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ARF- 2491

Consent Agenda Item 4. B.

Regular BOS Meeting

Meeting Date:	05/06/2014
Submitted For:	Jacque Griffin
Submitted By:	Janice Cook, Administrative Services Manager, Asst County Manager/Library District
Department:	Deputy County Mgr/Library District
Fiscal Year:	2013-2014	Budgeted?:	Yes
Contract Dates Begin & End:	July 1, 2014 - June 30, 2014	Grant?:	No
Matching Requirement?:	No	Fund?:	Renewal

Information

Request/Subject

Eastern Arizona Counties Organization annual dues -FY 13/14.

Background Information

The Eastern Arizona Counties Organization (ECO) is a local government organization created in 1993 by joint resolutions of the Board of Supervisors and an Intergovernmental Agreement between the counties of Apache, Gila, Graham, Greenlee and Navajo to implement Presidential Executive Order 12372 (P.E.O. 12372) - Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs related to the clearinghouse process for review of Federal programs which affect the custom, cultures and economic well-being of the Counties.

ECO has been a stakeholder in the effort to develop and implement landscape scale forested ecosystems restoration, including the nation's largest effort - the Four Forest Restoration Initiative; been involved in the creation of the White Mountain Stewardship Projects; the Governor's Forest Health Council's Statewide Strategy for Restoring Arizona Forests; the collaborative Analysis of Small-Diameter Wood Supply in Northern Arizona; watersheds restoration, including the groundbreaking Arizona Watersheds Investment Fund; endangered and threatened wildlife and plants management, including the Mexican Gray Wolf Recovery Program; and, numerous state and local scale natural resources management projects and natural resources based economic development initiatives.

Also, Arizona Governor's Executive Orders 83-6 and 90-21 established the Arizona Department of Commerce, State Clearinghouse, as the Single Point of Contact for federal agencies in Arizona; the six Councils of Government in Arizona as area-wide clearinghouses; and, the five counties of ECO as County Official Reviewers (COR) in the Procedures for Arizona Single Point of Contact Review Process According to Presidential Executive Order 12372.

ECO''s Board of Directors, comprised of Supervisors from the 5 member counties, established annual dues for the Counties to cover operating expenses. Current annual dues are $6,000 per year and are now due for FY 13/14.

Evaluation

Apache, Gila, Graham, Greenlee, and Navajo counties share common environmental and economic issues and work collaboratively and cooperatively to address them through the Eastern Arizona Counties Organization (ECO). Efforts include, among other things, review and comment of proposed Federal actions on public lands, raising citizen awareness, and urging agencies and lawmakers to protect the customs, cultures and well-being of their Counties. Annual dues paid by the member Counties provide the resources to fund these efforts and to maintain full-time staff dedicated solely to the organization's purposes.

Conclusion

Gila County is obligated, as a founding member of ECO, to pay annual dues to support the mission of the organization.

Recommendation

Staff recommends that Gila County remit the required annual dues to the Eastern Arizona Counties Organization.

Suggested Motion

Approval of payment of annual dues to Eastern Arizona Counties Organization in the amount of $6,000 for FY 13/14.

Attachments
ECO Dues FY 13/14
ECO Financial Report FY 13/14