9/13/13 Alert & Info
PUBLIC RECORDS MANAGEMENT SESSION SPECIFICALLY FOR TOWNSHIPS:
The Ohio
Historical Society - Local Government Records Program is presenting a new
“Just the Basics for Townships” webinar on Tuesday, October 22, 2013 at
2:00 pm. The cost is $20.00 per
registration.
“Just the
Basics for Townships” will introduce records-keepers to the most up-to-date
records management best practices in Ohio, including the procedures for
creating and filing records retention schedules and certificates of disposal
with the OHS-LGRP.
Key concepts
will include:
- Pertinent
Definitions and Ohio Revised Code
- Township
Records Commissions
- Inventory
Preparation
- Determining
Retention Periods
-
Township-Specific Issues
- The RC Forms
(RC-1, RC-2, and RC-3)
- Procedural
Changes
-
Storage/Environmental Considerations
After
registration you will be sent information on how to access the webinar. The
instructions also include a quick and automatic test that ensures you can
access the webinar from your computer. It only takes a minute or two and has
instructions for trouble-shooting. The test is required in order to
access the webinar. Please contact Elizabeth Schultz if you do not
receive login instructions within a week of registering.
You can
register for this webinar online at the Ohio History Store by clicking on
“Workshops,” then “State Archives Workshops,” and finally on “Just the
Basics Webinar.” The Ohio History Store only accepts credit card and
PayPal payments. You can also return the bottom of the
attached
flyer via email, fax, or postal mail with a check or indicate
that you would like to be invoiced.
Important
Information:
Date: Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Time: 2:00-3:00 pm
Cost: $20.00
How to Register:
http://www.ohiohistorystore.com/State-Archives-Workshops-C51.aspx
Please register by Friday, October 18, 2013
OPERS Board Elections:
As public officials, you have a vested interest in your OPERS retirement and
benefits, and therefore a duty to vote in the upcoming board elections.
The Ohio Township Association is endorsing
Elizabeth Rumple
to the Miscellaneous Employee seat.
Ballots were mailed Aug. 27, 2013 to qualified voters. Members can vote via
mail, Internet or by phone, and ballots must be cast by
Oct. 4.
Over the past few years, the OPERS Board has made decisions that have
significantly altered the OPERS pension and health care programs.
Please cast your ballot for
Elizabeth Rumple.
Elizabeth is the Deputy Director of the Greene County Public Library. She
has a Masters in Public Administration and a BA in Organizational
Communications from Wright State University. As a member of the Ohio
Township Association, Beth knows the issues impacting township trustees and
their employees throughout the state. Her background in human resource
management provides her with firsthand experience with OPERS and the Ohio
Deferred Compensation Program. She has a working knowledge of administering
these benefits and explaining the programs to employees.
As an OPERS Board member, she will serve with a commitment toward ethics and
stewardship of public resources. Her decisions will be made solely to ensure
the sustainability of each plan for current members and retirees.
If you have questions regarding the OPERS Board election, visit
www.opers.org.
*Neither the OPERS Board nor System endorses any particular candidate or
statement.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS AND TOWNSHIPS (NATaT) UPDATE:
The Senate
Finance Committee is considering several options to move on tax reform this
fall, including breaking up a package into several pieces instead of one
comprehensive bill, according to Democratic committee aides.
Finance
Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has pledged to mark up a tax reform
bill by the end of the year and splitting the overhaul into several pieces
could make the complex effort easier to swallow. But it also might frustrate
Republicans who are pushing for one massive bill that would rewrite both
corporate and individual tax laws.
The option to
break up the bills emerged as aides worked over the recess to create a plan
of action to make sure tax reform stays on the increasingly tight
legislative calendar for this year. The congressional to-do list is already
crowded, with a vote on the use of force in Syria, fiscal debates over
raising the debt limit, a continuing resolution to fund the federal
government and patching reimbursement rates for doctors who treat Medicare
patients.
LOOKING TO RETIRE? - IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM OPERS:
Are you a
fiscal officer or trustee looking to retire this year?
The OTA has run several articles in recent newsletters regarding this
issue. We encourage you to view the
May & June issues of the Grassroots
Clippings, the OTA’s monthly newsletter, on our website -
www.ohiotownships.org. Additionally
we ran the blurb below in our July 19 Legislative Alert.
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Importance of November 30, 2013
Parts of the
OPERS health care preservation plan (HCPP 3.0) take effect on January 1,
2014. Public employees and elected officials who want to get out in front of
the changes will need to retire by November 30, 2013, because retirement
effective date is the first day of the month following the later of:
(1) the last
day compensation was paid (termination of public employment, off employer’s
payroll);
(2) attainment
of minimum age/service eligibility, or;
(3) 90 days
prior to receipt of member’s retirement application (see R.C. 145.32).
Assuming a
member has attained age and service eligibility and retires (terminates
employment and is off their employer’s payroll) on November 30, he or she
will have a December 1, 2013, effective date, which is the last effective
date prior to the implementation of the changes. If a member works even one
day in December, the earliest effective date they can receive is January 1,
2014, which will be too late to avoid the changes taking effect in 2014.
Other health
care changes take effect at different times.
Attached is a document that outlines the different OPERS health care changes
and the implementation dates.
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Recently, OPERS
released a document titled “Returning to Work After Retirement” to assist
those OPERS retirees that do wish to return to work.
This document is specifically helpful for those township trustees or
fiscal officers looking to retire before the end of 2013 but are seeking
election or re-election to the same position in November.
You may find this document on the OPERS website, www.opers.org or
call 1-800-222-7377 to request the brochure.
EPA HOSTS Webinar on the Proposed
NPDES Electronic Reporting Rule:
On July 30,
2013, the proposed National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
Electronic Reporting Rule was published in the Federal Register initiating a
90-day public comment period that will close on October 28, 2013. This rule
proposes to replace several paper-based Clean Water Act (CWA) NPDES
permitting and compliance monitoring reporting requirements with electronic
reporting.
EPA will phase
in the requirements of the final rule over a two year period. Phase 1 is to
be implemented within one year of the rule’s promulgation and phase 2 is to
be implemented within the second year of the rule’s promulgation. EPA will
use the Clean Water Act, Section 308 as a backstop if states are unable to
meet certain criteria.
In Phase 1 of
the implementation, basic facility information and permit information will
be provided to EPA HQ by states and EPA regions. Phase 1 electronic
submission items include: DMR information from facilities and information
from facilities seeking coverage under or operating under Federally-issued
general permits [e.g., notices of intent to discharge (NOIs), notices of
terminations (NOTs), no exposure certifications (NECs), and low erosivity
waivers (LEWs)].
In phase 2 of
the implementation, EPA and the states would electronically receive
information for facilities seeking coverage under or operating
under state-issued general permits and program reports from all facilities.
These program reports include: Pretreatment Program Annual Reports,
Industrial Users in Cities Without Approved Pretreatment Programs, Periodic
Compliance Monitoring Reports, Biosolids Program Annual Reports, CAFO Annual
Reports, Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4) Reports, and Sewer
Overflow or Bypass Event Reports [Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), Sanitary
Sewer Overflows (SSO), and Bypass Event Reports].
Under the
proposed rule NPDES permitted facilities physically located in a county or
zip code where there is limited broadband access will be granted a temporary
waiver, which will be reviewed annually. NPDES permitted facilities for
which electronic reporting would pose an unreasonable burden or expense may
be granted a temporary waiver. This temporary waiver may be granted for up
to one year at a time. EPA predicts
the final rule will be established by late 2014 or early 2015.
For general
information about the rule, EPA contacts include:
- John
Dombrowski - phone:202-566-0742; email: dombrowski.john@epa.gov
- Andy Hudock –
phone: 202-564-6032; email: hudock.andrew@epa.gov
EPA contacts
for Implementation, economic analysis and tool development include:
- Andy Hudock –
phone: 202-564-6032; email: hudock.andrew@epa.gov
- Carey
Johnston – phone: 202-566-1014; email: Johnston.carey@epa.gov
Ohio’s Research Initiative for Locals (ORIL)
Now Accepting Research Ideas - Submission Deadline is October 25, 2013:
Ohio’s Research Initiative for Locals (ORIL) has officially opened the
research idea submission process.
Ohio local public agencies (counties, townships, cities, villages, MPOs and
RPOs) can submit research ideas to ORIL for consideration. Ideas must relate
to transportation/roadway issues, and be responsive to at least one of
ORIL’s strategic research focus areas: Safety, Renewal/Infrastructure, and
Operations & Business Practices. The ORIL Board will review all ideas
submitted and select those that propose the greatest benefit for Ohio.
Selected ideas will be developed into Requests for Proposals, which will be
posted for response from the transportation research community in March
2014. Research projects may begin any time after July 2014 (which is the
start of FY 2015).
The online announcement for the idea submission process is available at:
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/groups/oril/Documents/IdeaSolicitation2015.pdf.
The webpage
with instructions for filling out the Research Idea Form is available at:
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/groups/oril/IdeaSessions/Pages/Research-Idea-Form.aspx
Please note: the deadline for submitting research ideas is
3:00 pm on October 25, 2013.
Interested persons
are encouraged to attend one of the upcoming ORIL Idea Sessions,
to learn more about the program and how to identify/develop a research idea.
These free sessions are scheduled for five regional locations in Ohio,
between September 10 and October 8. To register to attend, please visit:
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/groups/oril/IdeaSessions/Pages/default.aspx
Free Seats Still Available FOR ORIL Idea Sessions in Ohio:
Free seats are
still available to attend the upcoming ORIL Idea Sessions regarding
Ohio’s Research Initiative for Locals:
- September 19 Findlay
- September 25 Middletown
- October 2 Akron
- October 8 Athens
To attend an ORIL Idea Session, please pre-register using the
attached
flyer or the online registration form:
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/groups/oril/IdeaSessions/Pages/default.aspx
Background
ORIL has been established to develop and fund research projects that address
roadway-related challenges faced by Ohio’s local public agencies (counties,
townships, cities, villages, MPOs and RPOs). The ORIL Idea Sessions
will introduce this new locally-focused research program, and also will
provide an opportunity for local agencies to submit research ideas to the
ORIL Board for consideration. The three strategic focus areas for the
program are:
- Safety
- Renewal / Infrastructure
- Operations & Business Practices
To Learn More:
Check out the 1-minute introductory video, Welcome to ORIL, at:
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/groups/oril/Pages/default.aspx
Review the ORIL Strategic Plan, at:
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/groups/oril/Guidebook/Documents/ORILStrategicResearchPlan2013_2014.pdf