Decatur County Commissioner Russell Smith was one of 13 elected and appointed officials to have completed the Certified Commissioners Advanced Program (CCAP) training program.

This training is offered by Association County Commissioners of Georgia in conjunction with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia and have educated more than 2,600 elected and appointed county officials in the last two decades.

Commissioner Smith joins Earl Perry as the second county commissioner to complete this certification.

“Our training programs are nationally recognized as an outstanding example of training for county commissioners and other county officials,” said ACCG Executive Director Ross King. “We are extremely proud of this year’s graduates, who committed the time to complete these training programs and expand their knowledge in many key areas of local government operations.”

ACCG offers training courses in association with other programs such as the Annual Meeting or Legislative Conference as well as stand-alone opportunities throughout the year. The Commissioners Training Program requires county officials to take a total of 48 hours of instruction, including five required courses and three elective courses.

Required courses include County Government Law/Personal Liability, Economic Development, Financial Management I, Fundamentals of Property Appraisal and Taxation, and Personnel/Human Resources. Completion of CCAP requires an additional 48 hours of course instruction, as well as participation in a two-day Advanced Leadership Institute and the completion of a summary project report.