Jim Rogers ‘in great company’ as new ACCO president

Jim Rogers, who has served as commissioner for Sequoyah County for the past 12 years, was recently elected president of the Association of County Commissioners of Oklahoma (ACCO), and assumed his official duties on Jan. 1.

Rogers, who has served as county commissioner for District 3 for four terms, is among three officers who were elected by the ACCO membership in October to serve two-year terms in their office.

“I’m very humbled and honored,” Rogers said of being elected to the association’s highest office. “It’s an honor to serve my fellow commissioners in this position. It’s also overwhelming, but I look forward to the challenges.”

Rogers said he was also glad to be working with “the best of the best” of ACCO board members.

“They not only have the best interest of the counties they represent, but also the entire 77 Oklahoma counties in ACCO, which includes 231 county commissioners,” Rogers said.

ACCO is governed by a 12-member board of directors with a boardappointed executive director who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the organization. Chris Shroder was also elected in October as executive director due to the retirement of Gene Wallace, who served in that capacity for several years.

“I’m looking forward to working with Chris, Vice President Dan DeLozier of Rogers County and Kenny Payne, the secretary/ treasurer of Muskogee County,” Rogers said. “Chris is motivated and ambitious, so I know he will be looking at such things as making costeffective decisions regarding finances. Since I began serving as a commissioner, the prices on everything has jumped about 30 to 40 percent. That’s just one of issue, but there are others that affect the counties, and the association has good people working together to serve the counties the best they can. I’m glad to be working side by side with them.”

ACCO represents all the commissioners in Oklahoma counties working together for the “health, safety and welfare needs of all county citizens. It also serves as a clearinghouse for leadership training, educational programming and a comprehensive array of services designed to meet the needs of its member counties,” according to the ACCO website.

Some of the duties Rogers will oversee include conducting all state board meetings, with his first scheduled in April. He will also oversee such things as:

• Providing information to state lawmakers and officials relating to ACCO’s position on a broad array of public policy issues

• Advocating for legislation useful to counties and opposing bills detrimental to county government operations

• Opposing unfunded mandates – state or federal initiatives requiring local governments to provide new programs or services with no revenue to support them

• Providing high-quality education and training programs for county commissioners through a variety of meetings throughout the year

• Creating opportunities for county leaders to exchange ideas, share experiences and take advantage of expert advice • Providing a statewide forum for building consensus among commissioners after fully debating issues that affect county government

• Communicating effectively on the issues and challenges facing counties and how they impact the lives of local citizens and their communities.

“This job consists of so many different areas of county government rolled into one,” Rogers said. “But there’s a lot of knowledge in this group. Commissioners deal with many of the same problems, but there’s always been someone out there who has been through the same situation, and I haven’t found one not willing to help. I’m in great company, and I look forward to doing the best job I can.”