City, county leaders holding joint meeting in Elko

ELKO, Nev. (AP) -- Mayors, county commissioners and city council members from across the state gather in Elko this week for a first-of-it's-kind meeting between urban and rural government officials in Nevada.

The Nevada League of Cities and Nevada Association of Counties will convene their first joint conference Wednesday, running through Saturday at the Elko Convention Center.

Nancy Howard, assistant director of the Nevada League of Cities, said it will be an historic event. Bob Hatfield, executive director of the Nevada Association of Counties, agreed.

"We're excited. It's going to be a gathering of both city and county officials. I think it's a benchmark meeting," Hatfield told the Elko Daily Free Press.

"We need to collaborate on a lot of things. This is a unique opportunity to understand the different perspectives on issues," he said.

Howard said the League of Cities routinely rotates its own meetings throughout Nevada.

"One of the reasons we take turns around the state and go out into the rurals is to help the local economies," she said.

Nearly 600 people are expected to attend the conference.

"This will be the largest convention for the whole year," said Ralph McMullen, executive director of the Elko Convention and Visitors Authority.

One of the panels will feature city and county lobbyists to the Legislature discussing the last state legislative session. Another will feature Nevada legislators, including Assemblyman Tom Grady, R-Yerington, and Assemblywoman Kathy McClain, D-Las Vegas, Sens. Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, and Mark Amodei, R-Carson City.

"We all felt there was a substantial change in the way the Legislature conducts business in this last session," Hatfield said. "We thought it would be important to talk about the legislative process."

The opening session also will include keynote speeches by Karen Anderson, immediate past president of the National League of Cities, and Angelo Kyle, president-elect of the National Association of Counties.