ACCG – Interlocal Risk Management Agency (ACCG-IRMA) is a non-profit, self-insured property and liability fund that has been available to Georgia counties and authorities since 1987. The Fund covers county buildings and vehicles throughout the state and responds to claims against member counties for personnel decisions, law enforcement operations, and claims for injuries caused by the county or which occur on county property.

Those counties that participate in the Fund will be receiving their renewal quotes in early June. ACCG-IRMA continues to be financially strong and offer services that are typically not available in the commercial market, such as a Human Resources Help Line and Crisis Management Services. However, due to increasing claim costs, the average member will see an increase of 5% for the 2017-18 policy year that begins on July 1.  Each member is rated individually, so a county with fewer than average losses will receive a smaller increase or, in some cases, a premium decrease.  Those counties with a large number of claims could see increases in excess of 5%. 

According to ACCG Director of Property & Casualty Insurance David Uhlman, "Premiums are based on a number of determining factors and may also increase or decrease with the exposures of the county.  The purchase of a building or the elimination of some automobiles within the county would affect premium.  Outsourcing a particular department could reduce liability exposures and lower liability premiums."

The ACCG Property & Liability Fund is a non-profit, member-owned pool so premium collected in previous years that is not needed to pay claims is returned to the membership in the form of a premium credit.  The ACCG-IRMA Board of Trustees voted to increase last year’s dividend of $2.75 million to $3 million for 2017-18.  Any county or authority that has participated in the Fund since June 30, 2008 will receive a portion of that dividend.  The dividend decreases the average member’s premium by 10.6%.

If you would like more information of the ACCG Property and Liability program, please contact Joe Dan Thompson at (404) 589-7862, or any member of the ACCG Insurance team. Additional information can be seen at www.accg.org/insurance.

 

ACCG welcomes summer semester policy and research interns Melanie Schultz and John Gunnells. The interns will assist the policy and research staff by surveying counties, compiling data, attending study committee meetings, and preparing research reports on county government issues.

Although born in Louisville, Kentucky, Melanie Schultz grew up in Kennesaw in Cobb County. She is currently pursuing her Masters of Public Administration at Kennesaw State University. Schultz earned a Bachelor of Science in Justice Studies and a Masters of Arts in Social Science, with a concentration in Criminology from Georgia Southern University. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, hiking, and watching movies with her husband and two year old daughter. After graduation, Schultz hopes to work in government conducting research, especially in the area of understanding and preventing or reacting to school violence.

John Gunnells is a native of Ila in Madison County. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in History and Political Science at Birmingham-Southern College, where he was a member of the men’s lacrosse team. Gunnells is currently pursuing his Masters of Public Administration, with a concentration in Policy Analysis and Evaluation, at Georgia State University. Prior to his internship with ACCG, he completed an internship with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget (OPB) as a Legislative Intern. Upon completing his degree, Gunnells hopes to have an active career in state and local government, and aspires to one day become the governor of Georgia.

While at ACCG, Schultz and Gunnells will help develop and analyze data collected from an aging survey, analyze and compile statistics on TAVT collections, research public safety service delivery issues, update SPLOST data, analyze and research salary information, compile federal resources, create an annual report for the Georgia Firefighter’s Association, attend legislative study committee meetings, and assist policy and research staff with special projects.

 

Lauren Kelly, an English major at the University of West Georgia, completed an internship working within the Office of Risk and Safety for Douglas County as part of the 2016 Summer Georgia County Internship Program. Kelly, throughout high school and two years of college, volunteered with Douglas County’s Explorer program which allowed her to gain experience with the Douglas County Sheriff’s Department. However, she was not as familiar with county government departments and went into her internship eager to expand her knowledge of county government.

Kelly’s main duties were editing and revising the Safety Manual. She organized chapters as well as set up the format for printing. Kelly also performed the editing and revision of several forms of the Office of Risk and Safety in addition to those of other departments. She found her favorite part of the internship to be editing the Safety Manual and working with the printer to help set the final product. Kelly also enjoyed communicating with other departments to determine what policies should be included in the manual.

Kelly expressed that her greatest success of the internship was seeing the final copy of the Safety Manual that she had a hand in creating which would assist county employees in staying safe at work. She also said completing the document helped her develop professionally as she plans to move into the editing and publishing field.

After completing her internship, Kelly noted she would absolutely consider a career in county government based on her time with the Office of Risk and Safety. She voiced that she learned much about her desired field and thought the entire experience was incredible.

For more information on the GCIP, please visit the ACCG Civic Affairs Foundation website at http://www.civicaffairs.org.

 

 

Left to right, Fulton County Intern- Yuming "Maggie" Zou, Meera Gorjola, and Marcus Gamble, Michele NeSmith, ACCG Research and Public Policy Director, and David Hankerson, ACCG Director of Civic and Intergovernmental Affairs.

Fulton County received grants for four internships as part of the 2017 Summer Georgia County Internship Program (GCIP). Two internships were awarded to the Department of Real Estate and Asset Management (DREAM) and two internships were awarded to the External Affairs Department. On May 30, 2017, Fulton County held a Meet and Greet for their interns where they received an official welcome by Fulton County staff, networked, heard overviews about various Fulton County departments, and learned about the value of internships. ACCG Director of Civic and Intergovernmental Affairs, David Hankerson and ACCG Research and Policy Development Director, Michele NeSmith, were asked to participate in the program by providing an overview of GCIP.

 During the program, the interns heard from County Manager, Dick Anderson; Special Manager to the Chairman for Community Engagement, Gloria Neal; Director of External Affairs, Jessica Corbitt; Grant Management Office for the Finance Department, Angela Ash; Deputy Human Resources Director, Stacey Jones; and Roy Estell (Program Manager), Tim Diamond (Real Estate Division), and Joe Davis (Asset Management Division) of the DREAM. Time was also dedicated in the program to allow the interns to introduce themselves to the attendees. Following the program, a staff lunch was provided where additional Fulton County staff were on hand to welcome the new interns.

This summer, Meera Gorjala and Marcus Gamble will be working with the External Affairs Department. Gorjala, who is currently attending the University of Southern California as an Environmental Studies and Policy, Planning, and Development major will be working with legislative staff to help monitor legislative issues for the county. Gamble, a Mass Communications major at Clark Atlanta University, will be working with communications staff on their TV programming and communications needs. Yuming "Maggie" Zou is an Integrated Facility and Property Management major at Georgia Tech. Zou will be working with DREAM on facilities management projects. A second intern will be joining her in the department in June.

Funding for the GCIP is made available through the ACCG Civic Affairs Foundation. For more information on the Foundation, visit our website at www.civicaffairs.org.

 

The Center for State and Local Finance at Georgia State University is once again hosting its popular leadership course. Next month "Governmental Leadership: Politics, Communication and Influence" will take place July 19-21 at the university's downtown campus.

This course helps participants develop tools needed to lead in the public sector, bolstering their ability to interact with elected officials and oversee employees. All levels of government, including schools district employees should attend. Participants will be sent limited advanced reading before the course.

Previous speakers included Ambassador Andrew Young, civil rights icon and former Atlanta mayor, and Meria Carstarphen, superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools.

Register or get more information at http://cslf.gsu.edu/training/leadership/. The deadline to register is July 5.

*Please note: This is not a course offering in the ACCG Lifelong Learning Academy, thus continuing education credit(s) received for completing this course is not applicable to Lifelong Learning Academy certification(s).