Jeff Eslinger | County News Editor

Following authorization “to organize associations of county governments,” passed in the 1973 Legislature (NDCC Chapter 11-10-24) the North Dakota Association of Counties (NDACo) sprung into existence with a Constitution and Bylaws and soon hired an Executive Director (E.D.). Its primary purpose, which continues as a priority today, was to represent the needs of counties in relation to the work of the ND State Legislature.

The past three Executive Directors – Mark Johnson (1983-2018), Terry Traynor (2018-2022) and Aaron Birst (2022 – present) – met recently to reminisce and reflect on the organization’s history, especially the steady development of new programs and services.

“A crisis was brewing in the early eighties, as insurance companies began to refuse coverage of local government liability,” recalled Mark Johnson. “We got together with the other political subs and took a plan to the legislature to self-insure, which resulted in the creation of the ND Insurance Reserve Fund (NDIRF) in 1986.” While NDIRF was not solely a product of NDACo, it demonstrated how powerful and effective local governments can be when they join forces.

“The Juvenile Justice Grant was the first major program to come out of NDACo,” noted Johnson. We had this wonderful opportunity to partner with the state, using a federal grant, to provide counties with needed support in dealing with juvenile delinquency. It operated under a consultant for a while – Jerry Hjelmstad – but it wasn’t long before we saw it needed to be staffed more permanently, and that’s when Terry came on board (1986).”

Following are just a few of the major initiatives over the years:

• 1991: As emergency 9-1-1 services spread to wireless phone networks, NDACo became an essential element in ensuring the latest technology would be employed, border to border. These services continue to evolve and challenge both government and private sector providers. Most recently, NDACo became the central clearinghouse to collect and redistribute 9-1-1 fees from wireless providers.
• 1995: To bring high-level, professional development to all county officials, the Institute of Local Government (ILG) was created and opened to all local government officials. ILG has been an essential driver of training at events such as the Annual Conference, Legislative Wrap-up and more.
• 1996: To save spiraling costs for Worker’s Compensation, the County Employer Group (CEG) was formed, essentially turning all counties into one employer.
• 2000: The computer and automation staff, known since the early ‘90s as NDCAT, was spun off into a wholly owned subsidiary called NRG Technology Services, which continues to serve the technology needs of counties, as well as other government and private sector clients.
• 2002: The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) brought funding to the state to improve voting systems and equipment. ND Secretary of State Al Jaeger saw the value of working directly with counties, through NDACo, to accomplish the goals of HAVA.
• 2003: In response to the tragedy of 9-11, NDACo used federal funds and programming support to bring the Local Government Homeland Security Training and Exercise Program (LGHSTEP) to counties, cities and schools across the state.
• 2008: Counties pushed for support to meet their Human Resources needs, prompting NDACo to lead the effort to find grant funding to create an organization among local governments to meet those needs. Now the Human Resource Collaborative for Local Government has become a division of NDIRF, conducting a bi-annual training conference and providing other HR training and resources on a regular basis.
• Over the years, countless other programs and services have been developed, almost all resulting from regularly held strategic planning sessions with the NDACo Board and other stakeholders. These include many financial partnerships, such as Drug and Alcohol Testing, Geographic Information Services (GIS), Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor, Vision Zero and more. More information on our programs and services can be found at www.ndaco.org.

County News will continue to celebrate this golden anniversary in all six issues with more historic reflection. We invite your comments, photos and memories. Feel free to reach out to Editor Jeff Eslinger at jeff.eslinger@ndaco.org and on our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/ndcounties.