Supervisor Jane Halliburton Participates in White House Meeting Regarding Sustainable Communities Program

Halliburton invited because of her specific expertise in planning and implementing sustainable strategies in rural communities.

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Story County Supervisor Jane Halliburton participated in a meeting at The White House this week regarding the new Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program to help small and rural communities strengthen communities.

The meeting was held March 9 at The White House and was attended by several Obama administration officials, including Adolfo Carrion, Director, White House Office of Urban Affairs, and Ron Sims, Deputy Secretary, Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Halliburton was invited to speak because of her role in the National Association of Counties (NACo) and her specific expertise in planning and implementing sustainable strategies in rural communities. Halliburton, a past chair of NACo's Rural Action Caucus, currently serves on the association's Green Government Advisory Committee and Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee where she focuses on Emergency Management and Homeland Security issues and advocates for strong mitigation planning.

"Planning for sustainable communities is by nature a regional effort requiring partnerships," Halliburton said. "Counties are unique in that, at their core, they are a regional form of government, especially in rural America," she continued, "and strategies like mitigation planning and capacity building go hand in hand."

NACo has long advocated for flexibility, regionalization, and direct funding to local governments and regions as proven methods for enhancing communities. NACo believes that sustainability must be multi-jurisdictional and involve multi-dimensional collaboration across rural, suburban and urban regions.

Story County has direct experience in working with partnerships and was recognized in 2005 with a NACo Center for Sustainable Community Center Partner Award for the county's work with Alliant Energy.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Environmental protection Agency, and the U.S. Transportation Agency launched an interagency effort to integrate housing and transportation decision, and to increase capacity to improve land use and zoning. In the 2010 budget, Congress provided HUD a total of $100 million for regional sustainability planning efforts.