Sorry, Newsweek -- Vallejo isn't dying
Published By Times Herald
Posted: 03/20/2011 01:01:40 AM PDT
Hey, Newsweek, we've got news for you: Vallejo isn't dying!
The magazine recently put Vallejo on its list of 10 dying U.S. cities. With that, the publication could put a hamper on the effort to restore the city to its glory prior to the closing of Mare Island Naval Shipyard.
Ever since Mare Island was closed the soothsayers have predicted Vallejo's death. It's been a rough 15-plus years, but Vallejo continues to overcome the obstacles confronting it.
Even in the midst of this region's most disastrous economic downturn, the city has battled its way through the past three years. And, don't forget, the soothsayers were calling Vallejo's death even during the good economic times of the first years of this century.
Say what you will -- Vallejo is still alive!
The closing of Mare Island was a hard blow. The city economy had revolved around the naval base. Many residents made their living at the base. Some were in their second or third generation as a family, going to the Mare Island every day.
Stability, good pay, good benefits, camaraderie, neighbors, friends and families all revolved around Mare Island.
When the closure came, it virtually devastated Vallejo.
There just weren't any jobs to replace the thousands who were highly skilled in nuclear submarine maintenance. Some moved to other naval bases in the east, but most of these workers were young. And again the loss of this youth working force hurt Vallejo.
Many took early retirement, and still live in Vallejo, enjoying a town they love.
Today, as Vallejo struggles with the same challenges that face every other California city, the last thing it needed to read in a national magazine was that it is dying.
If one just looks at the progress the community has made through these past few years it is apparent there are many good things happening.
Mare Island is staging a comeback. Long overdue, today it has promising new businesses and educational and research facilities.
Some of the city's major corporations, like Meyer Corporation, have maintained their presence in the city. While retail sales are hurting throughout Northern California, Vallejo continues to roll along and now it is looking forward to increased sales revenue through a rejuvenated auto industry and new major retail outlets like Lowe's.
At the same time the city has worked hard to continue services for the poor, housing for the elderly and good police and fire protection. All of these have been accomplished because of the dedicated efforts of management and elected officials, and the sacrifices of the city's government employees.
Vallejo still is the "home" for Northern California's blue collar workers, and several unions have remained and even expanded their efforts.
And, the schools still open, the Little Leagues still play ball in the spring, and many families enjoy the pleasures of being on the San Francisco Bay.
Not exactly a rosy picture -- but not a dying rose either.
Call Vallejo and its residents resilient. Call them tough. Call them long-timers who won't give up on their community.
Councilman Michael Wilson said Vallejo is "reinventing" itself. And, that's one of the best ways to characterize the community.
There is just too much good about Vallejo and its location to believe its days are numbered.
Let's hope Newsweek hasn't carved a tombstone for Vallejo. Vallejo doesn't need it. The magazine might keep it for themselves and consider reinventing news magazines -- based on the reports regarding weekly news magazines and their losses in revenues.
Michael Ammann
President
Solano Economic Development Corporation
Monday, March 21, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Solano County, Vallejo begin public input on growth plan - Vallejo Times Herald
Solano County, Vallejo begin public input on growth plan - Vallejo Times Herald
Solano County, Vallejo begin public input on growth plan
Posted: 03/12/2011 01:02:38 AM PST
To kick off a two-year conversation about how and where the Bay Area should grow, two agencies have released a long-range vision plan, and also plan to take it on the road.
The Initial Vision Scenario for the Sustainable Communities Strategy, mandated by state law, requires the Bay Area and other state metro areas to develop plans on ways to grow without adding to pollution and traffic.
Solano County and downtown Vallejo are two Bay Area priority growth areas in the document.
The county is slated to take on a fair portion of the Bay Area's growth over the next 20 years, Association of Bay Area Government Planning Director Ken Kirkey said.
Vallejo, Benicia and other Solano cities are also shown as growth hot spots -- areas that can accommodate growth without adding to sprawl.
"These are areas that are served by transit and where people can walk and bike and get around and drive less," Kirkey said.
Finding areas to promote development in and around cities is a key component of the plan, Metropolitan Transportation Commission spokesman Steve Goodwin said.
Some 97 percent of the Bay Area's growth over the next 25 years is projected for areas that are already urbanized, Goodwin said.
Between 2010 and 2035, agencies project Solano County to gain 39,600 more households -- a nearly one-third increase over present numbers, Goodwin said.
The Bay Area overall is expected to add nearly 2 million more residents, bringing its population to 9.4
Contact staff writer Sarah Rohrs at srohrs@timesheraldonline.com or (707) 553-6832.
Unemployed in area finding road blocks at many turns - Vallejo Times Herald
Unemployed in area finding road blocks at many turns - Vallejo Times Herald
Unemployed in area finding road blocks at many turns
Posted: 03/13/2011 01:03:29 AM PST
Vallejo resident Barbara Wishom is doing everything she can to land a job. She has a Facebook account for networking, she attends career fairs and workshops, and she took two temporary jobs hoping it would help her land a permanent one.
Wishom said she worked at Washington Mutual in the residential home mortgages lending department for 14 years before she was laid off in 2008.
"I was embarrassed to tell people at first," Wishom recalled about losing her job.
She is not alone. Just like nearly 10,000 other Vallejoans, Wishom is still without a job despite all her efforts.
"It's a much different world now," said Robert Bloom, president of the Workforce Investment Board of Solano County.
Bloom oversees two centers of the federally funded Solano Employment Center -- in Fairfield and Vallejo -- and has noticed a significant increase in the number of clients the centers serve.
"We are inundated with people, and the workshops are overflowing," Bloom said.
That's largely due to the fact that unemployment rates have more than doubled in the past four years. Government figures show that in Solano County, the jobless numbers have climbed to 12.4 percent of the work force. The hardest hit has been Vallejo, with 15.1 percent unemployment, but the number of jobless in all seven cities has more than doubled in all cities.. .
Napa-Solano industrial: Year-end activity bodes well for the rest of the year – North Bay Business Journal - North San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma, Marin, Napa counties - Archive
Napa-Solano industrial: Year-end activity bodes well for the rest of the year – North Bay Business Journal - North San Francisco Bay Area, Sonoma, Marin, Napa counties - Archive
March 14th, 2011 04:30am
Napa-Solano industrial: Year-end activity bodes well for the rest of the year
By Glen Dowling, Matt Bracco and Chris Neeb, Cushman & Wakefield
Chris Neeb
Matt Bracco
Glen Dowling
Industrial markets in Napa and Solano counties overall continued to be sluggish throughout 2010 because of poor economic conditions.
While several significant lease transactions were completed during the year, a number of large new vacancies nullified any real traction. That said, tenant tour activity did increase toward year-end, which will hopefully result in a good start to leasing activity in 2011.
Another positive sign was the reemergence of investment sales as several leased investment transactions closed, primarily in the fourth quarter.
Year-end 2010 overall vacancy rate for industrial space in Napa and Solano counties was 13 percent, up slightly from 12.2 percent at the end of the fourth quarter in 2009.
Napa County had 8.5 percent of 955,000 square feet of industrial space available at the end of 2010, compared with 7.8 percent vacancy a year before.
Of 3.91 million square feet in Solano, 15 percent was available in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with 14.3 percent at the end of 2009.
The rise in Napa County’s vacancy came from 364,000 square feet of Constellation Brands warehouse space available for sublease in the fourth quarter at 80 Technology Court in south Napa. Constellation relocated certain distribution to Lodi, where triple-net rents are in the range of mid-20 cent a square foot for similar space.
As demand from consumers for lower- to mid-priced wines continues, a number of wineries with brands serving that segment posted strong sales and growth last year. Trinchero Family Wines, which makes Sutter Home, expanded by 164,000 square feet in south Napa, while premium-tier wine programs for Diageo Chateau & Estate Wines pulled back from 150,000 square feet south of Sonoma and Constellation from south Napa.
Solano County had its share of new vacancies. Downsizing and consolidation as a result of new technology helped put 450,000 square feet back on the market. Applied Materials vacated its 100,000-square-foot manufacturing plant at 2700 Maxwell Way in Fairfield as part of closing optical-coating operations on a national basis.
Vallejo-based Meyer Corp. vacated more than 320,000 square feet of leased facilities and one of their owned facilities. A newly constructed 166,000-square-foot warehouse in Fairfield has the equivalent storage of about 700,000 square feet because of its 100-foot height and automated racking systems.
Tom Duffy Co. also vacated a 127,000-square-foot warehouse at 5200 Watt Court in Fairfield in January 2010, consolidating in the Central Valley.
There were several notable Napa County Airport area leases in 2010. Trinchero’s expanded cased wine storage to 37 Executive Way. Zephyr Express relocated cased wine storage operations from American Canyon to 101,200 square feet at 770 Skyway Court. Anu Wines leased 62,000 square feet of conditioned space at 626 California Blvd. Biagi Bros. leased 50,000 square feet at 80 Technology Court.
In Solano County, Harbinger Fitness relocated from Napa to 37,000 square feet at 801 Chadbourne Road in Fairfield. Metropolitan Moving & Storage leased 40,000 square feet of overflow space at 451 Industrial Way in Benicia. PODS Enterprises leased 36,000 square feet at 5000 Park Road for a Benicia storage container rental location. Diablo Valley Packaging leased 52,000 square feet of overflow storage at 2701 Maxwell Way in Fairfield. Cable Com leased 45,000 square feet at 845 Chadbourne Road in Fairfield.
Significant leased investment sales since early 2010 were in south Napa. The Wahl Family Trust in April 2010 purchased the Napa Crossroads 314,000-square-foot fully leased two-building warehouse project at 21 and 37 Executive Way. Lowenberg Corp. bought 770 Skyway Court, leased to Zephyr, in December 2010 from Carlsen Ventures. Westcore-AG Napa LP, backed by hedge fund Angelo, Gordon & Co., purchased 257,000-square-foot, eight-building Napa Airport Centre in early 2011.
The only notable land sale was E&P Properties, affiliated with Metropolitan, purchased 6.2 acres in Napa Valley Gateway Business Park. E&P is pursuing entitlements to build a 107,000-square-foot warehouse, 70,000 square feet of which Metropolitan would occupy.
Tenant tour activity increased in the fourth quarter, but it remains to be seen if this will result in increased transactions in 2011. We expect continued downward pressure on rental rates because of the significant amount of inventory available in both the Napa and Solano markets, compounded by a lack of tangible demand.
Investment sale activity should continue for quality buildings with good-credit tenants and substantial remaining lease terms. Little, if any, speculative industrial product is expected to be completed in 2011.
Solano County leaders to stress agency's value - The Reporter
Solano County leaders to stress agency's value - The Reporter
Solano County leaders to stress agency's value
BY REPORTER STAFF/
Posted: 03/14/2011 01:03:58 AM PDT
California legislators have been invited to attend Solano Economic Development Corporation membership networking event on March 30 to "learn how redevelopment projects have benefited the Solano economy," say organizers.
The invitation is the latest effort by local civic and business leaders to gain legislative support for keeping redevelopment agencies intact.
Speakers "will demonstrate how redevelopment funding has created economic opportunities through Solano County -- from the Suisun waterfront to the Vacaville downtown redevelopment, and in Vallejo, Fairfield, Dixon and Rio Vista," a press release announcing the event states.
"The governor has proposed in his budget that redevelopment funding be eliminated. I cannot stress too strongly just how devastating that would be to California and our Solano communities - especially right now with 12 percent unemployment," said Michael Ammann, president of Solano EDC.
Speakers at the meeting will include representatives from local cities in Solano County who will discuss the impact redevelopment projects have had on the economy including new business investment, increased job opportunities and construction of low income housing. They also will address how the funding elimination will hurt the cities in the coming months and years as economic development and housing staff will be reduced or eliminated, EDC organizers said.
The key speaker of the program will be Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area
Council, an organization of private business firms and executives. The Bay Area Council has endorsed Gov. Brown's proposed budget -- a move that would eliminate most of the state's economic development programs and realign and push many state programs down to county and city agencies. However, the Bay Area Council has called for reform of redevelopment agencies and not their elimination.
"California's budgets of the recent past have violated every principle of fiscal responsibility by conjuring up billions of dollars in fake revenues and pushing hard decisions off to 'next year,'" said Wunderman. "We don't like everything in this proposal. Our members don't like the higher taxes, which run counter to expanding business and jobs in the state. But on balance, we need to be part of the solution and we support the governor's proposal overall."
A recent letter signed by local mayors and two members of the Board of Supervisors urged Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Solano, to support the agencies. Wolk has said she supports Brown's proposal to do away with the agencies but has introduced legislation to allow formation of Infrastructure Financing Districts, which would absorb many of the functions of the current redevelopment agencies, only without being allowed to divert school district property taxes.
Still, Ammann said the current redevelopment structure is working and is "desperately needed" to provide opportunities for jobs and investment capital.
"This is critical legislation and our representatives need to know more about the history of redevelopment funding and what it has meant to Solano County residents," Ammann said. "It just doesn't make any sense to eliminate one of our state's more successful programs."
The meeting is one of EDC's monthly breakfast meetings to provide a forum to discuss critical issues and challenges. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield. Cost is $25 for Solano EDC members, $35 for non-members. Call 864-1855 for reservations or e-mail pat@solanoedc.org. This meeting is sponsored by NorthBay Healthcare and First Northern Bank.
Solano County leaders to stress agency's value
BY REPORTER STAFF/
Posted: 03/14/2011 01:03:58 AM PDT
California legislators have been invited to attend Solano Economic Development Corporation membership networking event on March 30 to "learn how redevelopment projects have benefited the Solano economy," say organizers.
The invitation is the latest effort by local civic and business leaders to gain legislative support for keeping redevelopment agencies intact.
Speakers "will demonstrate how redevelopment funding has created economic opportunities through Solano County -- from the Suisun waterfront to the Vacaville downtown redevelopment, and in Vallejo, Fairfield, Dixon and Rio Vista," a press release announcing the event states.
"The governor has proposed in his budget that redevelopment funding be eliminated. I cannot stress too strongly just how devastating that would be to California and our Solano communities - especially right now with 12 percent unemployment," said Michael Ammann, president of Solano EDC.
Speakers at the meeting will include representatives from local cities in Solano County who will discuss the impact redevelopment projects have had on the economy including new business investment, increased job opportunities and construction of low income housing. They also will address how the funding elimination will hurt the cities in the coming months and years as economic development and housing staff will be reduced or eliminated, EDC organizers said.
The key speaker of the program will be Jim Wunderman, president and CEO of the Bay Area
Council, an organization of private business firms and executives. The Bay Area Council has endorsed Gov. Brown's proposed budget -- a move that would eliminate most of the state's economic development programs and realign and push many state programs down to county and city agencies. However, the Bay Area Council has called for reform of redevelopment agencies and not their elimination.
"California's budgets of the recent past have violated every principle of fiscal responsibility by conjuring up billions of dollars in fake revenues and pushing hard decisions off to 'next year,'" said Wunderman. "We don't like everything in this proposal. Our members don't like the higher taxes, which run counter to expanding business and jobs in the state. But on balance, we need to be part of the solution and we support the governor's proposal overall."
A recent letter signed by local mayors and two members of the Board of Supervisors urged Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Solano, to support the agencies. Wolk has said she supports Brown's proposal to do away with the agencies but has introduced legislation to allow formation of Infrastructure Financing Districts, which would absorb many of the functions of the current redevelopment agencies, only without being allowed to divert school district property taxes.
Still, Ammann said the current redevelopment structure is working and is "desperately needed" to provide opportunities for jobs and investment capital.
"This is critical legislation and our representatives need to know more about the history of redevelopment funding and what it has meant to Solano County residents," Ammann said. "It just doesn't make any sense to eliminate one of our state's more successful programs."
The meeting is one of EDC's monthly breakfast meetings to provide a forum to discuss critical issues and challenges. Registration starts at 7:30 a.m. at the Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfield. Cost is $25 for Solano EDC members, $35 for non-members. Call 864-1855 for reservations or e-mail pat@solanoedc.org. This meeting is sponsored by NorthBay Healthcare and First Northern Bank.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Solano County grows by 4.8% - The Reporter
Solano County grows by 4.8% - The Reporter
Solano County grows by 4.8%
BY ROBIN MILLER / THE REPORTER
Posted: 03/09/2011 01:04:59 AM PST
Vacaville's population grew 4.3% in the last 10 years - among the slowest rate in Solano. (RICK ROACH / THE REPORTER)
Solano County showed a modest but slow rate of growth during the past decade -- most of it in the smallest local communities, according to 2010 U.S. Census data released Tuesday.
Overall, Solano County saw its population grow to 413,344 people, a growth rate of 4.8 percent since the 2000 census. Tiny Rio Vista again showed the largest percentage growth -- a 61 percent increase, bringing its population to 7,360 as of April 1, 2010. Vallejo, while still the county's largest city, saw its population decline by 818 people to 115,942. It ranked 49th out of the 480 cities counted.
Fairfield's population finally topped the 100,000 mark, standing at 105,321 as of the 2010 count. It ranked 60th out of all the incorporated cities tallied.
Vacaville's growth rate was one of the slower rates among local cities at 4.3 percent. The local population now stands at 92,428 people, ranking it 76th out of the 480 cities counted.
Vacaville's slower growth rate didn't surprise City Manager Laura Kuhn.
"People might have thought our growth rate was more but what's happening in Vacaville is a lot of new construction along the freeways," she said, noting several interchange revamps, the new Kaiser Hospital, and Nut Tree redevelopment that have taken place in the past decade. "That gives the impression that we're growing faster but all that construction does not necessarily mean more housing" and people, she said.
Still a modest growth rate is important for a
ADVERTISEMENT
city, Kuhn said.
"If you ask the school district, they will say they want more because more families moving in means more students and ADA (average daily attendance funding)," she said. "From an economic development standpoint some rate of growth is good for the economy because those people moving in are shopping locally and creating customer base."
Fairfield Associate Planner Brian Miller agreed.
"I would call it (Fairfield's 9.5 percent growth) a moderate rate," he said. "New employers and merchants certainly look at census overall population numbers and rates as well as income figures and other numbers in deciding whether to locate in a city. So as we grow over time, there are businesses that will look at us now who might not have when we were at 50,000 population."
Not all of the homes built in the boom years of the 1990s, however, are still translating into population, according to the census figures released Tuesday.
Among the numbers released were housing vacancy figures and the impact of the housing crisis can be clearly seen in Solano County's figures.
Overall the county had some 134,513 housing units in the 2000 census, with just 4,110 listed as vacant, a rate of 3.1 percent. By 2010, the county had 152,698 housing units of which 10,940 were listed as vacant, a rate of 7.2 percent. Overall, the number of vacant homes increased 166 percent during the decade.
Rio Vista, with the highest population rate increase, also shows the highest percent of home vacancies in the county at 11.2 percent, followed by Vallejo where 8.7 percent of the housing units were vacant as of 2010, and Fairfield, where 7.3 percent were vacant.
In the city of Dixon, the population growth of 14 percent during the past decade had City Manager Nancy Huston smiling Tuesday, but not the housing vacancy of 5.1 percent (the city saw the number of vacant homes grow from 99 in 2000 to 316 in 2010).
"We are happy with the growth because a lot of the funding from the state -- to the extent that cities still get funding from the state -- is based on population," she noted.
The vacancy rates, she said are a result of the economy and something cities across the state are having to deal with. "And I think the numbers may be down further since the census count last year," she added.
Solano County grows by 4.8%
BY ROBIN MILLER / THE REPORTER
Posted: 03/09/2011 01:04:59 AM PST
Vacaville's population grew 4.3% in the last 10 years - among the slowest rate in Solano. (RICK ROACH / THE REPORTER)
Solano County showed a modest but slow rate of growth during the past decade -- most of it in the smallest local communities, according to 2010 U.S. Census data released Tuesday.
Overall, Solano County saw its population grow to 413,344 people, a growth rate of 4.8 percent since the 2000 census. Tiny Rio Vista again showed the largest percentage growth -- a 61 percent increase, bringing its population to 7,360 as of April 1, 2010. Vallejo, while still the county's largest city, saw its population decline by 818 people to 115,942. It ranked 49th out of the 480 cities counted.
Fairfield's population finally topped the 100,000 mark, standing at 105,321 as of the 2010 count. It ranked 60th out of all the incorporated cities tallied.
Vacaville's growth rate was one of the slower rates among local cities at 4.3 percent. The local population now stands at 92,428 people, ranking it 76th out of the 480 cities counted.
Vacaville's slower growth rate didn't surprise City Manager Laura Kuhn.
"People might have thought our growth rate was more but what's happening in Vacaville is a lot of new construction along the freeways," she said, noting several interchange revamps, the new Kaiser Hospital, and Nut Tree redevelopment that have taken place in the past decade. "That gives the impression that we're growing faster but all that construction does not necessarily mean more housing" and people, she said.
Still a modest growth rate is important for a
ADVERTISEMENT
city, Kuhn said.
"If you ask the school district, they will say they want more because more families moving in means more students and ADA (average daily attendance funding)," she said. "From an economic development standpoint some rate of growth is good for the economy because those people moving in are shopping locally and creating customer base."
Fairfield Associate Planner Brian Miller agreed.
"I would call it (Fairfield's 9.5 percent growth) a moderate rate," he said. "New employers and merchants certainly look at census overall population numbers and rates as well as income figures and other numbers in deciding whether to locate in a city. So as we grow over time, there are businesses that will look at us now who might not have when we were at 50,000 population."
Not all of the homes built in the boom years of the 1990s, however, are still translating into population, according to the census figures released Tuesday.
Among the numbers released were housing vacancy figures and the impact of the housing crisis can be clearly seen in Solano County's figures.
Overall the county had some 134,513 housing units in the 2000 census, with just 4,110 listed as vacant, a rate of 3.1 percent. By 2010, the county had 152,698 housing units of which 10,940 were listed as vacant, a rate of 7.2 percent. Overall, the number of vacant homes increased 166 percent during the decade.
Rio Vista, with the highest population rate increase, also shows the highest percent of home vacancies in the county at 11.2 percent, followed by Vallejo where 8.7 percent of the housing units were vacant as of 2010, and Fairfield, where 7.3 percent were vacant.
In the city of Dixon, the population growth of 14 percent during the past decade had City Manager Nancy Huston smiling Tuesday, but not the housing vacancy of 5.1 percent (the city saw the number of vacant homes grow from 99 in 2000 to 316 in 2010).
"We are happy with the growth because a lot of the funding from the state -- to the extent that cities still get funding from the state -- is based on population," she noted.
The vacancy rates, she said are a result of the economy and something cities across the state are having to deal with. "And I think the numbers may be down further since the census count last year," she added.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Solano County leaders attending legislative conference in Washington, DC
Solano County - News Details
County leaders attending legislative conference in Washington, DC
March 7, 2011
The Solano County Board of Supervisors and two staff members are in Washington, DC this week attending the National Association of Counties (NACo) Legislative Conference.
Board Chairman Mike Reagan and Supervisor Linda Seifert arrived last week. They are joined by County Administrator Mike Johnson and the County's Health and Social Services' Director Patrick Duterte.
The legislative conference is an annual event that draws thousands of county leaders from across the country. During the five-day conference, county officials will have the opportunity to help develop and advance NACo’s 2011 legislative agenda. The will also meet with Obama administration officials and members of Congress, and hear from prominent national leaders and commentators.
"The policies coming out of the federal government have a direct impact on county programs and services. By working collaboratively with other county leaders, we can help shape that policy to benefit local communities," Reagan said.
NACo’s 11 steering committees will meet during the conference to review and make recommendations on issues and legislation important to counties and communities. Participants will also tackle critical issues including how to increase government transparency, improve government efficiency through technology, and expand interagency collaboration to enhance service delivery.
Reagan, who sits on NACo’s community and economic development steering committee, will spend much of his time in policy discussions and meetings on job creation and the role of county governments in the nation’s economic recovery.
Seifert, a member of the NACo’s justice and public safety steering committee, will focus on county governments’ role in homeland security, emergency preparedness and vital public safety services.
Duterte, a member of NACo’s Health Services Committee and chair of the Health Disparities Subcommittee, will be discussing health care policy and social services. Duterte will also be presenting a resolution on behalf of the Solano County Board of Supervisors, urging NACo to support the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which was introduced by President Obama last year. The initiative would provide loan and grant financing to attract grocery stores and other fresh food retailers to underserved areas to expand healthy food options, reduce childhood obesity, and improve the health of families and children.
"Our representation plays a significant role in shaping the priorities of this national organization, which the federal administration uses to understand local issues," Seifert said.
The policy development process initiated by the steering committees leads to the publication of the American County Platform, which NACo uses as a guide to deliver the county government message to the administration, Congress and the American public.
County leaders attending legislative conference in Washington, DC
March 7, 2011
The Solano County Board of Supervisors and two staff members are in Washington, DC this week attending the National Association of Counties (NACo) Legislative Conference.
Board Chairman Mike Reagan and Supervisor Linda Seifert arrived last week. They are joined by County Administrator Mike Johnson and the County's Health and Social Services' Director Patrick Duterte.
The legislative conference is an annual event that draws thousands of county leaders from across the country. During the five-day conference, county officials will have the opportunity to help develop and advance NACo’s 2011 legislative agenda. The will also meet with Obama administration officials and members of Congress, and hear from prominent national leaders and commentators.
"The policies coming out of the federal government have a direct impact on county programs and services. By working collaboratively with other county leaders, we can help shape that policy to benefit local communities," Reagan said.
NACo’s 11 steering committees will meet during the conference to review and make recommendations on issues and legislation important to counties and communities. Participants will also tackle critical issues including how to increase government transparency, improve government efficiency through technology, and expand interagency collaboration to enhance service delivery.
Reagan, who sits on NACo’s community and economic development steering committee, will spend much of his time in policy discussions and meetings on job creation and the role of county governments in the nation’s economic recovery.
Seifert, a member of the NACo’s justice and public safety steering committee, will focus on county governments’ role in homeland security, emergency preparedness and vital public safety services.
Duterte, a member of NACo’s Health Services Committee and chair of the Health Disparities Subcommittee, will be discussing health care policy and social services. Duterte will also be presenting a resolution on behalf of the Solano County Board of Supervisors, urging NACo to support the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which was introduced by President Obama last year. The initiative would provide loan and grant financing to attract grocery stores and other fresh food retailers to underserved areas to expand healthy food options, reduce childhood obesity, and improve the health of families and children.
"Our representation plays a significant role in shaping the priorities of this national organization, which the federal administration uses to understand local issues," Seifert said.
The policy development process initiated by the steering committees leads to the publication of the American County Platform, which NACo uses as a guide to deliver the county government message to the administration, Congress and the American public.
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