Submit by November 7, 2022

The Association of Colorado County Administrators (ACCA) is now accepting nominations for County Administrator of the Year. This award will be presented at the CCI Winter Conference. To learn more and nominate an administrator, please click here. 

Did you know that CCI writes the county portion of the CU Business Economic Outlook? This year’s report marks the 58th year of this publication. Click here to access the county contribution to the 2023 report. If you are interested in attending this year’s free forum at the Grand Hyatt in Denver, click here to register for the event. The event coincide with the release of the 2023 written report.

If you missed CCI’s feedback session with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) and are interested in hearing the exchange about the second year training for local and state board of health members, click here to listen to the recording. You can also access CDPHE’s power point presentation here. This is the second year that CDPHE has engaged county commissioners in the development stage of their training module. Finally, you can find this training and many others on CCI’s YouTube channel.

Chaffee County, Colorado just became the first county in the nation to pass a private-lands camping policy. Here’s an article on Chaffee County’s efforts, and their complete policy can be viewed here in the section called “commercial camping on private land”. The policy gives farmers and ranchers the right to host small-scale camping on their property which will help to take pressure off public lands campsites, support agriculturalists who are struggling with drought and inflation issues, and help create a more community-minded outdoor recreation economy.

If your county might be interested in adopting its own related policy, feel free to contact Michal Rosenoer, Senior Manager of Government and Community Relations with HipCamp, for guidance and technical assistance. Additionally, if you weren’t able to attend, CCI hosted a Private Land Camping Webinar over the summer that can be viewed here.

CCI is encouraging commissioners to assist NACo in their efforts to repeal the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (MIEP).  This is the policy that prohibits inmates from receiving Medicaid coverage when they are in jail.

The following bills address the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (MIEP):

• The Medicaid Reentry Act (H.R. 955/S.285), which would allow Medicaid payment for medical services furnished to an incarcerated individual during the 30-day period preceding the individual’s release.
• The Due Process Continuity of Care Act (S.2697/ H.R. 6636), which would allow pretrial detainees to receive Medicaid benefits at the option of the state.
• The Equity in Pretrial Health Coverage Act (S.3050), which would remove limitations under Medicaid, Medicare, CHIP and the Department of Veterans Affairs on benefits for persons in custody pending disposition of charges.

NACo has provided these samples/templates to do the following:

• Write to Members of Congress
• Publish a Letter to the Editor
• Engage your Members of Congress on Social Media

CCI adopted Gilpin County’s proposal regarding medical coverage for county inmates (available here) as a “Table 2” item, so that CCI can continue to engage on this topic and promote the repeal of these exclusions and other efforts that could reduce county jail medical costs.

You can learn more about this policy and its impact on counties on the NACo website.

For additional questions, please contact Katie First.

Cyber threats are one of the most pressing issues facing county leaders today. Whether it is regular phishing attacks, misinformation, or ransomware demands, cybersecurity is essential for the business of your county. It is because of these cyber threats and the need for strong leadership that NACo provides the Cybersecurity Leadership Academy.

In recognition of National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, when you enroll one leader into the Academy at $1,995, we will provide a 100% scholarship for a second attendee to join.

This Buy-One-Get-One FREE offer is available for enrollment into any of our 2023 cohorts.

Join your peers in this 12-week online program led by industry-leading cyber experts. Your county leaders and staff focused on business continuity and incident response will be better prepared from their time invested in this program.

This opportunity is available for registrations through November 4th, 2022. Please help us invest in county frontline leaders who are making great sacrifices to serve our communities. Questions? Contact Luke Afeman at lukea@pdaleadership.com or 503-908-5381.