There are a lot of acronyms in government—FEMA, HUD, or DEA. For Arizona county supervisors, the end of October is all about CSA. 

CSA, the County Supervisors Association of Arizona, is just one of the boards, committees, and commissions that the members of the Gila County Board of Supervisors are part of. As members and leaders of these groups, they stay in the loop about issues that are important to Gila County and make sure Gila County interests are represented at the state, regional, and federal levels. 

For example, each fall the Gila County Board of Supervisors and Gila County management staff attend the CSA Legislative Summit. District One Supervisor Tommie Martin is currently CSA President. At the summit, the Gila County Board of Supervisors met with supervisors from across the state to discuss the issues that are most important to counties at the upcoming state legislative session. For example, the group talked about ensuring that the state doesn’t pull money from county roads funds (HURF) to fund DPS. 

During the summit, the supervisors also had the opportunity to hear from state legislators about their perspective on the priorities for the upcoming legislative session. Governor Ducey spoke to the group Wednesday, addressing cost shifts from the state to counties and municipalities. County Supervisors and staff will work with CSA staff throughout the legislative session to stay up to date on the progress of bills relevant to counties, as well as provide information to CSA that may help them advocate for county interests. 

All three members of the Gila County Board of Supervisors sit on committees for NACo, the National Organization of Counties. Much like CSA helps make sure county interests are represented at the state level, NACo stands up for county priorities at the national level. This is vitally important for counties like Gila that have a large amounts of federal land and rely on federal programs like PILT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes) and SRS (Secure Rural Schools) to help pay for services that the county is obligated to provide on land it cannot collect taxes on. 

Supervisor Martin is chair of NACo’s Public Lands Steering Committee. Since taking office in January, both Supervisors Humphrey and Cline have also been selected to serve on NACo committees. Supervisor Humphrey sits on the NACo Transportation Advisory Committee and Supervisor Cline serves on NACo’s Agriculture and Rural Affairs Advisory Committee.  NACo will also host an annual conference that the Gila County Board of Supervisors will attend. Beyond providing an opportunity to help speak up for county needs at the federal level, conferences like this also let our supervisors hear how other counties across the nation deal with challenges that Gila County is also facing. 

At the beginning of October, the Eastern Arizona Counties Organization (ECO) held its annual legislative field trip. Supervisor Cline attended the event and Supervisor Martin, who serves as ECO chair, spoke at and attended as well. The trip--which kicked off in Payson--took county supervisors, state legislators, and their staff across eastern Arizona to focus on the issues of forest, watershed, and grassland restoration.

2017 Gila County Board of Supervisors Boards, Commissions, & Committees Appointments:

CSA Legislative Policy Committee - Supervisor Martin

Eastern Arizona Counties Organization - Supervisor Martin, Chair 

Correctional Officers Retirement Plan Local Board for Sheriff’s Office Detention Officers & Non-Uniformed Officers – Supervisor Humphrey 

Gila County Local Emergency Planning Committee - Supervisor Humphrey

Central Arizona Governments Regional Council - Supervisor Humphrey

Gila Community College Allied Health Care Advisory Committee - Supervisor Humphrey

Gila Community College Industry and Mining Advisory Board - Supervisor Humphrey

Correctional Officers Retirement Plan Local Board for Sheriff’s Office Dispatchers - Supervisor Cline

Public Safety Personnel Retirement System Local Board – Supervisor Cline

Gila County Board of Health - Supervisor Cline

San Carlos Apache Tribe Partnership Steering Committee – Supervisor Cline 

Coalition of Arizona/New Mexico Counties - Supervisor Cline

Other Boards, Committees, and Commissions:

Arizona Association of Counties (AACo) – Supervisor Martin, Affiliate Representative

National Association of Counties (NACo) Public Lands Steering Committee – Supervisor Martin, Chair

Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) – Supervisor Martin, ex-officio Member

Western Interstate Region (WIR) – Supervisor Martin, First Vice President

Four Forest Restoration Initiative (4FRI) Steering Committee – Supervisor Martin 

National Association of Counties (NACo) Transportation Advisory Committee – Supervisor Humphrey

Freeport-McMoRan Community Investment Program – Supervisor Humphrey, Member

Gila County Cattle Growers Association – Supervisor Cline, President

National Association of Counties (NACo) Agriculture and Rural Affairs Advisory Committee – Supervisor Cline