Nominations for the 2026 Georgia County Excellence Awards are due this Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. Counties that have taken innovative and cost-effective approaches to solving local issues with local programs and initiatives are encouraged to apply.

The nomination period is now open for the 2026 ACCG Leadership Program. Help us recognize the exceptional leaders in local government by nominating a county official in your community for one of ACCG's prestigious leadership awards. All applications must be submitted by Friday, Feb. 13, 2026.

Registration is now open for the 2026 Capital Connection Conference. Join the ACCG Governmental Affairs team, state leaders, and your county peers on March 4-5, 2026, at The American Hotel in Fulton County to get the latest policy updates and learn more about trending state issues. 

Join ACCG for a webinar on property tax and Local Option Sales Tax (LOST) on Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 10 a.m. Learn about the important property and sales tax decisions counties will need to make beginning this year, as well as the newly proposed property and local sales tax reforms under consideration at the General Assembly.

The Georgia County Internship Program (GCIP) Grant Review Committee of the ACCG Civic Affairs Foundation met in December to select county internships to fund for the summer 2026. The committee selected 41 internships. Read further to learn more about the selected opportunities.

ACCG is launching a new way to keep Georgia’s county officials informed and connected. County officials may now sign up to receive text messages about ACCG conference reminders, important alerts like grant deadlines, and legislative advocacy updates. 

The engagement that Georgia county officials have with both ACCG and our national partner, the National Association of Counties (NACo) is of vital importance. Through the ACCG-Jerry Griffin Scholarship Program, county commissioners and/or appointed officials will have the opportunity to further engage with both ACCG and NACo starting in 2026 and throughout 2027.

ACCG Executive Director Dave Wills and several Georgia county officials were recently recognized as Georgia Trend magazine's 100 Most Influential and Notable Georgians. Join us in congratulating these outstanding individuals on this recognition.

The winter issue of the Georgia County Government Magazine is now available! Read the latest issue to learn how Georgia is becoming a hub for data centers and what its energy grid could look like in five to 10 years as a result. 

Now, more than ever, counties are celebrated for their tireless work on behalf of their communities. Help ACCG highlight those efforts by sending in your photos to Georgia's Local Lens, the newsletter that provides a weekly snapshot of Georgia's counties. Visit the ACCG website for more information. 

The deadline for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Local Maintenance & Improvement Grant (LMIG) program application is Feb. 1, 2026. LMIG is a program administered through the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) that provides funding to local governments for local road projects.

State law requires counties to set election qualifying fees by Sunday, Feb. 1, for each county office that will be elected via general primaries, general elections, or nonpartisan elections in that year. Depending on the office, the qualifying fee is usually 3% of the prior year’s base salary or gross salary for that position.

The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety will begin taking applications for National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) grants this month. Grant applications must be submitted via the GOHS grant management system no later than 11:59 p.m. Thursday, March 5. A series of grant workshops will be held throughout the month.

Need equipment or supplies for your county? Agencies, nonprofits, and small businesses can enroll in the Department of Administrative Services (DOAS) Surplus Property Program to request necessary equipment and items for their county.

Counties are encouraged to join the Georgia Government Finance Officers Association (GGFOA) in promoting Government Finance Professionals Week, to be observed March 16-20, 2026. This statewide initiative recognizes and celebrates the essential contributions of county government finance professionals and their critical role in ensuring fiscal stewardship, transparency, and public trust across Georgia’s counties.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) is now accepting interim policy resolutions for its 2026 Legislative Conference, in Washington, D.C., on February 21- 24. The NACo resolutions process provides members with the ability to participate in national policy decisions affecting county governments.