This week's Illinois State Association of Counties (ISACo) News and Views e-newsletter includes the ISACo October County Quarterly Newsletter, shares the ISACo Transit Reform Resource Page, reports on a final lead service line replacement rule, informs county officials about the Environment, Energy and Land Use Committee discussion about recycling programs, shares what ISACo staff is reading to stay informed, announces upcoming National Association of Counties (NACo) webinar opportunities, highlights ISACo corporate partner PMA-PRIME and invites counties to join ISACo.
ISACo County Quarterly for October 2024
ISACo's October County Quarterly Newsletter is available by clicking on the image below. It will soon be arriving via standard mail to subscribers.
ISACo Transit Reform Resource Page
A significant issue to be addressed by the Illinois General Assembly in 2025 is the looming $730 million budget shortfall confronting the Chicago-area transit agencies. This effort is likely to include proposals exploring additional funding for, and consolidation of, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Metra, and Pace—into a single entity. Transit reform legislation may also be expanded to affect counties throughout the state.
ISACo has created a resource page (linked here) to house current and emerging information about this issue for affected counties and others who may have an interest in following new developments. Two identical transit reform bills filed to date are HB 5823 (Representative Buckner) and SB 3937 (Senator Villivalam). ISACo has reviewed these bills and prepared a high-level Executive Summary as well as an 11-page index of their various provisions. Both documents are available on the resource page.
Affected counties are likely to hold differing opinions on issues relating to transit reform. For this reason, ISACo will refrain from taking a position on the various proposals and legislation unless counties have a uniform opinion on a legislative solution.
USEPA Issues Final Lead Service Line Replacement Rule
On October 8, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced final Lead and Copper Rule Improvements (LCRI) (available via this link). This rule will mandate that most community water supplies (CWS) in the United States replace lead service lines within 10 years. USEPA LCRI compliance begins three years after the rule’s publication in the Federal Register, after which the 10-year timeline will begin. This would be in 2027.
Alongside the final LCRI, USEPA announced $2.6 billion in available funding for drinking water infrastructure through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Within this amount, $75 million has been designated for Illinois. The funding will flow through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and is available to support lead service line replacement and inventory projects.
More information about the final USEPA LCRI rule, including a pre-publication version of the Federal Register Notice and fact sheets, can be found on USEPA’s website (available via this link).
Environment, Energy and Land Use Committee Discusses Recycling Programs
ISACo's Environment, Energy, and Land Use Committee held its monthly meeting on Thursday, October 24. The Committee heard from two guest speakers on recycling matters. More information about the meeting is available via this link.
ISACo's Environment, Energy, and Land Use Committee discusses and formulates ISACo policies about air, water, energy, and land use. In addition, the Committee serves as a forum for counties to share information and best practices about their activities within the policy area.
What We're Reading
How Emergency Agencies Can Manage a Storm of Misinformation (Governing)
As Cyber Threats Evolve, Cities and Counties Need to Safeguard Staffers’ Mobile Devices (American City and County)
State, Cook County Use Similar Arguments to Defend Assault Weapon Bans (Capitol News Illinois)
Upcoming NACo Webinars
NACo has announced the following upcoming webinar opportunities. ISACo is a proud partner with NACo and encourages counties to participate in NACo membership and activities.
New Contract for Counties: Heavy Rental Equipment through United Rentals, a NACo PPP Webinar
(Monday, October 28, 2024, 12:00pm-1:00pm CST)
Public Promise Procurement (PPP) is NACo's national purchasing cooperative. PPP provides immediate access to competitively bid public contracts, led by public agencies and evaluated by purchasing officials, to meet both everyday needs and complex requirements.
Lead Public Agency Maricopa County, Ariz., has a new and innovative rental solutions contract with United Rentals. Offering top-tier equipment and expertise, United Rentals helps public agencies get the job done. Agencies can rent, lease or purchase equipment from the world's largest rental company. Learn about the competitive procurement process and the United Rentals comprehensive contract in this webinar, led by Robert Namor, CPPB, Procurement Officer, Maricopa County, Ariz. and Brad Laws, Sr. Manager of Government Accounts, United Rentals. The webinar is available at two different times for your convenience.
Want access to all PPP-negotiated contracts? Register here for more information.
Click on this link to register for the webinar.
Achieving AI Success: Addressing Resistance and Embracing Efficiency
(Wednesday, October 30, 2024, 12:00pm-1:00pm CST)
Join Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and CAI for a webinar where we explore the critical success factors to implementing artificial intelligence (AI) and automation projects including overcoming fear surrounding AI and automation, managing organizational change, and embracing new ways of working.
While the purpose was to automate repetitive, time-consuming financial processes, OCTA found that putting people first and addressing their concerns head on was the best way forward. Partnering with CAI, they collaborated with business stakeholders to find an ideal approach that exceeded everyone’s expectations.
In this webinar, you'll explore best practices for overcoming common cultural challenges by effectively engaging key stakeholders before and during an AI implementation. And hear from OCTA leadership about the transformative impact of a Machine Learning Classification Model, which led to a remarkable 64% reduction in invoice processing time.
Key Takeaways
- Hear practical strategies for overcoming AI assumptions and apprehensions with leaders and staff to ensure a successful launch and adoption
- Discover how collaborative approval to use automation can boost employee morale and productivity
- Learn how AI and automation can be leveraged to eliminate complex manual processes
- Consider how to plan for future automation projects to continuously enhance operational efficiency
Click on this link to register for the webinar.
Supreme Court Preview for Local Governments: 2024-2025 Term
(Thursday, October 31, 2024, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)
Hosted by the Local Government Legal Center (LGLC), join legal experts in a discussion of the new Supreme Court term and what decisions local governments should watch.
Click on this link to register for the webinar.
Maximizing Efficiency in County Finance
(Thursday, November 14, 2024, 1:00pm-2:00pm CST)
During this webinar NACo will discuss the benefits of digitizing accounts payable (AP) and expense management processes and demonstrate how technology and automation can help county finance leaders alleviate staffing challenges, increase efficiency, and ensure financial accuracy and compliance.
The goal of this webinar is to provide county finance leaders with actionable insights and practical guidance on how automation can benefit their departments, addressing both the challenges they face and the opportunities available through technology.
Click on this link to register for the webinar.
CORPORATE SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT
This week's corporate partner spotlight highlights ISACo's partnership with Illinois Public Reserves Investment Management Trust™ (IPRIME™), is an investment pool for Municipal Treasurers acting on behalf of counties, townships, cities, towns, villages, libraries, park districts, water supply districts, fire protection districts, sanitary districts, housing authorities and other subdivisions of the State of Illinois.
The IPRIME Investment Shares Series is rated AAAm by Standard & Poor’s.
The Investment Shares Series is comprised of money market instruments having a maximum remaining maturity of one year (except U.S. government obligations that may have remaining maturities of up to two years).
The primary objectives of the Investment Shares Series are to offer the highest possible investment yield, protect principal, preserve liquidity and maintain Standard & Poor’s highest local government investment pool rating of AAAm. In addition, the Fund offers access to PMA Financial Network, LLC’s Fixed Income and Deposit Programs. With the experience and expertise of PMA, the Investment Shares Series grants investors access to a powerful investment management team that functions with a high standard of vision, synergy, and quality.
Click here to visit their website.
Click on this link to learn more about the benefits and opportunities available through ISACo's Corporate Partner Program.
Become an ISACo Member!
Is your county a member of ISACo? If not, why not?
ISACo is a statewide association whose mission is to empower county officials to provide excellent service to their residents.
ISACo member counties are comprised of forward-thinking public servants who recognize that the challenges confronting county governments require new and innovative ideas, collaborative solutions and collective advocacy at the state and federal levels of government.
Members of the association will benefit from education and training opportunities, peer-to-peer networking, shared resources and robust representation before policymakers at various levels of government. ISACo creates and connects county officials to these opportunities and successfully equips them to make counties ideal places to live, work and play.
If your county is interested in discussing membership in ISACo, please contact Member Services and Communication Manager Tiffani Homer at (217) 679-3368 or thomer@isacoil.org. ISACo member counties are listed here. Thank you for your consideration.