Florida Association of Counties
The Florida Association of Counties is a government sector lobbying associations in Florida. It is the Florida chapter of the National Association of Counties. It is a 501(c)(4) organization.[1]
The Florida Association of Counties is made up of all 67 Florida counties represented by 377 county commissioners. The association also includes appointed county officials including administrators/managers, attorneys and other professional county government personnel.[2]
Self-proclaimed mission: "The mission of the Association is to preserve and promote democratic principles by working to keep appropriate authority at the level of government closest to the people, and to increase the capacity of Florida counties to effectively serve and represent the citizens of the state through legislative action, education of public officials, and enhancement of public awareness about the role and functions of county government."[2]
The FAC serves as a consultant for counties, as well as represents "the concerns of Florida's county governments." It provides the services of a loan pool, an investment pool, a retirement savings plan, a money market fund, insurance services, purchasing services and a cost savings plan. In 1990 the FAC established a private, nonprofit corporation, the Florida Counties Foundation, to provide education, training, and technical assistance to appointed and elected county officials.[2]
Government sector lobbying
- See also: Florida government sector lobbying
The Florida Association of Counties has a registered lobbyist with the Florida Executive.[3]
Income and Expenses
| Year | Total Expenses | Total Income | Membership dues (included in Total Income) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006[1] | $3,991,215 | $4,371,827 | $1,772,175 |
| 2005[4] | $3,554,142 | $4,094,789 | $1,682,287 |
| 2004[5] | $3,387,671 | $3,682,913 | $1,609,625 |
Governance
The Executive Director conducts the daily business of the Association and hires the members of the FAC staff.[2]
A board of directors governs, sets policy for, and approves an annual budget for the FAC. The board of directors is composed of one county commissioner from each state senate district (forty in total), five executive officers, six county commissioners appointed at-large (no more than three of the six can be from counties with population of 75,000 or more), and the past presidents of the FAC. Other voting members of the board of directors include the chairpersons or designees of the Florida Counties Foundation, Florida Association of Counties Trust, Florida Local Government Investment Trust, Florida Local Government Finance Commission, if county commissioners.[2]
Executive officers that make up the Executive Committee: President, President-Elect, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, and the Immediate Past President. These officers conduct the association's business between board meetings (4 to 6 times a year). They are also responsible for recommending the hiring of an Executive Director for approval by the Board of Directors.[2]
FAC officers and directors
The following were 2008-2009 officers and commissioners for the 40 Florida districts.[6]
- President: Commissioner Rodney Long
- President-Elect: Commissioner Ilene Lieberman
- First Vice President: Commissioner Doug Smith
- Second Vice President: Vacant
| District | County | Commissioner |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Putnam County | Chip Laibl |
| 2 | Santa Rosa County | Bob Cole |
| 3 | Dixie County | Marvin Hunt |
| 4 | Santa Rosa County | Gordon Goodin |
| 5 | St. Johns County | Cyndi Stevenson |
| 6 | Franklin County | Cheryl Sanders |
| 7 | Marion County | Stan McClain |
| 8 | Volusia County | Joie Alexander |
| 9 | Seminole County | Brenda Carey |
| 10 | Polk County | Samuel Johnson |
| 11 | Citrus County | Gary Bartell |
| 12 | Hillsborough County | Ken Hagan |
| 13 | Pinellas County | Ken Welch |
| 14 | Alachua County | Lee Pinkoson |
| 15 | Polk County | Jean Reed |
| 16 | Pinellas County | John Morroni |
| 17 | Hardee County | Minor Bryant |
| 18 | Manatee County | Donna Hayes |
| 19 | Osceola County | Fred Hawkins, Jr. |
| 20 | Marion County | Barbara Fitos |
| 21 | DeSoto County | Ronald Neads |
| 22 | Orange County | Tiffany Russell |
| 23 | Sarasota County | Jon Thaxton |
| 24 | Seminole County | Michael J. Mclean |
| 25 | Palm Beach County | John "Jeff" Koons |
| 26 | St. Lucie County | Paula Lewis |
| 27 | Hendry County | Janet Taylor |
| 28 | Martin County | Patrick Hayes |
| 29 | Palm Beach County | Shelley Vana |
| 30 | Vacant | Vacant |
| 31 | Broward County | Stacy Ritter |
| 32 | Broward County | Josephus Eggelletion |
| 33 | Miami-Dade County | Sally Heyman |
| 34 | Broward County | Kristin Jacobs |
| 35 | Broward County | Sue Gunzburger |
| 36 | Miami-Dade County | Katy Sorenson |
| 37 | Collier County | Frank Halas |
| 38 | Miami-Dade County | Carlos Giminez |
| 39 | Monroe County | George Neugent |
| 40 | Miami-Dade County | Audrey Edmonson |
Conferences
Florida Association of Counties organizes an annual Legislative Day conference during the legislative session for county officials to attend a briefing on legislation important to counties and meet with state lawmakers.
Florida Association of Counties brings together its Legislative Policy Committees for its Policy Committee Conference to examine the Association's agenda for the next legislative session.
Florida Association of Counties membership and the Legislative Policy Committees meet at the Legislative Conference to finalize recommendations and adopt the Association’s legislative agenda for the upcoming legislative session.
Annual conference
The Florida Association of Counties' largest event of the year is their Annual Conference where more than 600 county officials attend educational workshops with a 100+ sponsors' booth exposition.
The 2009 Annual Conference was the 80th in FAC's history. It included the installation of Alachua County Commissioner, Rodney Long, as the 2009-2010 FAC President, the awarding of the Marlene Young Advocacy Award to Palm Beach County Commissioner, Karen Marcus, the awarding of ten commissioners with the Presidential Advocacy Award for contributing to the 2009 legislative session, the speeches of HUD Deputy Secretary, Ron Sims, and Former Executive Director of the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, Philip Mangano, the certification of 30 county commissioners who committed the time to complete the necessary courses to be declared as either a Certified County Commissioner (CCC) or Advanced County Commissioner (ACC), the awarding of the Legislative Leadership Award to Senator J.D. Alexander and a motivational speech by speaker and professional coach Michael Staver "on the importance of courage during tough times."[7]
Criticisms of the annual conference
Registration fees cost $325 per commissioner and rooms go for the reduced event rate of $149 per night. Extras, such as a golf outing for $99 and a sunset dinner cruise $50 can add to the cost.[8] Palm Beach County Administrator Bob Weisman estimated that the yearly Florida Association of Counties costs taxpayers $10,000.[9][10]
See also
- National Association of Counties members list
External links
- Florida Association of Counties official website
- National Association of Counties - Florida section (dead link)
- Florida Association of Counties Facebook fan page
- 2009 Final Legislative Report
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Form 990, Florida Association of Counties 2006
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 About FAC
- ↑ Florida Executive Branch Lobby List 2010
- ↑ Form 990, Florida Association of Counties 2005
- ↑ Form 990, Florida Association of Counties 2004
- ↑ 2008 FAC Officers and Directors
- ↑ FAC Annual Conference
- ↑ Sun Sentinel, "Budget Cuts Don't Kill Commissioners' Marco Island Trip," June 23, 2009
- ↑ Marco Eagle, "Florida’s 67 counties are keeping Collier green," June 25, 2009
- ↑ Palm Beach Post, "Commissioners' $10,000 trip to Marco Island needed to study homelessness, other issues," June 24, 2009
