FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:    Pete Winton, Lee County Administration
                (941) 335-2777

FORT MYERS, Fla. (October 30, 2001) – Lee County Manager Don Stilwell just returned from Washington, D.C. where a Homeland Security Task Force he sits on discussed better "integration" of resources at the federal, state and local levels to fight terrorism and keep our communities safe.

The National Association of Counties (NACo) task force provides a direct link between counties and federal agencies – especially the new Office of Homeland Security at the White House – working to secure the nation’s communities. It was created in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks on America.

Stilwell is one of three Floridians appointed to the 45-member task force. He serves as the representative on the task force from the National Association of County Administrators.

The Friday meeting in Washington, D.C. was the first meeting of the newly formed task force. Federal officials attending included Tom Ridge, director of the White House Office of Homeland Security, Norman Mineta, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, and Larry D. Thompson, Deputy U.S. Attorney General.

One of the main themes of the meeting was all levels of government need to "collaborate" and "integrate their resources" better, especially in the area of intelligence gathering and sharing. It is imperative that governments and agencies work more closely together than ever before and fight the tendency to centralize and guard turf.

The officials also discussed possible supplemental dollars that will be coming to local communities for training and equipment.

NACo President Javier Gonzales, a Santa Fe, New Mexico County Commissioner, chairs the task force, which was drawn from the leadership of NACo’s steering committees and affiliated organizations such as the National Association of County and City Public Health Officials, the National Association of County Engineers and the National Council of County Association Executives.

Stilwell has been Lee County Manager since 1993. He has worked in city/county manager positions since 1972 in Oregon, California and Florida. As Lee County Manager, Stilwell oversees an organization of 25 departments and divisions, 2,000 employees, and an annual operating and capital budget of more than $500 million.

He also serves on the Florida Local Government Finance Commission, sits as an ex-officio member of the Florida Association of Counties’ (FAC) Board of Directors, and recently was appointed to the International City/County Management Association’s (ICMA) Review Panel for its "Municipal Management Series" on Economic Development.