Facing a variety of funding, policy, and intergovernmental shifts, a new “pulse survey” at the National Association of Counties (NACo) found that 59 percent of respondents see county responsibilities expanding, while only 11 percent believed that county work has been reduced. 

When asked about other levels of government, 43 percent said they perceived state responsibilities as expanding and 35 percent believed that to be the case for other local governments. As to the federal government, 27 percent saw its responsibilities as expanding and 52 percent believed they were being reduced.

The survey’s purpose, according to Teryn Zmuda, chief research officer and chief economist at NACo, was to help NACo understand pressures on service delivery, as well as the impact of federal and state policies. Responses came from 1,600 county leaders. (Also, please see Zmuda’s December guest column for this website, titled “Counties and the Big Shift.” )

Survey results were delivered at a NACo summit held on January 14, with NACo President J.D. Clark, County Judge in Wise County, Texas, setting the stage for a discussion of counties’ unique position “sitting at the intersection of policy development and practical implementation.” 

The summit was an opportunity for leaders at NACo and representatives from a variety of counties to speak about the county role, the importance in having a seat at the table in policy discussions and access to more direct funding. 

The summit included discussions of issues that NACo is advocating for in federal legislation including Surface Transportation Reauthorization and the FEMA Act.

In terms of transportation, Clark noted that counties own 44 percent of the roads in the U.S, 38 percent of bridges and 40 percent of public transit agencies. Rising costs and funding challenges are ongoing issues, and grant procurement is difficult particularly for smaller counties that lack professional grant-writing staff. Preserving and improving discretionary grant opportunities has been a priority, as is getting more direct resources to counties.

 “The funding issue is front and center,” said Phillip Church, county administrator in Oswego County, New York. “It’s got to keep up with the costs. And being able to access federal funds directly would increase the resources that we have locally to do that.”

In the survey response, the intergovernmental handling of disaster response was also a critical concern, with Clark pointing out that close to a third of counties experienced a federally declared disaster in recent years. The FEMA Act has passed the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and could represent a major overhaul of disaster response, but the content of the legislation still faces extensive discussion and debate.

NACo’s Intergovernmental Reform Task Force favors elements that are currently part of the legislation and are “designed to make disaster recovery faster, simpler and more responsive to the need of our communities,” said Jim Henderson, the executive director of the Kentucky Association of Counties. 

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