Special Session & West Virginia Primary Election
May was a busy month for West Virginia politicians! The WV legislature convened for another Special Session on the heels of the West Virginia Primary, which took place May 13, 2014. During the Special Session, the legislature took up the budget cuts Governor Tomblin had made with his line item veto. In all, they restored over 1 million in funding. The money, which will come from excess lottery funds, will go towards programs that support West Virginia’s children and families, such as Family Resource Network and Child Advocacy Centers.
Commissioners Use Essay Contest to Inspire Students & Build Community Relationships
This year, two commissions used the CCAWV essay contest as an opportunity to get out and interact with their communities. Commissioners took time to speak with the students and explain their role in county government. Everyone benefitted from the exchange – students had a unique learning opportunity, and commissioners got to give back to their communities. Below, we’ve highlighted two outstanding examples of commissioners in action.
April is National County Government Month
County governments across the nation are enjoying some recognition this month as the spotlight shines on the work the y do during National County Government Month. While county governments work hard year round to serve citizens, April is the time to educate the public about county government and showcase the achievements of elected officials. NACo (the National Organization of Counties) has used its online presence to promote awareness of National County Government Month, offering educational infographics and even a video counties can share (find these and more at www.naco.org).
New FEMA Maps, New Laws: The Changing Faces of Floodplains
On March 21st, the new Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 was signed into law by President Obama. It repeals some provisions of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 and changes others. In addition, FEMA changed their floodplain maps, and the WV legislature passed SB 621 (Authorizing Insurers offer flood insurance, which is meant to encourage private insurance companies to offer flood insurance in addition to NFIP). CCAWV turned to Richard Carte, West Virginia NFIP Assistant Coordinator, for some help in navigating the new laws. He explained that the new federal law, in particular, has many provisions that they are still sorting out – the how and when of FEMA refunds, the grandfather clause, etc. He expects they will have the answers to these questions and more in a few months. CCAWV hopes to have a representative from the West Virginia NFIP office at our annual meeting to explain how this will affect counties.
Wetzel County Commission Brings County Government to Eighth Graders
The three members of the Wetzel County Commission are making it their mission to promote understanding of the Commission’s duties and responsibilities amongst the eighth graders of Wetzel County. For the past three years, Commissioners Bob Gorby, Larry Lemon, and Don Mason have made personal appearances at four of the county’s middle schools. Working with the students’ social studies teachers, they arrange to give a presentation to the students, who are studying West Virginia history and county government as part of their civics curriculum. Each commission explains part of their duties, as students follow along in CCAWV’s informational brochure (each student gets a copy). The whole presentation takes 45 minutes to an hour. This year, excessive snow days made it more difficult for the teachers to take the time to focus on the essay contest. In spite of this, Commissioner Larry Lemon noted that one teacher, who had taken a group of eighth graders to the State Capitol during the legislative session, showed enthusiastic support for the contest, and even hoped to make it an assignment for students.
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