After months of effort from many parties across the State, the ACCG – Interlocal Risk Management Agency (ACCG-IRMA) Firefighters’ Cancer Benefit Program was successfully launched on January 1, 2018. One hundred nine (109) Georgia counties elected to become charter members of the program. This is the large majority of the county-operated fire departments, since some counties utilize non-profit organizations for fire protection.

This was an excellent start for this new program, which was designed to help Georgia counties satisfy the new requirements of House Bill 146 (2017). Essentially, Georgia law now requires that firefighters who have served 12 consecutive months with their respective legally organized fire departments are eligible for certain cancer benefits, consisting of Lump Sum/Critical Illness coverage and Long-Term Disability (Income Replacement). The cancer diagnosis must occur on or after January 1, 2018.

The ACCG-IRMA Board of Trustees, with the support of Chairman John Daniell, authorized the creation of a program in July of 2017 to assist Georgia counties in obtaining the newly required coverages. Georgia county leaders, the Georgia State Firefighters Association, the Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs and others were involved in communicating their expertise and viewpoints. The Georgia Department of Insurance and Georgia Firefighters Standards & Training Council were helpful as well, providing knowledge and assistance in their respective areas. In addition, the ACCG-IRMA Administrator, Willis Towers Watson, and The Hartford, the carrier that provides the underlying coverages, were invaluable to the successful start of the Firefighters’ Cancer Benefit Program. Most importantly, this program would not have gotten off the ground without the assistance of the Georgia county boards of commissioners, their staff and the county fire departments. They provided the required firefighter census data necessary to develop proposals and executed the enrollment documents upon electing to join the program.

According to ACCG Insurance Programs Deputy Director Ashley Abercrombie, "The large amount of participation by Georgia counties enabled us to negotiate the required coverages at competitive rates with The Hartford. Plus, rates are guaranteed for the first three years of the program."

This state-wide effort allowed Georgia counties to work together to create a program that will aid firefighters in the event they contract cancer. Due to collaborative efforts, these newly required coverages are being provided at an affordable price through the ACCG-IRMA Firefighters’ Cancer Benefit Program.

For more information, click here.

 

 

Below are the classes and dates being offered by LGRMS throughout the year, click the title of the training program for an in-depth overview.

General Liability: Managing Your Public Liability Risks 
February 22 - March 26

Personnel Liabilty
February 22 - March 26

Safety Coordinator Modules 1-3
Module 1: February 21- TBA
Module 2: April 3- TBA
Module 3: April 10- April 11

Health Promotion Leader III
March 21- March 29

 

ACCG welcomes spring semester policy and research interns Ekeoma Nwakanma and Jarrett Faber. The interns will assist the policy and research staff with special projects, legislative research, and tracking legislation before the General Assembly.

Ekeoma Nwakanma graduated from the University of Georgia with a Master’s in Public Administration in December, 2017. Prior to completing her graduate degree, Nwakanma received dual, bachelor’s degrees from the University of West Georgia in Political Science and Economics, a concentration in Pre-Law and International Business, and a minor in Theatre. She also participated in study abroad programs in China and South Korea. In addition to her studies, Nwakanma worked for former state senator, Vincent Fort, the NACCP Georgia chapter, and UGA Campus transit. She has also participated in many associations such as the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), Georgia Student for Public Administration (GSPA), and the Graduate and Professional Scholars (GAPS).

Nwakanma has received numerous honors including the Institute of African American Certificate of Recognition, Who’s Who Among University Students, Outstanding Georgian Award, W. Glenn Moore Scholarship, Jud Whatley Scholarship, and inductions to Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society and Omicron Delta Epsilon International Honor Society in Economics. In her spare time, she enjoys acting, singing, painting, studying Spanish, Korean, and Igbo, and tutoring her cousins and younger siblings.

Jarrett Faber initially interned with ACCG during the fall semester and was retained to work through the spring semester. Faber graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in Public Policy and Philosophy in December, 2017. He plans on attending law school in the fall and is currently awaiting admission decisions and determining where he wants to attend. Although Faber has lived in Atlanta for the past three years, he is a Paulding County native. In his free time he enjoys running, cooking, and reading.

Over the course of their internships with ACCG, Nwakanma and Faber will assist the policy and research departments by tracking general legislation and the introduction of local legislation, attending committee meetings, surveying counties, conducting research relative to legislative issues, and reporting on floor action for both chambers of the General Assembly. Research projects this semester include compiling constitutional officer salary information, analyzing how counties collect garbage fees, updating TAVT, homestead exemption, and sales tax data, preparing election tracking information, and other special projects as assigned.

 

 

Coastal College of Georgia student, Erin Broomell, completes internship with Glynn County’s GIS Department

Interdisciplinary Studies major, Erin Broomell, had the opportunity to complete an internship with Glynn County’s GIS Department, an opportunity that provided some necessary experience for her future career involving GIS and technical writing.

Throughout her internship, Broomell was trained on the intricacies of GIS, GPS, mapping technologies, and other ESRI software and online applications, which culminated in a project involving the mapping of Glynn County’s historical cemeteries. Broomell also assisted in the development of emergency management applications to help train county employees. Finally, Broomell had the opportunity to work on other miscellaneous projects including drone piloting and the collection of GIS data on beach erosion.

For her main project, Broomell was tasked with the completion of a StoryMap for Glynn County’s historic cemeteries. As Broomell puts it, the purpose of the application is to enable "anyone with an internet connection to tour the [historic] cemeteries and search for those laid to rest ... by name, birth date, or death date". The utility of this project is great, as the application can be used to help those completing genealogical research. Additionally, the project can be used to preserve historical information from destruction at the hands of vandalism, erosion, or natural disasters.

Along the way, Broomell faced challenges in gaining access to certain endangered cemeteries for which permission was required. Several of these cemeteries were in disrepair and would have benefitted the most from the preservation efforts being performed as part of the project. However, she did not let these challenges stand in her way and the quality of the end project did not suffer as a result. Broomwell also noted that she wished she had more time to spend on the project in that more time would have allowed her to gain more experience in this field.

When asked about the skills she gained through her internship, Broomwell noted the experience she gained using ESRI applications including ArcMap, ArcCatalog, and ArcGIS Online and in learning how to use geo-location data collection equipment. She also gained skills through additional research experience, drone piloting, and map making. All of these experiences will benefit her as she pursues a career in technical writing and broaden her career options to include positions in GIS.

To view Broomell’s final project, you can visit the following link: http://glynn.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=04e427c91cba4661b0b7f88a29cacf5c.

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

 

 

Submissions are now being accepted for the 2018 Georgia Technology Innovation Showcase. For the seventh consecutive year, the Georgia Technology Authority is sponsoring the showcase to recognize government agencies at all levels for their innovative use of technology and to serve as a forum for sharing ideas, experiences, and lessons learned.

The deadline for submissions is March 9, 2018.

GTA is looking for projects in the following 10 categories that were completed by December 31, 2017:

• Cross-boundary Collaboration and Partnerships
• Cybersecurity
• Digital Government – Government to Business
• Digital Government – Government to Citizen
• Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
• Emerging and Innovative Technologies
• Enterprise IT Management Initiatives
• Improving State or Local Government Operations
• Information Communications Technology Innovations
• Open Government and Data, Information, and Knowledge Management

Agencies may submit as many projects in as many categories as they would like. Before deciding on a category for a project, anyone submitting a project may want to read the category descriptions at www.gta.georgia.gov/category-descriptions.

The online submission form at https://gta.georgia.gov/webform/2018-technology-innovation-showcase-submission-form asks for details about the project, including the level of innovation in addressing a specific business problem and the significance of the project to improving operating efficiency, saving money, and enhancing service delivery.

Projects selected for the 2018 showcase by the evaluation panel will be honored at the Georgia Digital Government Summit in Atlanta. In addition, showcase honorees will be included in the state of Georgia’s Annual State IT Report, and they will be considered for submission to the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) for its 2018 State IT Recognition Awards, the Technology Association of Georgia for its Excalibur Awards, and others.

Questions? Contact GTA at gtainfo@gta.ga.gov.