South Carolina Association of
County Office Employees
County Office Employees
Southeast Area News
Southeast Area Report
Orlando, FL
January 20-21, 2008
States are staying extremely busy with the 2005-2006 disaster programs and know with 2007 being added farmers will be making
another visit to check and see which year they are better with. The LCP program had 2007 added to it also, so for those whose
cow numbers were more in 2007 will be coming back in the office also. This relief appears to be greatly needed after a year of fuel
cost increases and fertilizer cost still going up. Many farmers in the SEA are trying to figure know what to plant in 2008 even with
higher prices for there crops the input cost is more of a deciding factor know more than ever in what crop they can cash flow with.
Our future as FSA employees is much like that of the farmers we serve, waiting till the passage of the farm bill seems to bearing on
all of us. The timing of when we will be implementing the new farm bill is a major concern, farmers are coming in the offices daily
asking when will be able to make base payments, these advances have become a large part of a farms cash flow know until the
farm bill is passed and we start making farm payments farmers are facing an uncertain future.
Southeast Area Goals for 2008
Planning for a successful ALL SOUTH RALLY information attached.
Host more conference calls for state presidents and area program chairs
Continue working to improve all forms of communication
Strive to have membership levels increase
Increase participation in the NASCOE PAC
Improve communication through increased participation in CapWiz
Working as needed on problems that NASCOE can assist with
Communication – Thanks to all those in the SEA that are continuously working to improve the communication out to all the
employees. State Presidents have done a tremendous job in keeping their states informed of NASCOE activities. The activity
reports from NASCOE President Bonnie Heinzman have been a great source of the activities NASCOE works on for it’s members.
State Reorganization Plans – Once again, it appears that those states which were slow to submit their reorganization plans may
not have to fully complete the process. This may or may not be a good thing. If funding for county office staffing does not increase,
the workload will continue to be a heavy burden. This stress is beginning to show in the physical and mental health of our
members.
OFFICE CLOSURES in the SEA
State Offices actually closed as of 1/14 Planned for Closure
----------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Georgia 13 16
Alabama Closed 5 Opened 1 office 5
Mississippi 0 7
South Carolina 0 2
Tennessee 0 7
Kentucky 8 8
Virginia 9 9
North Carolina 0 12
Florida 1 1
Louisiana 0 6
Arkansas 0 3 (Possibly Plan not Shared with Employees)
We did have some offices phoned on the 19 th of December and told to put a sign on the door that the office was officially closed,
in order for the offices to be considered officially closed before the signing of the Omnibus Spending bill, farmers and employees
were not properly notified in this process.
Training – Or the lack of it is a major problem. Computer-based training through Ag Learn is becoming overly burdensome and the
time frames are becoming unreasonable. In addition, some of the mandated training is not relevant to our jobs. The expenditure of
work hours is tremendous nationwide but the yield is relatively low. This raises questions about why employees aren't allowed to
evaluate this training and have their feedback automatically sent to management. Shouldn't government contractors be held
accountable too?
Staffing – Continues to be a problem, concerns about a new farm bill and the need to provide service to our farmers without
adequate training.
PT Reclassification – County offices are patiently waiting for DC response to new proposed job descriptions for PT
reclassification.
Omnibus Office Closure Language – The approved language in the Omnibus Budget has created a problem in some states. Some
states have CED vacancies that are not being filled because these are potential offices to be closed. This is forcing more shared
management situations in states. Producers have been informed of the ability to transfer to new counties because of the office
consolidation and now the consolidation is on hold. There are also situations where the County Committee’s would like to
consolidate the offices (All parties are on board) but these are on hold as well.
Leasing – Counties can’t get answers from their state offices, state offices can’t get answers from GSA, leasing is a mess that no
one wants to provide answers about the problems.
FERS SICK LEAVE –NASCOE must continue to push for the FERS employees to be credited for sick leave towards retirement.
Program implementation - Policies and program regulations still come from several different directions with no clear "direction" on
where it should be coming from. Ex: Notices, amendments, Info bulletins, e-mails, State web sites, etc. Most of our
communications are through emails informing us to check some other site for instructions. The agency appears to have no "chain
of command of info" of how policies should get to the field.
FLP - Factor for FLP work measurement should be consistent among states. Why are employee ceiling for FLP employees not
based on the Workload Report?
Health Insurance – NASCOE needs to continue working to have Health coverage extended for unmarried dependent children to
the age of 25 years old.
State Conventions and Meetings
ALL SOUTH RALLY - March 27 - 30, 2008
Mississippi State Convention – April 11-12, 2008
North Carolina State Convention – May 28-30, da2008
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Cliff Fussell
Southeast Area Executive
Orlando, FL
January 20-21, 2008
States are staying extremely busy with the 2005-2006 disaster programs and know with 2007 being added farmers will be making
another visit to check and see which year they are better with. The LCP program had 2007 added to it also, so for those whose
cow numbers were more in 2007 will be coming back in the office also. This relief appears to be greatly needed after a year of fuel
cost increases and fertilizer cost still going up. Many farmers in the SEA are trying to figure know what to plant in 2008 even with
higher prices for there crops the input cost is more of a deciding factor know more than ever in what crop they can cash flow with.
Our future as FSA employees is much like that of the farmers we serve, waiting till the passage of the farm bill seems to bearing on
all of us. The timing of when we will be implementing the new farm bill is a major concern, farmers are coming in the offices daily
asking when will be able to make base payments, these advances have become a large part of a farms cash flow know until the
farm bill is passed and we start making farm payments farmers are facing an uncertain future.
Southeast Area Goals for 2008
Planning for a successful ALL SOUTH RALLY information attached.
Host more conference calls for state presidents and area program chairs
Continue working to improve all forms of communication
Strive to have membership levels increase
Increase participation in the NASCOE PAC
Improve communication through increased participation in CapWiz
Working as needed on problems that NASCOE can assist with
Communication – Thanks to all those in the SEA that are continuously working to improve the communication out to all the
employees. State Presidents have done a tremendous job in keeping their states informed of NASCOE activities. The activity
reports from NASCOE President Bonnie Heinzman have been a great source of the activities NASCOE works on for it’s members.
State Reorganization Plans – Once again, it appears that those states which were slow to submit their reorganization plans may
not have to fully complete the process. This may or may not be a good thing. If funding for county office staffing does not increase,
the workload will continue to be a heavy burden. This stress is beginning to show in the physical and mental health of our
members.
OFFICE CLOSURES in the SEA
State Offices actually closed as of 1/14 Planned for Closure
----------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------
Georgia 13 16
Alabama Closed 5 Opened 1 office 5
Mississippi 0 7
South Carolina 0 2
Tennessee 0 7
Kentucky 8 8
Virginia 9 9
North Carolina 0 12
Florida 1 1
Louisiana 0 6
Arkansas 0 3 (Possibly Plan not Shared with Employees)
We did have some offices phoned on the 19 th of December and told to put a sign on the door that the office was officially closed,
in order for the offices to be considered officially closed before the signing of the Omnibus Spending bill, farmers and employees
were not properly notified in this process.
Training – Or the lack of it is a major problem. Computer-based training through Ag Learn is becoming overly burdensome and the
time frames are becoming unreasonable. In addition, some of the mandated training is not relevant to our jobs. The expenditure of
work hours is tremendous nationwide but the yield is relatively low. This raises questions about why employees aren't allowed to
evaluate this training and have their feedback automatically sent to management. Shouldn't government contractors be held
accountable too?
Staffing – Continues to be a problem, concerns about a new farm bill and the need to provide service to our farmers without
adequate training.
PT Reclassification – County offices are patiently waiting for DC response to new proposed job descriptions for PT
reclassification.
Omnibus Office Closure Language – The approved language in the Omnibus Budget has created a problem in some states. Some
states have CED vacancies that are not being filled because these are potential offices to be closed. This is forcing more shared
management situations in states. Producers have been informed of the ability to transfer to new counties because of the office
consolidation and now the consolidation is on hold. There are also situations where the County Committee’s would like to
consolidate the offices (All parties are on board) but these are on hold as well.
Leasing – Counties can’t get answers from their state offices, state offices can’t get answers from GSA, leasing is a mess that no
one wants to provide answers about the problems.
FERS SICK LEAVE –NASCOE must continue to push for the FERS employees to be credited for sick leave towards retirement.
Program implementation - Policies and program regulations still come from several different directions with no clear "direction" on
where it should be coming from. Ex: Notices, amendments, Info bulletins, e-mails, State web sites, etc. Most of our
communications are through emails informing us to check some other site for instructions. The agency appears to have no "chain
of command of info" of how policies should get to the field.
FLP - Factor for FLP work measurement should be consistent among states. Why are employee ceiling for FLP employees not
based on the Workload Report?
Health Insurance – NASCOE needs to continue working to have Health coverage extended for unmarried dependent children to
the age of 25 years old.
State Conventions and Meetings
ALL SOUTH RALLY - March 27 - 30, 2008
Mississippi State Convention – April 11-12, 2008
North Carolina State Convention – May 28-30, da2008
Respectfully submitted,
/s/ Cliff Fussell
Southeast Area Executive
Cliff Fussell ,
SE Area Executive
& Perry Dykes,
Alt. Area Executive
SE Area Executive
& Perry Dykes,
Alt. Area Executive
Committee Chairpersons
Area Executive Committeeperson Cliff Fussell, GA
Alt. Area Executive Committeeperson Perry Dykes, TN
AWARDS Cristy Cook, VA
BENEFITS Jeanie Setser, NC
EMBLEMS Jennifer Blandford, KY
LEGISLATIVE Chad Scruggs, GA
MEMBERSHIP Rhonda Little, AR
NEGOTIATIONS/CONSULTANT Nancy Meyer, SC
PUBLICITY Cathy Blackburn, AL
PROGRAMS Beverly Roberson, MS
SCHOLARSHIP Charla Daly, TN
WEBMASTER [vacant]
PAC COORDINATOR Patricia Sorensen, FL
Area Executive Committeeperson Cliff Fussell, GA
Alt. Area Executive Committeeperson Perry Dykes, TN
AWARDS Cristy Cook, VA
BENEFITS Jeanie Setser, NC
EMBLEMS Jennifer Blandford, KY
LEGISLATIVE Chad Scruggs, GA
MEMBERSHIP Rhonda Little, AR
NEGOTIATIONS/CONSULTANT Nancy Meyer, SC
PUBLICITY Cathy Blackburn, AL
PROGRAMS Beverly Roberson, MS
SCHOLARSHIP Charla Daly, TN
WEBMASTER [vacant]
PAC COORDINATOR Patricia Sorensen, FL