HUDGINS, Dougherty County 11th District JOYCE EVANS, Lowndes County 12th District JOHN McIVER, Liberty County Consolidated Government Representative HEIDI DAVISON, Athens-Clarke County At-Large Representatives BROOKS BAILEY, Pulaski County SAMUEL F. HART, Bibb County CARLOS NELSON, Ware County HELEN STONE, Chatham County Active Past Presidents CLARENCE BROWN, Bartow County JAMES HAM, Monroe County* BENJAMIN HAYWARD, Mitchell County O. D. NETTER, Ben Hill County* *also a NACo Board Members (ex-officio) Section Presidents (ex-offico) County Attorneys: DANIEL HAYGOOD, Oconee County County Managers/Administrators: RANDY DOWLING, Gordon County Clerks: CHRISTI DOCKERY, Lee County Service Program Representatives (ex-officio) GSIWCF Board of Trustees: W.L. “BUD” SANDERS, Greene County IRMA Board of Trustees: CHARLES NEWTON, McDuffie County ACCG Insurance Program Representatives (IRMA): CHARLES NEWTON, McDuffie County Pension Board of Trustees: H. JAY WALKER, Houston County GHBP Board of Directors: EARL BRICE, Coffee County

Officers serving through April 2011

PRESIDENT continued on page 8 AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

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PRESIDENT continued from page 7 is strictly lifestyle-based — i.e., it is preventable with simple modifications to diet, the inclusion of more physical activity and routine health screenings.

Those of us blessed with relatively good health may not think about these things very often, but the inclusion of habits promoted by wellness programs can not only boost one’s personal health, but health in the workplace, and dramatically so.

Sixty-six percent of corporate America employs wellness programs because they decrease health care costs over the long term, including health insurance costs and overall workplace costs, while boosting workplace productivity and morale, reducing absenteeism and sick leave. The overall productivity of individuals and the entire organization is also attributed to wellness programs, as are greater employee loyalty and responsibility.

Community incentives such as free passes to certain recreation programs or free fees for a sports season, etc., are also a great idea.

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GROUND ENGINEERING AND ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES SINCE 1960 • Water Resources • Mining • Manufacturing • Transportation

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GOVERNMENT

3/29/10 7:03:56 PM

In the current economic times, who could turn down efficiency programs such as these?

County walking trails — of which I’m proud to say Union County has many — offer opportunities for daily walking. Add them to your recreation facilities, and you’ll be amazed at the number of citizens who turn out. Recreation facility usage is reportedly significantly up statewide, and the addition of walking and biking trails is one of the biggest reasons. Such facilities, increasingly popular, also add the further dimension of eliciting support from the public for recreation expenditures.

Such amenities offer adults and older citizens the opportunity to enjoy parks as kids take advantage of the playgrounds and field-based sports.

Walking trails can be relatively inexpensive to build. They certainly do not require paving, but can be surfaced with fine gravel (89’s) or simply wood chips, a byproduct of your road dept or power distributor chipper. Often, trails can intertwine between your existing facilities. From there, I advocate starting local walking clubs or offering small rewards to your staff or the public for those who accumulate the most miles over a given period of time.

As part of your employee wellness program, offering a small gift certificate or comp time can reward those who participate and or reach a certain mileage goal. Community incentives such as free passes to certain recreation programs or free fees for a sports season, etc., are also a great idea.

Regardless of who gets the wellness initiative going, the results are inarguably positive. Improving yourself, your employees and your constituents’ health constitutes a winwin situation for everyone, improves overall efficiency in the workplace and the community. Georgia’s Indian summer stretches out ahead, and it’s a great time of year to be utilizing recreation.

■

Focus on

Feature

Southwes

Dougherty County and surrounding South of recession with alternative fuel technolo diversify and create quality jobs — and ass setting a pace in Georgia.

By Deborah Dewberry

H

aving lost 2,000 manufacturing jobs in the last three years, Dougherty County’s struggle with recession has been challenging, despite the jurisdiction’s status as the forward-planning commercial and cultural “hub” of Southwest Georgia. According to many, Dougherty County and Albany, its county seat, comprise the “capitol” of this traditionally agricultural region, an urban “epicenter”

ensconced in one of the most prolific farming regions in North America.

Southwest Georgia’s Flint River is among the region’s abundant natural resources, which also include the Floridan aquifer, one of the largest groundwater sources in North America. Photo courtesy of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

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GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Bolstering Dougherty County and Albany’s regional population of about 175,000 (according to the 2008 Census figures) has been its proximity to I-75, rail service by Norfolk Southern and GeorgiaFlorida Railways, coastal ports access, good access to international airports, Southwest Georgia Regional Airport (Georgia’s second busiest cargo airport), UPS sorting facility, high-profile Marine Corps Logistics Base that pumps $600 million into the region, and its top-flight hospital and medical centers, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital and Palmyra Medical Center.

As Dougherty County Chairman Jeff Sinyard points out, the quality of life here can hardly be beat, with a cost of living 20 percent lower than the national average. With accolades like Forbes’ list of the U.S.’s “Best Small Places to do Business” and third best “Cost of Doing Business in Georgia” (50th nationally) rankings, as well as three business parks offering 3 million square-feet of available industrial buildings and space, and access to growing

est Georgia

uthwest Georgia jurisdictions are answering the challenges ology partnerships, initiatives to strengthen local industries, assist the disadvantaged with innovative programs. Many are

markets in Florida, the Gulf and Georgia; Dougherty is a prime business location.

Natural resources are abundant, including the world’s best quail hunting country, the Flint River ecosystem, the largest natural spring in Georgia and one of North America’s most reliable, high quality water supplies, the Floridan aquifer.

Sinyard claims, further, that environmental stewardship remains on the front burner, with the “right folks” on the Lower Flint-Ochlockonee Water Planning Council making diligent progress toward balancing the region’s agriculture water usage needs with the needs of industries and residents, under the mandates of the Georgia Statewide Water Management Plan, enacted in 2008.

The jurisdiction has favorable demographics, with a labor force within Dougherty and surrounding counties hovering around 80,000 and augmented by three colleges and universities (Albany State University, Darton College and Albany Technical College). Dougherty County is state-designated Work Ready and Entrepreneur-Friendly jurisdiction, and local industries have access to targeted and specialized QuickStart job training provided by Albany Technical College.

All these positives bolster the jurisdiction substantially as the recession plods on. Officials here, as in other Georgia regions, offer a remarkable observation.

In a nutshell, it’s that the area may have lost a lot of jobs, but has regrouped and is going in exciting new directions.

In Dougherty County and surrounding counties including Lee, Worth, Calhoun and Terrell, this claim is backed up by many new and progressive initiatives — for comprehensive economic development or individual industrial niches — that will, in fact, propel their

communities economically and forge new avenues for prosperity.

Waste-to-Energy Prototype Partnership with Marine Corps For example, Dougherty County is the site of the only landfill gas-toSOUTHWEST GEORGIA continued on page 13

Downtown Albany’s riverfront has gone through a complete revitalization in the last few years. A riverfront trail winds along the banks of the Flint River, providing residents and visitors the opportunity to walk or bike along the path while enjoying the river’s beauty. Photo courtesy of Albany-Dougherty County Economic Development Commission.

AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

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Phoebe today and tomorrow:

Increasing Access to Care.

Making Southwest Georgia Healthier.

At Phoebe, we’ve always been committed to the notion that residents of Southwest Georgia should have the same access to state-of-the-art health care as that enjoyed by the largest metropolitan centers.

How do we accomplish just that?

By putting the most advanced technology available in the hands of experts, right here at home.

BUILDING A PREMIER

CANCER CENTER The new cancer center continues to provide the very best in cancer care where patients receive cutting-edge cancer therapies. A $3.7 million TOMO Therapy unit has joined the arsenal of weapons to fight cancer – the first unit in Georgia.

treat chest pain. To ensure all Southwest Georgians have the benefit of rapid life–saving treatment, Phoebe provided 39 12-lead EKGs to 8 counties for transmitting cardiac vitals to the hospital before the patient arrives. Heart patients have the benefit of comprehensive cardiac care – from catheterization to open heart surgery, and now cutting-edge electrophysiology.

INVESTING IN

THE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY MEETING NEED FOR DOCTORS Phoebe’s ongoing investments in medical technology includes new wide-bore 16 slice MRI and PET/CT technology to provide fast and accurate diagnostics and electronic medical records to further increase patient safety. And we’re at the forefront of hospitals across the nation building fully electronic health records.

IN RURAL GEORGIA

Phoebe is MCG’s first off-site clinical campus and is now headquarters for the Southwest Georgia clinical campus. The creation of this campus will mean up to 17 medical students studying and living in Southwest Georgia starting in July 2010.

CREATING SEAMLESS, COMPREHENSIVE

HEART SERVICES Phoebe was one of the first hospitals in Georgia to earn prestigious accreditation from the Society of multidisciplinary, coordinated programs to rapidly diagnose and

World-class medicine.

Hometown commitment.

SOUTHWEST GEORGIA continued from page 11 energy (LFGE) project in the U.S. Marine Corps and Navy. Thanks to a $14 million energy savings performance contract, Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany (MCLB-Albany) is bringing on-stream an alternate energy facility that will save the military base some $1.15 million per year in utility costs.

To realize the project — which County Administrator Richard Crowdis calls a “flagship” green project for the Marine Corps — Dougherty County and MCLB-Albany late last year entered into a 20-year partnership. The county will sell landfill gas, which is 50 percent methane from its Fleming/Gaissert Road Landfill to its neighbor, MCLB-Albany, who is located just across the road.

The critical nature of the project, and its high profile, are buoying Dougherty County officials’ hopes of becoming a center for “green industry,” much in the same vein as its neighbor Mitchell County, securing its prominence in the ethanol industry.

Such projects as these, on the cutting edge of economic progress, especially in Georgia’s more rural regions, are nothing less than critical to jurisdictions that have suffered losses in traditional economic investment, such as manufacturing.

“The whole nation is in a tailspin with manufacturing, which is down,” notes Sinyard, now completing his second four-year term as chairman. The former community banker’s first bid for elected office with the Dougherty County Board of Commissioners was in 1986. He did not run again because of conflicts with his professional position.

He expresses pride in efforts of the Albany-Dougherty County Economic Development Commission, a joint partnership of the City of Albany, Dougherty County and the Albany area Chamber of Commerce to boost local industry, cultivate quality jobs and, in general, recover from the beating manufacturing has taken here, including the closing of the Cooper Tire and Rubber Company plant last year.

Dougherty County and Albany’s Strive2Thrive Initiative Among New Anti-Poverty Innovations A new anti-poverty initiative spearheaded by the Chamber of Commerce in Albany and Dougherty County is Strive2Thrive,” bringing families in need together with families who want to help, an innovation that is sure to set a benchmark among local human service and antipoverty initiatives, even in a region with many such programs that truly stand out. The group meets weekly through mid-September.

Harriet Hollis, Strive2Thrive coordinator, says the program’s goal is to partner families together so one can help the other navigate available resources in the Southwest Georgia community.

The organization held the first of many sessions in mid-May, bringing people together in hopes of empowering families in Albany

and Dougherty County. “Through the program, local families come together to learn, create solutions, and take action,” Hollis says.

“These are families striving to better their lives.”

Participants will take part in classes that center around forum discussion on “barriers” they are currently experiencing, Hollis notes. “Then they’re going to make goals and come up with solutions to some of our community issues that they face on a day to day basis” she adds. The families striving to help will assist with community efforts on multiple levels to help the families in need.

City of Albany commissioners gave the program a $10,000 donation in early June, and support from local volunteers has been excellent.

■

The Dougherty County Board of Commissioners (from left): Jack Stone (Dist. 6), Gloria Gaines (Dist. 5), Chuck Lingle (Dist. 4), John Hayes (Dist. 2), Chairman Jeff Sinyard, Muarlean Edwards (Dist. 3) and Lamar Hudgins (Dist. 1). Photo courtesy of Dougherty County government.

Economic Development “We had been losing industrial prospects, so we got all the players — the city, the Chamber and the county — together to create a better funding mechanism for the Economic Development Commission, and to create whatever incentives needed to attract new industries, get the governments and business sectors working together on planning initiatives to boost the local business base,” Sinyard asserts.

Right now, existing industries in Dougherty County are stable, according to Ted Clem, president of the Albany-Dougherty County Economic Development Commission, jointly funded by the Chamber, the City of Albany and Dougherty County.

“We have a very strategic location, culture and the arts — the Albany Symphony Orchestra is the only symphony in Southwest Georgia and the Albany Museum of Art possesses unique collections — a major zoo (The Parks at Chehaw) and the Flint Riverquarium, as well as institutions of higher learning, outstanding natural resources and a high degree of environmental and ecosystem stewardship in the region.

Natural environments here are largely unspoiled, and protected, having drawn the attention of many individuals and groups interested in the great Southern SOUTHWEST GEORGIA continued on page 14 AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

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SOUTHWEST GEORGIA continued from page 13 rivers — the Flint, Chattahoocheee, Ocmulgee and Ochlochnee. The region also has very abundant, high-quality water supplies, overlying the Floridan Aquifer.

“Many established industries here are very stable, or growing — Proctor and Gamble, Pfizer, and Miller-Coors Brewery,” Clem notes. “The City of Albany, which now has over 2,000 hotel rooms, has been something of a ‘boom town’ commercially, in the past.”

Incentives for businesses now are geared toward prompting expansion, and include many Georgia job tax credits, military zone job tax credits (via three Census tracts), machinery sales tax exemptions, investment and child care tax credits, 100 percent Freeport exemptions, industrial revenue bond financing, revolving loan fund access, QuickStart employment training, labor force screening and candidate pool development, assistance with zoning and permitting (already easier in Georgia than Florida and other states),

14 480624_Albany.indd GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT 1

Southwest Georgia is one of the most prolific agricultural regions in the nation.

port tax credits and retraining tax credits.

Local employers include manufacturers MillerCoors, Procter & Gamble, Coats & Clark, MARS Snackfoods USA, Tara

Foods, Southern Concrete Construction, Georgia-Pacific and Sunnyland Farms.

Non-manufacturing employers include the Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Fred

5/29/10 8:53:15 AM

The jurisdiction’s more business-friendly development protocols, incentives and overall low cost of doing business are helping Dougherty County succeed in a climate of diversifying manufacturing. is automated; back office and professional services, including telecommunications companies, call centers and claims processing firms; logistics and distribution centers; and military and defense-oriented industries.”

The jurisdiction’s more businessfriendly development protocols, incentives and overall low cost of doing SOUTHWEST GEORGIA continued on page 17

Taylor Company, the Dougherty County Board of Education, the City of Albany, Dougherty County, Albany State University, Darton College, Palmyra Medical Centers, and Albany Technical College.

“We’re focusing on what we do best,” Clem asserts of industrial recruitment for the county and the region on the part of the Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission. “This is advanced manufacturing, most of which

Albany’s Flint RiverQuarium is a multimillion-dollar state-of-the-art facility that allows residents and visitors to get up close to the area’s indigenous aquatic ecosystem. The RiverQuarium, one of the world’s few open-air aquariums, also features an aviary, a blue hole and numerous exhibits and labs.

Photo courtesy of the Albany-Dougherty County Economic Development Commission.

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SOUTHWEST GEORGIA continued from page 15 business, Clem says, are helping Dougherty County succeed in a climate of diversifying manufacturing.

“Manufacturing is not dead,” he asserts. “We are looking to attract small to medium-sized companies, however, instead of huge ones. Cooper Tire was vital to us, but on the flip side, the impact was overwhelming when the facility closed in 2009, causing a loss of 1,300 jobs. We prefer manufacturing companies with 50 to 100 or so employees.”

The community’s three business parks and available industrial buildings are perusable via a free site selector service is available through www.albanygaprospector.com; another helpful website for prospective industries is www.choosealbany.com.

According to County Administrator Richard Crowdis, a new Super Wal-Mart (the second in the Albany area) will open next spring spurring development in East Albany, an area economically deprived in recent years.

Tourism Plans Going Strong Crowdis notes that tourism should be enhanced as Radium Springs, the largest natural spring in Georgia and a formerly privately held property purchased in 2000 by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a flood mitigation project comes on board as the result of a SPLOST V Project. Radium Springs generates 70,000 gallons each minute of pure cold, clear 68 degrees water that runs picturesquely for about a half- mile before joining the Flint River.

The legendary spring was known as “Skywater” to the Creek Indians who inhabited the area for hundreds of years; it was known as “Blue Springs” to the early white settlers who took the Indians’ place; and it is now known as “Radium Springs.” The name was changed after 1925 when the owner, Barron G. Collier of New York, discovered traces of radium in the blue waters and quickly touted its robust qualities for all to enjoy.

The site has been transformed into terraced Gardens with over 8,000 flowers, shrubs and trees planted around

the historic blue waters. Another phase of planned SPLOST improvements will restore the original gatehouse and gazebos as well as construct picnic pavilions, a visitor center, and an events lawn.

There are a number of other family oriented attractions. The Parks at Chehaw Zoo is a natural habit zoo and the only other certified zoological park in Georgia other than the Atlanta Zoo. Its most popular residents are the meerkats, cheetahs, alligators, eagles, snakes and African black rhino.

The Flint RiverQuarium in downtown Albany tells the story of the river and the blue hole springs that helped create it. The facility exhibits over 100 species of native aquatic life with “Moonshine” the albino alligator being a visitor favorite. The Albany Civil Rights Institute allows visitors to experience the civil rights movement in Southwest Georgia in a state-of-the-art facility where the past is joined with the future SOUTHWEST GEORGIA continued on page 19

A view of the Flint River from downtown Albany. Photo courtesy of Picture Georgia, GDEcD. AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

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GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT

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SOUTHWEST GEORGIA continued from page 17 through visual, audio and digital technology. Thronateeska Heritage Center features a state-of-the-art Planetarium with full dome digital theater; a South Georgia History Museum; and a restored railroad collection with steam locomotive, passenger cars and caboose.

The Albany Chamber of Commerce and its Convention and Visitors’ Bureau operates a full-scale, fully staffed local tourism information center, with literature on hundreds of local ecological, historic and recreational points of interest in the region.

Anticipation is high regarding this project for a major economic development corridor, tying together three key cities. Sinyard notes, “We need to fourlane Albany to Moultrie to Valdosta since this is important to the region and to our Marine Base.”

Transportation planning here, like much between Dougherty County and the city of Albany, is a joint endeavor, governed by the Dougherty Area Regional Transportation Study (DARTS).

According to County Administrator

Crowdis, Dougherty and the city of Albany and their neighbor directly to the north, Lee County, meet with the Georgia Department of Transportation regularly for regional transportation planning applicable to these jurisdictions. Policymakers include elected officials and staff from each of the three local governments, alongside staff from GDOT who come to help SOUTHWEST GEORGIA continued on page 20

Georgia Hwy. 19, a beautiful scenic route through the state’s tranquil, rural farmlands, has really made a difference tying counties in this region together.

Transportation Priorities Transportation infrastructure is a front-burner consideration now, Sinyard asserts. “It took us 20 years to complete Georgia Hwy. 19, which in addition to being a beautiful scenic route through the state’s tranquil, rural farmlands, has “really made a difference tying counties in this region together, and helping us keep our economy in Southwest Georgia viable,” Sinyard asserts, adding that improvements to Georgia Hwy. 133 now on the drawing board will further solidify this progress.

“Sen. Johnny Isakson and Sen. Saxby Chambliss both fought to get the funding to expand Georgia Hwy. 133, and this is our number one priority currently,” Sinyard asserts. “Project completion has been broken into segments, on the Dougherty side and the Lowndes County end. The majority of engineering and right-of-way work has been completed.”

The Albany Civil Rights Museum is one of many tourism landmarks.

Photo courtesy of Picture Georgia, GDEcD. AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

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SOUTHWEST GEORGIA continued from page 19 develop long-term transportation plans for the region. The Albany Planning and Development Department takes the lead working with this group under one of many service delivery agreements between the county and the city.

Functional Consolidation Means Efficiency In fact, Albany and Dougherty County were significantly ahead of mandated HB 489 requirements legislated around 1998, having been “functionally consolidated,” since the early 1970s.

Intergovernmental service delivery agreements have existed in most all of the services provided by the two governments for decades. Both Public Works departments work closely with each other, Crowdis adds, with the county performing countywide storm drainage maintenance. The city handles all code enforcement for both local governments as well as planning and fire service.

“For instance, Albany’s Fire Deparment provides services countywide

The Dougherty County seat, Albany, is the commercial “hub” of Southwest Georgia, in part thanks to ab Photo courtesy of Picture Georgia, GDEcD.

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There are a host of things happening here that mean real progress for the community. through a contract with the county, renewable every five years, to provide manpower and personnel,” Crowdis elaborates. “We built and equipped the four fire stations in the unincorporated area, with SPLOST funding.”

Currently, Dougherty County is in its fifth consecutive SPLOST since the state legislature approved the penny sales tax. “We’ve had as many SPLOSTs as any county in the state and they’ve been overwhelmingly approved by voters in Dougherty County,” Crowdis asserts. “In the past, SPLOST always included city and downtown development projects,” he adds.

Many of these have served to substantially revitalize and build the city center, leveraging economic interest in Albany on fronts that encompass tourism, conventions, hospitality and retail sectors, all of which help bolster the city’s established reputation as a cultural and commercial center of Southwest Georgia.

to abundant rail service.

Points of special pride are the Flint RiverQuarium in downtown Albany, the result of a “full-team effort” that began under Governor Zell Miller and progressed through three state government administrations, according to Chairman Sinyard; the Albany-Dougherty County Conference Center; the AlbanyDougherty County Government Center, housing administrative offices for the city and the county; the AlbanyDougherty Central Square Government Complex; and the Albany-Dougherty County Judicial Building, housing Sheriff’s offices, county and city courts, district attorney’s and clerk of court offices, and the City’s Information Technology Department performs all IT-related work and maintenance for the county and the city.

Currently, there are a host of things happening here that mean real SOUTHWEST GEORGIA continued on page 22

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SOUTHWEST GEORGIA continued from page 21 progress for the community. A new 311 Information System was implemented last year, another joint county-city venture which has given the public instant access to government information and services.

The State consolidated 12 separate Department of Human Resources agencies in a new facility in downtown Albany that was funded by a Countybacked bond scheduled for retirement in 2015, another display of confidence from higher levels of government of Albany and Dougherty County’s importance to the Southwest Georgia region.

Finally, the Keep Albany/Dougherty Beautiful (KADB) program is one of the most active and recognized, as well as one of the oldest of its kind, in the state.

This 22-year-old program is funded from user fees generated at the county landfill. A record 2,716 volunteers removed 46.73 tons of debris from 131.19 miles of Dougherty County roadway in the Great American Cleanup in April. This annual event is always kicked off by the City/ County government team picking up trash in downtown Albany.

Albany and Dougherty County are easily accessible via four-lane highways and interstates including I-75, I-85 and Hwy. 10; the community’s direct, four-lane access to Atlanta is had via U.S. 19.

Albany. Extensive rail is also available, and the community’s Southwest Georgia Regional Airport is the state’s second largest cargo airport. Photo courtesy of the Albany-Dougherty County Economic Development Commission.

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GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT

The low cost of living in Dougherty County is something of a safeguard for the unarguably high quality of life still available here, though, and the ongoing allure for businesses that want the most bang for their buck in terms of incentives, labor force, available education and resources, and location.

Economic Challenges and the Future “We’ve done the easier cost reductions — discontinued cost of living adjust ments, merit increases and longevity pay; limited training and travel; eliminated long-term vacancies; reduced and deferred capital purchases; and froze most non-public safety vacancies. The more difficult cost reductions will have to be in personnel and benefits which make up two-thirds of our budget” states Crowdis.

“We continue to endure the Great Recession, which is the deepest since WWII and in fact, this is something few people who are working today have ever faced. Dougherty County, like other counties, is continuing to see property and sales tax declines, fines and fees decreased, and the overall sluggish nature of traditional government revenues.”

Dougherty County’s General Fund collects takes 54 percent of its revenues from property taxes, 15 percent from Local Option Sales Taxes (LOST) and 18 percent from fines, fees and forfeitures.

“We currently have our head above water because we’ve been able to use reserves to balance the budget,” Crowdis states. “However, this sustained recession

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will deplete our fund balance. We now face painful strategies — furloughs, layoffs, service reductions, and adjusting the tax millage, none of which are popular options.”

The low cost of living in Dougherty County is something of a safeguard for the unarguably high quality of life still available here, though, and the ongoing allure for businesses that want the most bang for their buck in terms of incentives, labor force, available education and resources, and location.

Another plus here, as Chairman Sinyard points out, is that the local housing market was not part of the “bubble” of greatly overvalued homes that wreaked havoc economically in the Atlanta metro region and nationally.

However, when the recovery hits, Dougherty County will stand in very good stead, with the “greenest” base located here thanks to the progressive partnership between the Marine Corps Logistics Base and the County Commission, setting a pace for landfill gas-to-energy technology; a stable base of manufacturing and other industry and business; recreational, cultural and ecological riches; a high level of functionality thanks to seamless intergovernmental service delivery agreements; education opportunities of many kinds, and an overall high-quality way of life that costs substantially less than comparable communities in the nation.

Who could ask for a better place to call home?

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In Lee County, hunting is a linchpin of the local economy and exceptional plantation-style hunting throughout the region brings thousands of sportsmen to Southwest Georgia each year. Here, sportsmen vie for quail. Photo courtesy of Picture Georgia, GDEcD.

Feature

Lee County: Prospering North of Albany

Evidence is that Lee County’s new marketing slogan — “Life Works Well Here” — is on the money. Being a community in the trajectory of Dougherty County’s growth over the past two decades has been good to this community, and things aren’t as slow here in Southwest Georgia once you cross the border into this high-growth and per-capita-income jurisdiction.

By Deborah Dewberry

A

s a northern residential enclave of Albany, Lee County’s population has doubled twice in 20 years, now exceeding 35,000, says Alan Ours, county administrator. “We’re within the Albany Metropolitan Statistical Area, and that

has led to our being the fastest-growing county in the region.

We were recently ranked fourth nationally for best growth potential by American City Business Journals.”

Ours says Lee County is especially popular with young families, owing to a state and national award-winning school system and local attractions, among them the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains (neighboring Sumter County); Lake Blackshear and the Flint River (including the Flint RiverQuarium in Albany); and 1,400-acre Lake Chehaw, to the south, which offers lake recreation of all kinds.

Hunting here is big, too — a sportsman’s paradise with some of the great hunting plantations, and featuring award-

winning lodges endorsed by Orvis, meaning Lee County is also a destination of sportsmen from all over the globe in pursuit of quail, deer, turkey, and more popular game. Hunting, in fact, is a huge local industry, bringing millions of dollars to the community each year.

Booming residential growth here has been accompanied by a fair amount of industrial growth, including a dynamic retail market, along with noticeable commercial investment.

“Lee County has welcomed a new industrial investment every year from 2003 through 2009 for a total of seven new entities within the Oakland Meadows Business Park,” says Lee County Development and County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Winston Oxford. “Not many communities in Georgia or the nation can make that statement.”

Public schools here continue to be rated among the state’s best, Oxford adds. “We boast being one of only a couple of systems statewide that has met coveted ‘adequate yearly progress’ (AYP) benchmarks, for six years running. Our school system is a primary contributor to Lee County’s growth over the years.” Oxford also attributes the growth to hard work LEE COUNTY continued on page 24 AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

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LEE COUNTY continued from page 23 on the part of the county’s business leaders, elected officials and citizens.

Growth Here Still Strong Commercial growth in Lee County geared up in the early 1990s with development of a shopping complex on Highway 19 anchored by a Winn Dixie Supermarket, Oxford points out.

“Officials back then made up their minds to nurture this type of development and further commercial investment within the county’s borders — sorely needed to get in the infrastructure business by offering water and most especially sewer to potential entities.

By early 2000, officials saw the potential for a good return on investment in the development of its first industrial park, which is now located on Highway 82 and served by water and now sewer. Tenants now on board are worth over one mil of taxes to the county’s general fund per year, and continuing to grow,” he adds. About the same time, Wal-Mart located here on Ledo Road in Lee County by building a new Supercenter, worth over $4 million a year in commercial taxes, including local option sales taxes.

“Wal-Mart’s location may have been just happenstance, but I-Hop, Chili’s and Albany Toyota near the Superstore followed, facilitated by recruiting efforts and the county working with local ordinances to accommodate their locations,” Oxford explains.“The Oakland Meadows Industrial Park, too, was thoughtfully calculated and developed, with focused recruiting efforts.”

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The most recent tenant in the industrial park is John Deere, which in early June purchased 14 acres, on which the company will locate Albany Tractor in a new state-of-the-art facility. “It’s a $3 million investment which will increase our tax base by about $100,000 per year,” Oxford notes. “We’re really excited.”

Oxford says development is now underway at a new “hot” commercial corner in Lee County with a shopping center anchored by a Publix Supermarket, with a CVS Pharmacy under construction across the street, including a completely developed property including paved parking lots, curb and gutter, and street lights in place which will attract investments from professionals and even more retail.

Community Outreach Progams Patsy Shirley, coordinator of the Lee County Family Connection, agrees that all Southwest Georgia county needs are different. “Outreach in rural Georgia is most important. Youth

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Booming residential growth here has been accompanied by a fair amount of industrial growth, including a dynamic retail market, along with noticeable commercial investment.

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development, health education and community involvement are the major emphases here.”

Lee County High School teacher Sondra Parker runs a minority debutante program, the “Lee County Debs,” to fill a need to mentor minority young women and the program, begun in the past year, celebrating a cotillion this past March.

“For young ladies participating, most from disadvantaged backgrounds, this has made a huge difference. The program takes girls to tours of Georgia colleges including Spellman and Clark Atlanta University, and hosts woman leaders in the African American community. The group also conducts fundraisers and other events that teach the young women financial planning, social skills and in general, exposes them to prospects they wouldn’t otherwise hear about.”

This August, for the fourth year running the Family Connection will host a Lee County “back to school” bash, which serves as a resource fair for local families, where they can get school supplies and meet agency representatives from local social services. The popular program has drawn participation from some 1,100 local students and families. Churches also participate.

Meanwhile, Lee County’s “Under the Oaks” arts festival sponsored by the Lee County Chamber of Commerce, is held yearly in the early spring, featuring a juried art competition, and vendors from the region. The county’s yearly holiday parade now includes a festival in downtown Leesburg.

Another passion here is the Youth Council of the Lee County High School, says Shirley, with a mission of promoting

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positive school and community involvement among youth.

The group does substantial community service, serves as ambassadors for youth in the community. “We also have a ninth grade campus, separate from the Lee County High School, which has been very successful. A goal was to start a Youth Council at Lee County’s Ninth Grade campus and the Lee County Middle School — goals on the immediate horizon,” Shirley adds.

These groups, supported by the Family Connection, involve teachers and principals focusing on substance abuse prevention, character education and abstinence education. People with a passion for local youth are involved. The groups will meet quarterly altogether, to give younger and older students the chance to network, with older students perhaps mentoring the younger.

Such programs are going a long way toward curtailing problems among local youth. “Premature sexual activity and drug involvement statistics for ninth through 12th graders are alarming. Meth addiction is a huge issue in South Georgia.

Lee County’s median income is higher than the state’s average, and our kids have resources. Drug awareness and education is critical.”

More innovations in outreach to individuals and families in need is taking place as Leesburg United Methodist Church undertakes another program is being developed to mentor young men in the Leesburg community, Shirley says. “There’s a new idea all the time. We are always looking for ways to make everyone’s lives better.”

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AUGUST 2010 6/10/10 www.accg.org 25 9:53:59 AM

Feature

Southwest Georgia Counties Pursuing Real Innovations to Fight Poverty, Improve Future

By Deborah Dewberry

C

ounties surrounding Dougherty in the Southwest Georgia “farmbelt” like Calhoun, Worth and Terrell are coping with the ongoing economic downturn by bolstering alliances among all stakeholders in the local economic picture — especially with regard to helping youth and the disadvantaged, fighting social problems that arise in a region with a disproportionate number of people living in pov-

erty. The understanding that the community’s economic outlook is inextricably tied to solving social concerns is a springboard for progress here, all around.

Calhoun County’s ‘Vision That Works’ Alecia Varnum, director of the Calhoun Family Connection and volunteer director of the Calhoun County Economic Development Commission, points out the strengths that have emerged in times of adversity among the rural communities here.

“The counties in this region all have much in common, but we’re also all

unique,” she explains. “We didn’t have the ‘big bank’ problems seen in counties with larger economies, but we all knew the economy was a key issue for each county in the region. We all understood that social problems affect our economic prospects, and that we had to work in an interrelated way on these, to get economic goals met.” Though it seems anomalous, economic goals are fundamental to the

Downtown Sylvester, the Worth County seat, hosts an annual peanut festival in October, one of the largest festivals in the Southeast, sponsored by the Sylvester/Worth Chamber of Commerce and local food manufacturing giant ConAgra Foods.

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GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT

Calhoun Family Connection’s strategic plan, Varnum asserts. “This vision works for us.”

Elaborating, Varnum says that the Family Connection Collaborative in Calhoun County realized that the ongoing issues affecting the community during challenging economic times are those that most heavily impact the community in any economy — teen pregnancy, high school graduation rates, job development programs and keeping youth who do well living and working in the community, instead of leaving.

“A foremost mission of the Family Connection, for several years, has been taking into account the unique needs of each county in the region, collaborating with all community stakeholders — the boards of education, the county commissions, economic development organizations, chambers of commerce and civic groups,” Varnum asserts. The results have been remarkable.

A long-anticipated Charter School will be up and running in the next year, for kindergarten through sixth graders in Calhoun, Baker, Clay, Early and Randolph counties. Another coup was a U.S. Department of Juvenile Justice grant to implement and maintain a mentoring program among senior citizens and high school youth. The Senior Citizens Youth Book Project, with the motto of “Honoring Our Future with the Wisdom of the Past,” gives approximately 15 students, likely to succeed, the chance to write the stories of local seniors’ lives and awards a $1,000 scholarship for participating students that graduate on time.

The program, open to ninth and 10th graders, has proved a great motivator for participating students. Results have been seen, too, in terms of higher morale among teachers and school staff, better attitudes among students, increased

responsibility, and an overall higher rate of success. The program is funded for the next four years, Varnum said.

Terrell County’s Collaborations, Tourism and Industry Similar collaborations are working hand in hand in neighboring Terrell County, where the Family Connection boasts success with another program in tandem with community schools and the Dawson Rotary Club. This “Dictionary and Thesaurus Project” allows all third graders in the public and private schools to receive their own dictionary and all 8th graders to receive their own thesaurus. Now in its fifth year, local students continue to respond to this program by demonstrating higher motivation and better grades, says coordinator Margaret Halbrook.

Opportunities for adult education in Terrell County are also front-burner, giving local citizens resources for improving their academic knowledge and skills.

The community worked with Albany Technical College in recent years to create a Certified Literate Community program, which has made enormous strides assisting adults learning to read and obtaining GEDs. On other fronts, the Terrell County Historic Preservation Society and the Better Hometown Dawson Task Force have worked together in recent years to really boost cultural awareness and the appearance of streets and buildings and preserve places of historic interest, especially in Dawson’s Downtown Historic District. Renovations and improvements have upgraded the National Historic Register-listed county courthouse, the Carnegie Library building in Dawson and the Garden Club House, also on the National Historic Register. Another landmark, the “old McDowell building,” is now the remodeled headquarters of the Terrell County Chamber of Commerce; and the “old cotton warehouse” known as the Hill and Hill Building is slated for renovation.

Terrell County’s Tour of Homes is a tourism draw that gives visitors a glimpse of Dawson’s better antebellum and Victorian houses every May. Another tourism attraction here is the Cloverleaf Classic Horse Show,

Anti-poverty initiatives are sponsored by Southwest Georgia Community Action throughout 18 counties in the region. Here, a commodity food distribution program in Worth County.

bringing equestrian enthusiasts here in April, sponsored by the Terrell County 4-H. The town of Parrott, northwest of Dawson, has attracted filmmakers and its downtown area has been the focus of much renovation, aimed at attracting antiquing tourists along Hwy. 520 en route to Columbus.

With its strong agribusiness base — Terrell County bills itself as the “peanut capital of the world,” — a roster of tenants in the Dawson Industrial Park and an airport, the jurisdiction is home to the National Peanut Research Laboratory and Golden Peanut Company. Other corporate citizens include Georgia Power Company, Dawson Manufacturing, Patridge Pea Plantation, the Southern Crop Production Association, Collier and Gamble, Windstream, the Bank of Dawson, IPM Realty, Massey Wholesale, Dawson Tarp, Southwest Georgia Engineering, State Farm Insurance and the Bank of Terrell.

The Terrell County Chamber of Commerce showcases a Business of the Month each month to honor a business that is doing good things in the community.

Worth County’s Innovations, Economic Prospects Denise Bell, Community Services Director for the Southwest Georgia Action Council, chartered to bring to fruition many programs for the poor under the Economic Development Opportunity Act of 1964, promotes a variety of programs in 18 counties in the region to improve citizens’ selfsufficiency.

“We need to focus on ways to improve the strengths in Southwest Georgia, but also bring awareness to the fact that there are challenges here that are particular to this region,” Bell says. “Drop-out rates, joblessness, teen pregnancy, and health care issues are all outgrowths of multi-generational poverty. We need to address the root causes, and leaders in Southwest Georgia are digging deeper, and we’re seeing the basic causes we need to address, in lieu of just adding another program.”

“There’s a double-edged sword. You want to put your community in the best light, but don’t want to advertise SOWEGA continued on page 28 AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

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SOWEGA continued from page 27 struggles with poverty, or disproportionate poverty in such rural areas. But if you don’t put it out on the table, and take steps to address it, the opportunities the region deserves can be lost,” Bell notes. “Leaders here know we have to acknowledge and address these issues, or we won’t attract the kind of prosperity we want.”

The Southwest Georgia Community Action Council is active throughout the region, Bell says. Families living in persistent and/or situational poverty have a variety of needs the agency addresses, including a Community Action Council that provides a comprehensive approach to improving lives in the region, including Worth County. Financial assistance programs include emergency rent, mortgage and utility payments to families threatened with homelessness, household budget counseling and opportunities for increasing income such as increased training and education.

Community Action administers the federal Low Income Energy Assistance program, transportation assistance, foreclosure prevention and home crisis services. Community Action operates Head Start Child Development Centers in Worth County, offering services to whole families, emphasizing school readiness. The Agency collaborates with regional partners to improve the efficiency and lifespan of housing,

If you don’t put it out on the table, and take steps to address it, the opportunities the region deserves can be lost. for example we are currently working with the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission to rehab a home in Worth County through the CHIP (Community Home Improvement) program. Blighted and dilapidated housing is a critical issue in areas experiencing high levels of poverty. Many other services are furnished by the agency to those in need here, Bell asserts, with the purpose of boosting hope and a breaking the cycle of persistent poverty.

Meanwhile, Worth County’s primary economic development goal remains attracting quality jobs for the community, and expanding the local tax base, notes Greg Sellars, executive director of the Worth County Economic Development Authority. “Agriculture is, of course, our biggest industry,” Sellars notes. “But we have a good bit of manufacturing, distribution centers and the biofuels and renewable energy industries are taking off in the region.”

The continuing high momentum for alternative fuels gives this jurisdiction, and the region, a great deal of hope as

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recession plods on, Sellars asserts, because these industries are on the rise. “Another ethanol facility was recently planned for Turner County,” he notes. “This is something to celebrate. These facilities boost employment and the overall visibility of the entire Southwest Georgia region.”

The county now has a vacant industrial building (4,600 square feet) ready for occupancy and 204 acres of available land between the food processing giant, Conagra, and Hwy. 82, Sellars asserts.

Sellars says the Worth County Airport, 35 years old, is undergoing a five-year capital investment improvement plan to expand the runway to 5,000 feet and boost the facility’s capabilities to handle aircraft, with a T-hangar planned for construction by 2014.

Finally, Worth County has achieved its Georgia Work Ready certification, and local businesses take advantage of a QuickStart program through Moultrie Technical College, providing free, tailored job training programs for new and established businesses in Worth County. Kia Automotive Corp., based in LaGrange, also operates a regional QuickStart program here in the company’s own facility, to continuously train new Kia employees from Turner, Tift, Colquitt and Worth counties.

Worth County, too, is leveraging group marketing goals to recruit business as part of a joint Economic Development Authority with neighboring Tift, Turner, Worth and Cook counties. “We meet quarterly to examine how we can benefit the region, and our individual communities with strategic marketing plans.”

This year, the group plans to visit Metro Atlanta and meet with officials of the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and others pledged to market the state as a great place to do business – including Southwest Georgia and its favorable cost of living, ready labor pool, tax incentives and regulatory advantages.

Sellars adds that Worth County is also part of the South Georgia Partnership coordinated by the Electric Cities of Georgia (ECGA), takes advantage of the businessadvantages website, LocateSouthGa.com; and is part of a 12-county consortium promoting “power communities” in the region, known as the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia.

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Feature

Leading Edge Waste-to-Energy Methane Gas Facilities Depend on County Landfills Landfill methane is a ‘green’ power source because it utilizes waste and reduces air pollution by replacing electricity generated through conventional coal-fired methods.

Several industries, and now, the U.S. military, are working in partnership with Georgia county landfills to purchase methane and

By Deborah Dewberry, Editor generate power.

M

ilitary, industry and Dougherty County officials held a festive groundbreaking ceremony May 19 for a Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany (MCLB-Albany) joint project with Chevron Energy Solutions, which might well become the U.S. military’s premier gas-to-energy project.

Slated to utilize methane gas recovered at Dougherty County’s Fleming-Gaissert sanitary landfill through a 20-year contract between the county and MCLBAlbany, the project is deemed crucial to the Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps and Dougherty County. With the help of Chevron Energy Solutions, the U.S. military may meet, and even surpass, federally-mandated renewable energy goals leading some to call this Marine Corps installation the “greenest” in the country. As high-profile as its importance is to the U.S. government, however, the MCLB-Albany methane gas-to-energy project is at least as vital for Dougherty County.

The facility will pipe landfillderived methane to MCLB-Albany to METHANE GAS continued on page 32

Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany (MCLB) is the site of a planned landfill gas-to-energy project which will be the flagship “green” facility of the U.S. Navy. The military base is one of two logistics bases operated by the Marine Corps and its only one in the eastern U.S. Aboard the base, which employs nearly 5,000 Marines, civilians and contractors are Maintenance Center Albany and Headquarters Marine Corps Logistics Command. Photo courtesy of the Albany Dougherty County Chamber of Commerce.

AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

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METHANE GAS continued from page 31 be converted to a more environmentally “green” energy to power base operations.

Under the contract, MCLB-Albany and the county can opt to extend the arrangement for five more years when the 20-year pact is completed.

Military dignitaries and local officials at the groundbreaking ceremony that included Col. Terry V. Williams of MCLB-Albany, Dougherty County Chairman Jeff Sinyard and Chevron Energy Solutions President Jim Davis, Thomas W. Hicks, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy, Maj. Gen. Carl B. Jensen, Marine Corps Logistics Installations East commanding general and Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, the U.S. Navy’s Assistant Secretary for energy, installations and environment.

“We’ve been working on getting this methane gas-to-energy project in Dougherty County for five years, and most intensively during the last two years,” says Chairman Sinyard. “The project is also important because it’s a first-of-its-kind partnership between a local government and the military. It

will be very high profile, and we could see additional benefits from this for the entire region.”

Dougherty County officials went to the Pentagon in pursuit of the project, and were told by General Assistant Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, James F. Amos, that a No. 1 federal priority is to make bases more energyefficient. The facility is anticipated to significantly enable the military to surpass its federal renewable energy goals by 22 percent, going far toward fulfilling a congressional mandate for the military to phase in usage of alternative energies across the board.

Sinyard continues. “Marine Corps Lt. General Willie Williams, also recently moved from Albany to the Pentagon to assist this effort. We are all very, very excited about it.”

It’s with good reason that U.S. military and local officials are unanimously enthusiastic. The process being utilized at the facility could become a major revenue generator for the county, Landfill Director and Assistant County Administrator Mike McCoy asserts, if the county is allowed to join the Chicago Climate Exchange, the first U.S. emissions trading market developed under Cap-and-Trade legislation.

The facility will pipe landfill-derived methane to MCLB-Albany to be converted to a more environmentally “green” energy to power base operations.

Now that the facility is under development, praise has emanated from Washington. “General Amos told us that what we’ve done in Albany has put us on the cutting edge of this technology,”

Because the government caps the amount of greenhouse gases a company or entity can emit, any entity that crosses that threshold would have to buy carbon credits from the

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open market to compensate. Since Dougherty County would be on that market, it could feasibly sell its excess carbon credits from the methane project to another entity.

According to MCLB-Albany reports, the methane will be utilized to operate a 1.9mW combined heat and power generator; and will also be utilized in a reciprocating engine to produce electricity. Besides producing electricity, plans are to recover heat off the engine stack to produce steam in a heat-recovery steam generator, which will produce hot water for industrial processes at Maintenance Center Albany, based on a design that can use natural gas as a supplemental fuel. The project will permit MCLBAlbany to convert methane to produce electricity onsite, offsetting the cost of electricity, and produce natural gas for steam production.

Chevron Energy Solutions developed and designed the project and will maintain the facility, its pipeline and landfill gas processing equipment. MCLB-Albany will process, compress and transmit the landfill gas to the base. But without the Dougherty County landfill facility, none of this would be possible.

That the County BOC chose the Fleming Road site in the early 1980s as the place to develop the landfill means its proximity to the base is the factor enabling the MCLB-Albany and the Navy to pipe in the methane that and transform it into energy, county officials assert.

“The largest benefit of the Dougherty County/MCLB-Albany project is the joint partnership between the county and the federal government to utilize a commodity that will help reduce our use of fossil fuels and magnify the community support MCLB-Albany has,” says Sinyard.

Dougherty County will be responsible for extracting the gas from the landfill to MCLB-Albany’s processing equipment.

MCLB-Albany will be responsible for the processing, compression and transmission of the landfill gas to the base.

MCLB-Albany has contracted Chevron Energy Services to execute this renewable energy project.

“It’s an enormous asset to have this base in our jurisdiction and now, a first-

of-its-kind methane-to-energy facility will raise the base’s profile, maybe even to become the ‘greenest’ base in the U.S., and significant to the military’s alternative energy goals,” says county Administrator Richard Crowdis.

The landfill receives approximately 100,000 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) per year. Biological decomposition of MSW generates LFG, of which the primary component is methane.

Methane is the primary component of natural gas that has value as an energy

source. LFG recovery and utilization has been used at landfills for decades.

Currently there are over 420 LFG Energy projects operating in the United States, this being the first of this type for the Marine Corps.

The facility provides stalwart insulation from threats of closure under the base realignment and closure evaluation (BRAC), an important consideration which also applies to another county METHANE GAS continued on page 34

Every client’s project at SRJ Engineering benefits from the exceptional experience and professional background brought to bear by the principal engineers and staff at SRJ Engineering.

The range of planning, design, engineering and management services we provide at SRJ Engineering is a wide one. And the decades of successful history with similar challenges brought to each project by the principal engineers at SRJ provides our clients with the added assurance of that experience.

Past and Current Projects Include: Q Landfill Gas to energy - Marine Corps Logistics Base and Dougherty County Landfill Project, Georgia Q Inert landfill - Dougherty County, Georgia Q Stormwater master planning at Wild Adventures theme park - Valdosta, Georgia Q Design of Grand Island Golf and Country Club - Lee County, Georgia Q Kinderlou Planned Unit Development - Lowndes County, Georgia Q Water and/or Wastewater projects - Albany, Valdosta, DeSoto, Lee County, Cordele, Sumter County, and many more

1108 Maryland Drive Albany, GA 31707 Phone: 229.436.9877 Fax: 229.436.5145 E-mail: engineers@srjengineering.com www.srjengineering.com

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METHANE GAS continued from page 33 landfill-enabled methane waste-toenergy project in Houston County.

Houston County Project Slated Houston County is set to use garbage from the Houston County Landfill for electric power generation, under a contract between the county and Flint Energies.

The project also entails methane, now being “flared,” or burned off, which will be sold. The electric membership co-op will buy the gas and use it to make electricity through an adjacent generating plant on county land.

Flint is contracting with North Carolina-based PowerSecure International and Georgia Transmission for different aspects of building and operating the plant and substation, said Jimmy Autry, Flint senior vice president of community relations. He said the generators have been ordered, and the company expects to begin power production there this year.

Flint expects its new substation to produce 22.4 million kilowatt hours of electricity a year, enough to power the equivalent of about 1,400 homes.

Flint will develop the project mostly for Robins Air Force Base, which like the Marine Corps Logistics Base is mandated to dramatically increase its usage of renewable energy. By 2012, at least 5 percent of its energy must come from renewable sources. That goal spikes to 25 percent by 2025.

Currently, Georgia Power is supplying the base’s renewable needs, and

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Flint declines to compete with Georgia’s primary electric power company. But as the base’s demand for renewable energy increases, Flint would like to add to its options, he said.

Murray Griffin, a consulting engineer for Houston County, said about six private landfills in Georgia use their landfill gas to make electricity. But only two other public landfills do — Dougherty County and DeKalb County.

Tommy Stalnaker, Houston County operations director, said the county sought to market the gas for both the revenue and the environmental benefits.

The county put out a request for proposals more than a year ago in anticipation of having enough methane to be used.

Three local businesses as well as Flint responded, offering swift piping system installation and the best price.

The revenue will go to the county’s landfill enterprise fund, which supports the landfill at no cost to taxpayers; the methane operation will add to revenue sources that include tipping fees and revenue from surrounding 2,600 acres of timber.

DeKalb County’s Live Oak Facility Live Oak Landfill in DeKalb County is one of the metro region’s largest county landfills, and also became the second facility in the Southeast to turn methane gas into energy, through a public-private partnership of Jacoby Energy, Waste Management, DeKalb County and Georgia Natural Gas (GNG). The

project was the first methane recovery to natural gas project in the state, and the first to market recovered natural gas to Georgia residents.

Jacoby Energy recovers the methane from Live Oak Landfill, first cleaning it and then pumping it into the GNG pipeline network, providing a renewable methane gas to AGL customers. While other processes are used to burn methane recovered from landfills to generate energy, the project was just the ninth facility in the country and the second in the Southeast to pump methane through a commercial pipeline — considered more environmentally sound.

Live Oak Landfill was accepting more than 1.2 million tons of trash per year by the end of its 19-year lifespan, prior to being closed in December 2004.

The new system under Jacoby Energy has many environmental benefits, giving hundreds of thousands of natural gas users in Georgia a recycled energy product for home energy — and ends the need to burn the methane, a source of air pollution.

Chatham County Project at a Private Landfill Another methane waste-to-energy facility comes on stream soon, the result of a contract between Georgia Power Company and a landfill operated privately by Waste Management Renewable Energy LLC. The 10-year agreement is for electric power generation from methane derived at Waste Management’s new energy-generating facility at the company’s Superior Landfill and Recycling Center in Savannah, Chatham County.

The facility is one of the largest in the Southeast. The agreement will provide Georgia Power with 100 percent of the renewable energy annually from Waste Management’s 6.4 megawatt facility in Savannah, Georgia, as well as the associated renewable energy credits.

Georgia Power chose Waste Management from several competing renewable gas generators having submitted bids through the company’s “green” request for proposals issued in April 2009. The energy from Superior Landfill will be used to help grow the company’s burgeoning Green Energy program. ■

Feature

ACCG Honors 10 Georgia Lawmakers For Outstanding Service During 2010 Session

T

he 2010 session of the Georgia General Assembly saw legislative leaders close one of the most difficult state budgets in latter day Georgia history, and mark substantial progress in terms of transportation funding, trauma care, ethics, and property tax reform. House Speaker David Ralston, among other legislators, demonstrated uncommonly steady leadership under budgetary duress, creating

legislation that many felt signifies a return of the historic partnership between the state and Georgia’s local governments.

Landmark legislation strongly supported by Georgia counties was the Statewide Strategic Transportation Plan and House Bill 277, authorizing a one percent transportation sales tax (“T-SPLOST”) based on Georgia Regional Commission boundaries.

Referenda to approve the tax are slated in every region of the state, except those that opt out, in 2012. In the metro Atlanta region, 15 percent of the funds will be returned based on a modified LARP formula to each county and city for discretionary local transportation

projects while elsewhere in the state, 25 percent will be returned. The bill also authorizes a statewide human services transportation coordinating council and financial relief for the Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. More county goals were met as bills passed authorizing appropriations for more flexibility at the local level over collections and usage of fees, closure of tax or fee loopholes and reduce taxpayer noncompliance, all toward helping reduce the burden on property taxpaying citizens.

More examples of progress included SB 346, closely followed by Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG), and facilitated by policy staff’s presentation of information to the Senate Property Tax Study Committee, alongside work with Sen. Chip Rogers, bill sponsor, led to a bill — deemed a “sweeping overhaul” by the Department of Revenue — that most anticipate will bring more transparency and clarity to the often conflict-ridden property tax appraisal and appeal process.

As every year, close working relationships between ACCG policy staff at the Capitol with legislators key to the survival or demise, of critical bills were integral to achieving workable results.

This year ACCG extends thanks, in particular, to 10 Georgia lawmakers by honoring them with 2010 Legislative Service Awards. These legislators, whose efforts on the floor of the House or Senate went far to craft legislation in the best interest of workable local government, smooth intergovernmental relations and Georgia property taxpayers, deserve our thanks.

Rep. David Ralston (R-Dist. 007) Speaker of the House Ralston is being honored with an ACCG Legislative Service Award this year for setting a new tone for leadership in the Georgia House of Representatives. His steady oversight enabled the General Assembly to finally tackle many complex issues that have been debated at length under the Gold Dome for several years running. He is credited with restoring a proper recognition of the historic and necessary intergovernmental partnership that exists between Georgia’s state and county governments. Under his guidance this year, the General Assembly delivered legislative accomplishments in key areas. He also oversaw the closing of one of the largest budget deficits in state history.

LEGISLATIVE continued on page 36 AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

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LEGISLATIVE continued from page 35

Rep. Ben Harbin (R-Dist. 118)

Sen. Don Balfour (R-Dist. 09)

Rep. Ben Harbin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, is honored this year for his efforts to work with ACCG to ensure the state budget included appropriations for locally administered programs such as the Forestland Protection Act and the county jail per diem. Rep. Harbin also carried HB 1321, which gives counties more flexibility in how they use their 911 fee revenues and will help reduce the burden on property taxpayers. Although this was one of the most difficult budget years for the state, Rep. Harbin provided the leadership needed to balance the state budget with targeted expenditure cuts and responsible fee adjustments. His leadership helped Georgia avoid a substantial reduction in services provided to Georgia residents.

Sen. Don Balfour, chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, is honored by ACCG this year for carrying and passing HB 1221, legislation placing Georgia in conformance with the National Streamlined Sales Tax Compact. This legislation will allow Georgia to gain voluntary sales tax collection compliance from businesses that do not have stores in Georgia but sell products to Georgia residents. When Congress takes action, Georgia will be able to mandate sales tax collections from out-of-state vendors, putting Georgia businesses in a better competitive stance, compared to businesses located out of state, but selling goods and services to Georgia citizens.

Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Dist. 21)

Sen. Chip Rogers, Senate Majority Leader, is honored this year with a Legislative Service Award for passing major property tax reform legislation (SB 346), through a very open process. Many recommendations brought forth by ACCG were incorporated in to the final legislation, including recommendations for a regional board of equalization, property tax installment billings and professional appeal hearing officers. Sen. Rogers also modified the legislation based upon concerns expressed by ACCG. The legislation will help improve fairness and equity in the property tax assessment and appeals procedures and may also reduce some of the complaints county commissioners receive about property taxes. Sen. Rogers also assisted ACCG in propelling several other pieces of legislation important to counties through the Senate.

Congratulations to all ACCG’s 2010 Service Award winners!

Rep. Larry O’Neal (R-Dist. 146) Rep. Larry O’Neal, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, receives an ACCG Legislative Service Award this year recognizing his effective leadership to reduce taxpayer non compliance and eliminate loop holes in the law that allows some people to avoid pay their fair share of the tax burden. In particular, Rep. O’Neal carried and passed HB 1221 which places Georgia in conformance with the National Streamlined Sales Tax Compact. The legislation allows Georgia to gain voluntary sales tax collection compliance from businesses that do not have stores in Georgia but sell products to Georgia residents. Once Congress takes action, Georgia will be in a position to mandate sales tax collections from out-of –state vendors. Without this legislation, Georgia businesses are at a competitive disadvantage compared to businesses based out of state, but which sell products or services to Georgians.

The bill is anticipated to help ensure the continued prosperity of Georgia businesses providing jobs to Georgia residents and revenues to the state and local governments.

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Rep. Wendell Willard (R-Dist. 049) Rep. Wendell Willard is honored with a Legislative Service Award this year, for being credited with carrying and passing HB 991, legislation which will help resolve disputes between counties and cities over Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) disbursements. State law requires counties and cities periodically negotiate how these revenues are divided; historically, negotiations have proven contentious, with

Sen. Doug Stoner (D-06)

Rep. Roger Lane (R-Dist. 167)

Rep. David Knight (R-Dist. 126)

Sen. Doug Stoner is honored with a Legislative Service Award this year in recognition of his sponsorship of SB 22, establishing the Georgia Coordinating Council for Rural and Human Services Transportation to encourage efficient delivery of rural transit and statewide human services transportation programs. While SB 22 did not pass, its language was added to HB 277, the transportation funding bill, which did pass. The legislation authorizes approximately $200 million per year in federal grants for at least four state agencies to fund the delivery of transportation services to individuals with no other means of transportation. Coordination between these agencies is primarily on an ad hoc basis. The council, comprised of affected state agency heads or their designees, will analyze existing programs and coordination, opportunities for consolidation, cost sharing and joint operations, best practices in other states and limitations caused by federal rules.

Rep. Roger Lane is honored this year as sponsor of HB 1328, initiated by ACCG to increase the civil filing fees charged in the various levels of courts and the fees charged by the sheriff’s and clerks of court.

This bill was ultimately rolled into HB 1055, the omnibus fee bill. Rep. Lane’s work on H.B. 1328 is credited with ensuring that counties were able to increase these fees to offset the increasing administrative costs for providing the services to the users of the services instead of continuing to pass those increasing costs to the tax payers.

Rep. David Knight is being commended with a 2010 ACCG Legislative Service Award for carrying and passed HB 1093 which will create a new partnership between local governments and the Department of Revenue to identify businesses that should be collecting state and local sales tax but have failed to register with the state. The legislation authorizes counties to match their business occupation tax registration data against the Department of Revenues sales tax registration data. This legislation will strengthen collection compliance and ensure that all businesses are treated equally in their responsibility to collect sales tax. The revenue generated will help provide critical state and local government services without placing any additional burden on other taxpayers.

Rather than help pass a bill on floodplain notification that many counties could not comply with, Rep. Knight is lauded for working with ACCG and others to rewrite the conference committee report on HB 169, legislation establishing the Georgia Geospatial Advisory Council to audit Georgia’s GIS capabilities at a county, regional, and state level. The Council is slated to make recommendations to the General Assembly for utilizing the geospatial capabilities in Georgia to meet FEMA notification requirements, recommendations for moving forward to achieve governmental data interoperability and enhanced delivery of services to Georgia citizens.

■

extended disagreements resulting in damaged relations between the county and cities that pose additional costs to taxpayers. HB 991 creates a binding arbitration process that should expedite the negotiations to bring about a final resolution.

Rep. Willard also co-sponsored legislation to increase court filing fee and other fees assessed by the courts, the superior court clerk and sheriffs. This legislation was ultimately rolled into H.B. 1055 and Chairman Willard played a critical role in making sure that the fees charged by the counties were increased along with the various fees that are charged by the state.

Sen. Greg Goggans (R-Dist. 07)

Sen. Goggans carried HB 1055 in the Senate and was a part of the working group made of House and Senate members to develop the final bill which included H.B. 1328 proposed by ACCG. This legislation will provide additional revenue to counties to fund court operations.

These legislators, whose efforts on the floor of the House or Senate went far to craft legislation in our best interest, deserve our thanks.

AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

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Feature

Federal Health Reform: Implications for Counties Amid all the unknowns about federal health care reform legislation, here is a rundown of what counties can anticipate, in the near term.

By Rick Jones, CEBS, ARe Jones Management Consulting

W

hat will be the major changes affecting county governments from the sweeping overhaul of health insurance passed by Congress in March? The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will impact every county that offers a health plan for its employees, and many of those that don’t. Most

changes will take effect over the next four years, with the most comprehensive slated for 2014.

New health plan requirements include restrictions on annual and lifetime dollar limits, expanding coverage for adult children, eliminating pre-existing condition limitations, shortened waiting periods, rules for cost-sharing with employees, increasing preventative coverage and automatic employee enrollment in larger employers’ health plans.

And then, there’s the biggest impact — requiring counties to pay for health insurance that meets certain standards or pay a penalty.

Most changes apply to both insured and self-funded plans.

There is currently much that is unknown about the details of health care reform. Federal agencies still need to write the thousands of pages of regulations that will determine the finer

points. This will lead to many surprises.

Additionally there are two congressional elections and a presidential election between now and 2014, so major changes to the legislation are very possible.

Coverage for Children to Age 26 One of the first changes to take effect is allowing adult children to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans until the age of 26. This is the issue generating most questions for ACCG, and many insurers. Health care reform legislation requires such coverage, starting effective with the first health plan renewal after Sept. 23, 2010.

For calendar year plans this would be Jan. 1, 2011. Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia has decided to offer this coverage early for adult children

already on their parents’ insurance plans. Starting June 1, 2010, kids leaving school will no longer be terminated from insurance unless they request it, or are age 26.

For those who aren’t on their parents’ plan currently and want to come back onto it, they’ll have to wait a little longer, and can rejoin at the next renewal (after September 2010). This will be July 1, 2011 for members of the ACCG Health Benefits program. However, there is a chance this will also be moved up, so stay tuned.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced that coverage for these young adults is not subject to taxation, just as it is not for dependent children.

Additionally, flexible benefit plans can immediately allow pre-tax contributions for this coverage even if the plan documents have yet to be amended to reflect the changes.

Early Retiree Reinsurance Program This temporary program may make it easier for counties to provide coverage to early retirees. Employers who apply and are accepted into the program will receive reimbursement for medical claims for HEALTHCARE continued on page 40 AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

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HEALTHCARE continued from page 39

Table I: Key Benefit Changes Pre-existing Condition Exclusions: For children under 19 there will be no pre-existing condition limits allowed, effective with the first plan year. (Adults gain this protection starting in 2014.)

Lifetime Limits: County plans may no longer impose lifetime maximum benefits on “essential health benefits.” (What benefits are essential are not yet defined.)

Effective at First Plan Renewal, after September 23, 2010

Preventive Care: Plans must cover preventive and wellness services and immunizations without costsharing. No co-pays, no co-insurance and no deductibles are allowed. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is creating a list of services and a frequency schedule.

Medicare Drug Rebates: Part D drug plan enrollees who enter the “donut hole” in 2010 will receive a $250 rebate check. In 2011, a 5 percent discount on brand-name drugs will be instituted and generic drug coverage will be provided in the donut hole. The gap will be filled by 2020.

Coverage for Adult Children: Parents can keep children on their health plans until age 26.

Effective at First Plan Renewal, Cafeteria Plan Contributions: Salary contributions to FSAs under a cafeteria plan are limited to After January 1, 2013 $2,500.

Annual Limits: Plans may not place a limit on annual benefit amounts on “essential health benefits.”

Effective at First Plan Renewal, After January 1, 2014

Waiting Periods: The longest waiting period allowed will be 90 days before coverage begins.

Employer Mandate: Employers must provide health insurance to employees or pay substantial penalties, unless employing fewer than 50 full time equivalents.

Table II: Tax Increases Effective December 31, 2010

Effective January 1, 2011

Tanning Tax: The law imposes a 10 percent tax on amounts paid for indoor tanning services.

HSA Tax: The tax on HSA and Archer MSA withdrawals prior to age 65 that are used for anything other than qualified medical expenses is increased to 20 percent.

W-2 Reporting: Beginning in 2011, employers will be required to disclose the value of health coverage provided on Form W-2.

Effective January 1, 2013

Payroll Tax Increase: An increase in the Medicare payroll tax rate of 0.9 percent will be applied for individuals earning over $200,000 or couples earning over $250,000. Tax is also expanded to include a 3.8 percent tax on net investment income for taxpayers in this bracket.

Effective after March 31, 2013

Medical Devices: There will be a 2.3 percent excise tax on the sale of medical devices.

Effective January 1, 2014

Health Insurance Providers: The health insurance industry will be subject to an $8 billion annual excise tax. This increases to $11.3 billion annually for 2015, 2016, and 2017. The excise tax jumps to $14.3 billion in 2018 and rises by inflation thereafter. The tax is assessed based on a company’s market share and is non-deductible for federal tax purposes. Expect this and the tax on “Cadillac Plans” to be added to consumers’ insurance premiums.

Effective January 1, 2018

Excise Tax on “Cadillac Plans”: An excise tax of 40 percent is imposed on insurers if aggregate value of employer-sponsored health coverage per employee exceeds $10,200 single or $27,500 family, starting on Jan. 1, 2018.

Table III: New Funding for Programs Effective April 1, 2010

Voluntary Medicaid Expansion: States may choose to cover parents and childless adults up to 133 percent of federal poverty level and receive an increase in the federal match.

Effective October 1, 2010

Community health centers: Beginning Oct. 1, 2010 funds are provided to build new, and expand existing community health centers.

Effective January, 2011

Bonus for rural doctors: Primary care providers and general surgeons practicing in health professional shortage areas are given 10 percent Medicare bonus payments for five years.

Effective January 2013, through 2014

Medicaid doctors: Medicaid payments for primary care physicians will be reimbursed at the same rate that applies under Medicare Part B in 2013 and 2014; a 100 percent federal match goes to states for meeting this requirement.

Effective January 1, 2014

Increasing Medicaid access: Medicaid starts covering all non-elderly individuals earning up to 133 percent of federal poverty level in 2014. The federal government will pay 100 percent of the cost of covering newly eligible individuals for 2014, 2015 and 2016. This decreases to paying 95 percent of additional costs in 2017, 94 percent in 2018, and 93 percent in 2019. Counties should remain alert that increasing Medicaid expenses aren’t passed on to them by state government.

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retirees age 55 and older who are not eligible for Medicare, and their spouses, surviving spouses and dependents.

The amount of reimbursement to the county health plan is up to 80 percent of claim costs for health benefits between $15,000 and $90,000. Claims incurred on or after June 1, 2010 are eligible for reimbursement.

Both self-funded and insured plans can apply, including plans sponsored by state and local governments, non-profits, unions and other employers. The program ends in 2014 when other types of coverage become available, or when the $5 billion which was appropriated runs out. Entities that cover early retirees are encouraged to apply early, as some estimates are that the money will run out quickly.

Refer to Table 1: Key Benefit Changes; Table II: Tax Increases; and Table III: New Funding for Programs, for details on phase-in of the legislation.

Mandating Coverage The greatest changes are scheduled for 2014, when mandates to have health

It is a good time to start learning how reform may affect your county, but the likelihood of significant changes before implementation advises caution before making major changes. insurance will apply to individuals and requirements to pay part of the cost of coverage begin for all but the smallest of local governments. Significant financial penalties will encourage compliance. At this point, all health plans offered by counties, insurers, or through exchanges must offer the (as yet undefined) essential health benefits package.

Exchanges to buy health insurance, similar to how Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D plans are sold now, will

be set up in each state for individuals and small businesses to buy coverage. The plans will be sold by insurers and must cover the â&#x20AC;&#x153;essential health benefits.â&#x20AC;?

The plans will be named Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum, with Bronze being the least expensive. States may make the exchanges available to larger employers starting in 2017.

The Individual Mandate requires most uninsured individuals to obtain insurance or pay a tax penalty ($95 in 2014, $325 in 2015, $695 or 2.5 percent of income in 2016 and indexed thereafter). Premium assistance tax credits are available for individuals and families above Medicaid eligibility and below 400 percent of the federal poverty standard, with reduced cost sharing between 100 and 400 percent of the federal poverty standard.

A few exceptions apply to the Individual Mandate. It wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t apply to religious objectors, low income earners (for example married persons earning under $18,700), situations where HEALTHCARE continued on page 42

editorial ad to come

AUGUST 2010 www.accg.org

41

HEALTHCARE continued from page 41 premium costs exceed 8 percent of income, or where the gap in coverage was less than three months.

The Employer Mandate means employers with 50 or more Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees that do not offer coverage must pay $2,000 annually for each full-time employee above 30 employees, if even one employee receives premium assistance tax credits. Employers that offer the minimum required coverage but have employees receiving the premium assistance tax credit will have to pay $3,000 for each subsidized employee, not to exceed $2,000 times total employees.

It is a good time to start learning how reform may affect your county, but the likelihood of significant changes before implementation advises caution before making major changes to your policies in advance.

Conclusion As regulations are written, the rules of health reform will become much clearer. It is a good time to start learning how reform may affect your county, but the likelihood of significant changes before implementation advises caution before making major changes to your policies in advance. Counties with questions on health reform may contact Insurance Programs Field Manager Ben Pittarelli at ACCG, 404-522-5022; or bpittarelli@accg.org. â&#x2013; Rick Jones, CEBS, ARe, is president of Jones Management Consulting, Inc., consultant to the ACCG Health Benefits Program for Georgia counties. He can be reached toll-free at 1-800-856-6372.

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IndexofAdvertisers ACCOUNTANTS Mauldin & Jenkins .......................................15 www.mjcpa.com

FINANCIAL SERVICES Robert W. Baird & Co., Inc. ..........................21 www.rwbaird.com

ASPHALT PAVING E. R. Snell Contractor, Inc. ...........................21 www.ersnell.com

GENERAL CONSTRUCTION Hogan Construction Group, LLC ..................18 www.hoganconstructiongroup.com

ATTORNEYS Collier & Gamble LLP ...................................16

GROCERY STORE West Foods Inc. ...........................................24 www.westfoodinc.com

BANKING Wachovia ..............................inside front cover www.wachovia.com BEVERAGES The Coca Cola Company.....outside back cover www.cocacola.com CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT Flint Equipment Company ..............................3 www.flintequipco.com CONSULTING ENGINEERS Atlantic Coast Consulting, Inc. .....................32 www.atlcc.net Brown and Caldwell.......................................8 www.brownandcaldwell.com Jordan, Jones & Goulding, Inc. ....................24 www.jjg.com Moreland Altobelli Associates, Inc. ..............18 www.maai.net The LPA Group ............................................32 www.lpagroup.com COUNTY GOVERNMENT Lee County Board of Commisioners...............9 www.lee.ga.us ENERGY Georgia Power Company .............................29 www.georgiapower.com ENGINEERING Brown and Caldwell.......................................8 www.brownandcaldwell.com ENGINEERING & ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES SRJ Engineering ..........................................33 www.srjarchitects.com ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS Advanced Environmental Management, Inc. .....................................28 Brown and Caldwell.......................................8 www.brownandcaldwell.com Golder Associates ..........................................8 www.golder.com

HEALTHCARE Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital ...............12 www.phoebeputney.com PUBLIC NOTICES - ONLINE Georgia Press Association ...........................24 www.gapress.org PURCHASING NETWORKS TCPN-The Cooperative Purchasing Network ..........inside back cover www.tcpn.org REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTERS Southwest Georgia RDC ..............................16 www.swgrc.org ROAD BUILDING EQUIPMENT Asphalt Zipper ...............................................4 www.asphaltzipper.com ROOFING L. E. Schwartz & Son, Inc. ...........................16 www.leschwartz.com SOFTWARE Tyler Technologies, Inc. ...............................25 www.tylertech.com UNIVERSITY Albany Technical College .............................14 www.albanytech.edu UTILITIES Flint Energies.................................................8 www.flintenergies.com Georgia Natural Gas ....................................30 www.georgianaturalgas.com Georgia Transmission Corporation ...............20 www.gatrans.com Utilities Protection Center ..............................6 www.gaupc.com WASTE MANAGEMENT Veolia ES Solid Waste Southeast Inc ............18 www.onyxws.com

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