Wednesday — January 28, 2004

Femling travels to
D.C. to plug Idaho

Sheriff serves one-year term
as association president

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"It just gave me an opportunity to really network with other officials outside the law enforcement arena and to get involved in what is going on in Idaho and to serve Idaho in a greater capacity."

— WALT FEMLING, Blaine County sheriff

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By GREG STAHL
Express Staff Writer

As president of the Idaho Association of Counties, Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling went to Washington, D.C., last week to represent his home state.

Blaine County Sheriff Walt Femling is the new president of the Idaho Association of Counties. Express photo by David N. Seelig

Femling, a five-term sheriff in Blaine County, was elected president of the organization’s governing board in September. For the preceding year, he had served as the organization’s vice president. In all, he has been on the Idaho Association of Counties governing board for three years.

His one-year term as president will expire next September. He is scheduled to serve on the board as the "immediate past president" for one year following his current term. That term will run concurrently with a post to the National Association of Counties board of directors.

Femling said the four-day conference, which lasted from Jan. 6 to Jan. 9, brought together the organization’s presidents and executive directors from each state for an annual meeting. The event included round-table talks among state organization presidents and discussion about initiatives applying to rural America and rural development, Femling said.

"For me, the highlight was meeting people from all over the country," Femling said.

But business occupied most of the sheriff’s time, including a visit to the White House for a briefing and to meet one of President George W. Bush’s deputy assistants.

The conference also afforded the opportunity to lobby other state presidents and federal lawmakers on issues Femling said are important to Western states.

For example, Femling said he lobbied for full funding of Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) money for Western states.

In a nutshell, PILT funds are paid by the federal government to counties that have an abundance of nontaxable federal land within their borders. Femling said PILT funding is not very popular among East-Coast politicians.

"For me, it’s pushing Idaho, what’s important to Idaho," he said.

Another issue Femling said he lobbied for was increased funding for local law enforcement agencies that respond to calls on public lands. Blaine County gets $2,200 a year from the U.S. Forest Service to respond to crimes and accidents on public lands.

"We’re almost 90 percent public lands here," he said. "It’s all politics, who you know and who can get you the most money."

According to the group’s Web site, the Idaho Association of Counties was founded in 1976 and is owned, organized and operated by Idaho's county governments.

The group is a nonpartisan, nonprofit service organization dedicated to the improvement of county government. It serves as a spokesman for counties on the state and national levels and acts as a liaison between counties and other levels of government through research, training and legislative lobbying.

The group’s 2004 legislative wish list includes improved ambulance district funding, enhanced revenue for substance abuse treatment, vote-by-mail legislation for rural precincts and full disclosure of the sales prices of homes.

Femling said his involvement in the organization is an opportunity to contribute outside the law enforcement bubble.

"It just gave me an opportunity to really network with other officials outside the law enforcement arena and to get involved in what is going on in Idaho and to serve Idaho in a greater capacity," he said.

 

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