The Missouri Association of Counties announced the presidential appointments for the association’s six Policy Steering Committees, with the list including Audrain County Associate Commissioner …
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The Missouri Association of Counties announced the presidential appointments for the association’s six Policy Steering Committees, with the list including Audrain County Associate Commissioner Leslie Meyer as chair of the association’s Agriculture and Environment Committee.
This is Meyer’s second year serving as chair and fourth year as a member of the committee, a news release stated. Last year, Meyer said her committee was active in a variety of topics that affected the agriculture industry, but one topic stood out.
“I am extremely proud of the hard work and determination of the committee members to bring solar legislation to the floor of the Missouri house and senate for a vote,” she said in the release. “This issue affects all counties as the state does not have solid processes in place for counties when it comes to assessment of solar projects, the classification of the land as it’s no longer being used for agriculture, or even the setbacks put in place for these projects. Until that happens, it is up to each county to decide what is best and that is causing inconsistency for residents.”
Meyer said she hopes to build and expand upon the committee’s priorities for the new session. Last year’s priorities included water rights, landfill regulations, and minimizing the numbers of inspections for sewer systems in rural municipalities, the release stated.
“Obviously we want to keep those as priorities,” she said. “Each area in the state faces different issues and I look for that to expand our list as we have new members from new counties on the committee. Each member county has different viewpoints and issues than the next. That’s the beauty of MAC.”
MAC President Gary Jungermann, who serves as presiding commissioner for Callaway County, appointed 64 members to one of the six steering committees. Jungermann named the following members as the chairs for the steering committees:
Jungermann also named a subcommittee of the Intergovernmental Affairs, Finance, Tax Issues and Pensions Committee to focus on issues dealing with elections, county budgets and human resources. The Elections, Budget and HR Subcommittee will be chaired by Diane Thompson, Johnson County Clerk. Charlie Davis, Jasper County Clerk, will serve as the vice chair of that subcommittee.
The steering committees are scheduled to meet for in-person meetings on Tuesday, Aug. 12 at Camden on the Lake Resort in Lake Ozark, Mo. After that initial meeting, they will devote the next few months to developing priorities, which the MAC member body will vote to approve at the November convention. From there, the committee will visit legislative members in Jefferson City to help move those priorities forward in the Missouri House and Senate.
Chairs of each steering committee will serve on the MAC Board of Directors and be part of the Legislative Committee for the term. Committee chairs will be called upon to update the MAC Legislative Committee and the Board of Directors on any progress the committee is making during the active term at regular board meetings and during Legislative Committee meetings or video conference calls.
Founded in 1972, MAC is a non-profit lobbying alliance of more than 1,450 county administrative and elected officials, working to improve local services for Missouri’s taxpayers. Headquartered in Jefferson City and governed by a board of directors, MAC promotes passage of priority bills and monitors other legislation at the state and federal level to assess any effects on the state’s 114 counties. The association also provides training resources during spring and fall annual meetings and operates a self-insured workers’ compensation insurance program for county officials and their employees.
