ACCG is now accepting nominations for the 2016 ACCG Awards & Recognition Program, which serves as a way to recognize the individuals who provide outstanding contributions to their local community. The association also works with the Georgia County Clerks’ Association to present the County Clerk of the Year Award. Recipients may be nominated in the following categories:

ACCG LEADERSHIP AWARDS
Emory Greene Leadership Award (elected officials)
Jerry R. Griffin Excellence in Public Service Award (elected and appointed officials)

SECTION AWARDS
County Clerk of the Year Award

The awards serve as a means to honor those actively engaged in their communities and allow ACCG to emphasize the value of leadership. County officials are encouraged to nominate an individual whom they feel best demonstrates, through their selfless actions and dedication to service in the community, what the awards embody. The award recipients will be honored at the 2016 ACCG Annual Conference in Savannah/Chatham County.

Award details and nomination forms are available on the ACCG website. Nominations for all awards must be submitted no later than Friday, March 18, 2016 by 5 p.m. Once forms are completed, they can be mailed to the ACCG office, emailed to ACCG Communications Intern Sierra Hubbard at shubbard@accg.org, or submitted via the online application. Clerk of the Year nominations must be submitted to the Georgia County Clerks’ Association awards selection committee – see the clerks’ application for details.

What’s New to the Nomination Process

As an alternative to the traditional paper application, counties can submit a video nomination for this year’s awards. Video nominations may include more than one person in the county office of the nominee and must still answer the questions on the nomination form. For example, this method may be used if several people in a county commissioner’s office have testimonials about efforts the nominee has made to improve their community. Videos must be no longer than five minutes in length and can be submitted via the online application or as an email attachment.

Safety is a win-win for counties, their employees and citizens, reducing the potential for injuries and property damage. An added bonus for those counties that are members of the ACCG Insurance Programs is that they can earn a 7.5 percent safety discount and save money on their renewal premiums.

The ACCG Safety Discount Program workbook was recently mailed to all members of the ACCG Workers’ Compensation and Property & Liability Insurance Programs. The workbook and electronic forms are also available online.

This year, in an effort to help county leaders focus loss-control efforts where they matter most, the Safety Action Plan has been added as a requirement for the ACCG Workers’ Compensation Safety Discount. ACCG and LGRMS will assist in this effort, beginning with two webinars in March to outline this requirement and answer questions. Sign up today to learn more about how to create the Safety Action Plan and qualify to receive the safety discount. The session will also be recorded and available at a later date, if needed.


March 22, 2016 10 a.m.
Register for 3/22/16

March 29, 2016 10 a.m.
Register for 3/29/16

"Planning is a critical element of any successful safety program," said Dan Beck, the director of LGRMS, also known as ACCG’s Risk Control services. He has offered these steps to assist your county’s Safety Coordinator in this process.

1. Determine the organization’s safety vision – Start by getting the leaders engaged in the process, so they will be more likely to participate in the implementation process. Leaders can be at all levels within the organization: elected officials, directors, managers, supervisors and front-line employees. Ask them, "Are you committed to providing a safe working environment and culture for the employees and citizens?" Decide together what the vision is for safety.

2. Assess the current safety program – Conduct an internal culture safety assessment. The ACCG loss control representative can provide a template or assist with this process. Review safety system elements such as: Leadership Commitment, Employee Engagement, Programs/ Policies, Training, Incident Investigation, Audits/Inspection, Emergency Procedures, etc.

3. Identify gaps between the vision and the current program – Once the assessment is complete, the gaps in process and culture will be clear.

4. Prioritize gaps – Most organizations do not have unlimited resources. In order to be successful, identify those issues that will have the biggest impact on improving the culture. Keep in mind the amount of resources needed for implementation, including time, money maintenance. It is better to do one thing very well than to attempt five things ineffectively.

5. Conduct root cause analysis – Identify the root cause of the claims instead of trying to fix a symptom. Continue to ask "why?" until the root of the issue is identified.

6. Develop the Safety Action Plan – Educate the leaders with the findings of the assessment and the prioritized list of gaps and root causes. Get their feedback and make adjustments based on the group discussion. Agree on the areas to attack. Document the selected corrective actions, assign owners, and dates of completion. Ownership should be distributed throughout the organization.

7. Communicate the safety vision and Safety Action Plan – Let everyone in the organization know the safety vision and action plan that will be used to fulfill the vision. Assign activities to all levels of the organization to ensure better ownership. There are several ways to communicate the plans, including posting on bulletin boards, discussing in meetings and sending out via email.

8. Review monthly and communicate status – Within the safety committee and/or leadership meetings, review the progress on the Safety Action Plan.

9. Celebrate successes and investigate failures – Recognize those individuals that have been successful implementing their action items and investigate where implementation has failed.

10. Revisit this process annually and adjust as needed.

Taking the time to evaluate the organization’s workers’ compensation losses and identify areas to target for loss control is well worth the effort. Learn from the past and help avoid similar accidents in the future by focusing resources where they matter the most.

If you have any questions regarding the new guidelines for the safety discount or on registration for the webinars, please email Dan Beck, director of LGRMS, or ACCG's Ashley Abercrombie.

Local Government Risk Management Services, also known as LGRMS, will offer personnel liability issues seminars in March.

Personnel Liability Issues 2016

The ACCG Property & Liability Program is offering a training seminar for its members. The seminar is committed to providing attendees with information to assist them in preventing or minimizing losses due to personnel liability claims and litigation. Attorneys from the law firm of Elarbee, Thompson, Sapp & Wilson, LLP will present to attendees on an array of personnel liability issues that include:

• FLSA and proposed overtime rules
• Haleigh’s Hope Act: Georgia’s New Medical Marijuana Law
• Wellness Programs: Recent Developments
• Managing Sexual Orientation and Transgender Issues in the Workplace

Click here to access the flyer and registration form for additional details, including dates and locations.

Those interested in attending this course may register online at www.lgrms.com or contact Shamilla Jordan at 1-800-650-3120

ACCG is pleased to announce an upcoming water tour for county officials in March 2016! Like other mobile classrooms offered by ACCG, this tour provides a great opportunity to learn from expert county and state officials about the many ways we are conserving one of our state’s most valuable natural resources while getting a firsthand look at state-of-the-art facilities and technologies used in water management.

Click here to view the flyer, detailing the highlights of the water tour. Participants on the tour will receive six hours of continuing education credit. The fee is $50 per person and covers the bus transportation and all meals. Participants must also pay for their hotel accommodations, and ACCG has secured a block of rooms with discounted room rates for the tour.

Space is limited, as we only have one bus for the tour. If you would like to participate, ask your county clerk to register you today! For more information, contact ACCG's Brent Williams at 404.522.5022 ext. 180 or via email at bwilliams@accg.org.

2016 Water Tour of Water Conservation Methods in South Georgia – March 30 & 31

Participants on the water tour of South Georgia will be picked up by bus in McDonough (Henry County) and travel to the Go Fish Georgia Center in Perry (Houston County) where you will hear from DNR wildlife experts about the importance of protecting our aquatic habitats. From there, the group will travel to the Hampton Inn in Moultrie (Colquitt County). Dinner will be provided at Ashburn Hill Plantation. Thursday, participants will have breakfast at the Hampton Inn andtravel to the Sun Belt Ag Expo Center where they will see demonstrations and hear from experts in the areas of agricultural water use and conservation measures. After lunch at the Expo Center, the bus will return the attendees to Henry County. Please see the attachment for the detailed agenda and more information on the sites you will visit and the experts involved. To see the full agenda with details on each stop of the tour, click here.

Clerks: To register participants from your county and make hotel reservations (discounted block of rooms available until March 15), click here.

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety has announced the Request for Proposal Process for the Federal Fiscal Year 2017, which runs from Oct. 1, 2016 to Sept. 30, 2017. The GOHS is seeking innovative programs to address highway safety problems. The details of the Request for Proposal is located on GOHS’ website.

A mandatory Application Training Workshop will be held Wednesday, March 9, 2016 at 8:30 a.m. for prospective grantees. The workshop will be held at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth, Georgia. Applications must be submitted by April 15, 2016 at 5 p.m. via GOHS’ Electronic Grant System.

For more information, contact GOHS Deputy Director Jim Andrews.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has announced $500 million will be made available for transportation projects across the country. This will be the eighth round of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, also called TIGER, competitive grant program.

Like the first seven rounds, the 2016 TIGER discretionary grants will fund capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure and will be awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area or a region. The 2016 TIGER grant program will focus on capital projects that generate economic development and improve access to reliable, safe and affordable transportation for communities, both urban and rural.

Applications are due April 29, 2016. For more information on how to apply, visit the U.S. Department of Transportation's website.