County News Now – May 21, 2026

[NACo County News]

Museum expansion amplifies a rural county’s story
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May 21, 2026

San Diego County addresses growing gaps in arts funding San Diego County, Calif. is investing millions of dollars into arts and culture programming for diverse and underserved communities as the city of San Diego prepares to slash $11.8 million in arts and culture grants. Read More

In Memoriam: Unfunded mandate reform bill sponsor Dirk Kempthorne As a freshman senator, Dirk Kempthorne (R-Idaho) passed a law making it more difficult for Congress to impose the costs of mandates on state and local governments.  Read more

Georgia county’s HR policy council goes digital, boosting attendance, reducing grievances Moving DeKalb County, Ga.’s HR meetings online helped streamline proceedings and boost attendance. Read more

Salute to county leaders: Lenny Eliason As NACo president in 2011-2012, Athens County, Ohio Commissioner Lenny Eliason started what became the Healthy Counties Innovation Council and capped off his year by hiring Matt Chase to succeed Larry Naake as executive director. Read more

MORE COUNTY NEWS

Legislative Updates

NACo launches FY 2027 Appropriations Tracker ahead of next budget cycle The NACo FY 2027 Appropriations Tracker gives counties a one-stop resource to follow the twelve annual spending bills, key dates and county funding priorities throughout the cycle. Read more

NACo launches FY 2027 Appropriations Tracker ahead of next budget cycle The House-amended bill includes several NACo-supported changes that reduce local financial risk and preserve county flexibility in administering housing and community development programs. Read more

USDA announces $44 million in rural broadband connectivity grant opportunities The Community Connect Grant Program funds broadband deployment in communities where a minimum service threshold of 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload is unavailable. The Distance Learning & Telemedicine Grant Program provides education and healthcare services in rural communities with 20,000 or fewer residents. Read more

The Latest from NACo

Affiliate event: NACCTFO Annual Conference Before the NACo Annual Conference kicks off in Orleans Parish, La. (New Orleans), the National Association of County Collectors, Treasurers and Finance Officers will meet July 12-15 and conduct educational seminars on ethical leadership, artificial intelligence, tax collection and the anti-tax movement, public speaking, emergency preparedness for natural disasters and financial forecasting. Learn more

Upcoming Events and Webinars

2026 NACo Annual Conference & Expo July 17-20, 2026 | Orleans Parish/New Orleans, La. REGISTER

May 22 | 2:00 p.m. EDT Protecting and Preparing for Income in Retirement REGISTER

May 26 | 2:00 p.m. EDT From Classroom to County: Leading with High-Performance Results REGISTER

May 27 | 2:00 p.m. EDT The BUILD America 250 Act: What Counties Need to Know about the House Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill REGISTER

June 2 | 3:00 p.m. EDT Grassroots Advocacy Series: Unlocking Tools to Tell Your County Story REGISTER

View all of NACo's upcoming events here.

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