By Larry Jones
September 11, 2006

Conference President Dearborn Mayor Michael A. Guido August 6 told delegates attending the annual meeting of the National Association of Counties in Chicago that when it comes to influencing legislation in Washington, “Our two organizations can be extremely effective by working together.” Guido summarized a number of key issues that the Conference would be focusing on in the coming year.

First, Guido pointed out that the Conference is focusing on defensive efforts to prevent further cuts in the Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG), to block preemptions in the telecommunications rewrite, and to prevent undue limits on local use of eminent domain. He explained that he was “… proud of the work we did together last year in preventing CDBG from being eliminated, and again this year in stopping further cuts.” The work seems to be paying off as Guido reminded delegates that the budget for next year includes a $200 million increase for CDBG. However, he urged everyone to remain vigilant, as the appropriations battles could go bad late in the process and the program could come under attack in the years ahead.

On the telecom rewrite, he pointed out that “… the bills under debate would preempt our taxing authority, restrict local cable franchising enforcement, and limit the benefits of competition to a few well-to-do neighborhoods – thus widening the digital divide.” He again called on local leaders to remain vigilant in voicing opposition to these restrictions.

Guido reminded delegates that the House approved a bill last year in response to the Supreme Court’s Kelo decision, which would impose severe limits on local use of eminent domain. He said the bill would “… greatly limit our ability to create jobs, eliminate blight and build affordable housing.” He questioned the need for federal legislation since 43 states have already introduced and in some cases acted on legislation in response to the Kelo decision.

County delegates were told, “We must do more than focus on defensive action. We need to push our national leaders to address key long-term issues.” Guido mentioned three critical areas: energy, crime and poverty. On energy he said, “We need a balanced national policy that considers supply, demand, energy efficiency and conservation.” He called on local leaders to take action immediately to reduce our nation’s dependency on oil by: reducing energy usage; purchasing new technologies for their automobile fleets; promoting green buildings; encouraging energy diversification; addressing climate change; and helping residents and local businesses weatherize their homes and business establishments.

On the issue of crime, Guido said, “America must pay more attention to the issue of public safety.” He explained that the spread of gangs to urban and suburban communities, growing prisoner reentry, drug abuse, and too many illegal guns on the streets are combining to cause a crime increase in many communities.

Finally, he said, “We must have an honest discussion about poverty, and be creative and aggressive in creating hope and opportunity for all Americans. “To be globally competitive, we must focus on education, health care, housing, skills-training, and transportation so that people have the opportunity to help themselves,” he added.