NEW - February 2018 Newsletter

JOE BRIGGS,  NCRCO President

  Welcome to the National Conference of Republican County Officials website.  The goal of this organization is to provide support and information to the thousands of Republicans across our great nation who serve as county government officials.

 We live in a highly charged political environment at the national and state level that is increasingly invading our day-to-day work at the county level.

  Unlike those who serve in the legislative arena, we county officials have day-to-day responsibilities in the delivery of services that directly affect people’s lives.  We do not have the luxury of dwelling at the 30,000’ level of policy. We are at ground zero.

 We are required by state and federal law to provide services in a manner that we may not necessarily agree with philosophically.  We are sometimes required to act on matters that pit our political ideology against the requirements of fulfilling our duties under the law.  As state and federal resources constrict, mandated services and programs that citizens depend on remain but the funding that came with the mandate disappears. 

How do you respond to these situations?  Do you cut the underfunded programs immediately or shift other resources to maintain them?  Do you split the difference and phase them out or perhaps maintain the services at a reduced level?  There is no one size fits all answer but I submit that the response for a Republican county official is more complex and difficult than it is for our friends across the aisle.

 As Republicans, we cannot just point fingers at a Republican President, Senate and Congress who are attempting to balance the federal deficit.  It is also not likely that our first response will be a call to raise the tax burden on our citizens.  We are the group charged with finding real solutions that work within our counties, for the people we see every day at the post office, gas station and grocery store.  There is no passing the buck at the county level… we are where the rubber meets the road.

  Historically, the NCRCO has been a group of dedicated public servants who primarily interacted at NACo events.  We had tremendous speakers and wonderful social events but with changing times, the organization also needed to change.  Over the last few years, we have been increasing our efforts in the area of policy development through our issues committee and through the NACo steering committees with the goal of being more effective in shaping policy at the national level.  These efforts have been very successful but it is now time to engage more Republican County Officials all across the nation in our efforts.

  We need to share best practice information on a wide range of topics but in particular how to deal with the unfunded and underfunded mandate issues that are evolving in D.C. and state capitals.  We need to make sure that our policy initiatives at the national level serve the interests of Republican county officials across the nation rather than just those of us who are involved in NACo.  In order to accomplish this we have to reach out to all Republican County Officials across the nation for their input. 

  I would ask after you review the website that you supply me with your ideas as well as a list of email addresses and names of any Republican county officials that know so that I can invite them to get involved with the NCRCO.  If your state association already has such a list, please obtain it and send it to me so that we can reach out.  Please send the lists to Ncrco@briggscom.com.

  We will still meet at NACo events to listen to speakers and enjoy the fellowship with those of you who attend NACo events, but growing our network of members is critical to our long-term ability to assist all the Republican County Officials in America.  Thank you in advance for your help in this outreach effort.

Best wishes,

Joe Briggs
President, NCRCO