I am sure that most of you have tried many different ways to get the legislators in Washington, D.C. to listen to your concerns. Many more have sent emails and written letters. Many of you have visited them in their home offices.

One other path is through your county officials. Many of you know your county officials on a first name basis. They can be an effective intermediary between the first responders throughout the county and the Congressmen in Washington.

The county officials have to worry about effective police, fire, and emergency medical services county wide. In addition, most public safety communication services are county run.

This is why first responders have an effective voice through their county officials.

Within two weeks thousands upon thousands of county officials will descend upon Washington, D.C. for the National Association of County Officials Annual Legislative Conference.

From March 4 through March 8, these officials will be discussing all the topics under the sun. There are so many federal mandates they have to follow they will be pressed to cover all the issues. But if you give them your concerns and the facts and figures to back up your concerns, you will be able to help them be more effective representatives for your interests. For example, what interoperability problems exist in your county, between departments, and between different agencies? What is your interoperable communication solution that you would like to see advanced?

So there it is. Get to work. You have two weeks to see who is going to Washington. Remind them again how much funding is really necessary; funding that must come from Congress.

You can use the link below to give your own views and comments on what you think may be an effective way to get your message across.