*Effective July 2023, the 10-Minute Guide Series is undergoing revision to align with the updated Conservation District Handbook. Please note, Guides 1 through 4, and 11 thorugh 13 have been updated, but the other links below may not be accurate to new policy.
In time for January 2007, the Conservation Commission’s District Services Division launched a new effort to provide training to help conservation district directors better understand and carry out their responsibilities. The “District Directors’ Responsibilities: A 10-Minute Guide Series” is a continuing series of informational/discussion topics designed to help conservation district directors become more informed and knowledgeable about their responsibilities.
The guides are being distributed at the rate of one per month, in time for directors to review and then discuss at the next board meeting. A hard copy of the first guide was mailed to board chairmen to introduce the series and an electronic version was posted on the OCC’s website. In late January, in time for February board meetings, the second guide was emailed to all conservation district offices for local distribution and posted electronically, and that method will be used to distribute the rest of the series.
The topic of the first 10-Minute Guide covers Oklahoma’s Open Meeting/Open Records Act as it pertains to conservation districts. The second guide explains state laws that apply to how a district board holds an Executive Session. Topics for future installments include Conducting Effective Board Meetings, Recruiting New Board Members and Supervising and Managing Employees, among others.
“We are already getting feedback that these guides are a great help to both directors and district staff,” said Lisa Knauf, District Services director.
Check this page periodically, as more 10-Minute Guides will be added to the series.
Guide No. 1 – Oklahoma’s Open Meeting Act
Guide No. 2 – Executive Sessions
Guide No. 3 – Hiring, Supervising, and Managing Employees
Guide No. 4 – District Cooperator Agreements
Guide No. 5 – Sexual Harassment
Guide No. 6 – District Policies
Guide No. 8 – Legal Responsibilities
Guide No. 9 – Equal Opportunity
Guide No. 10 – Financial Management
Guide No. 11 – Employee Benefits
Guide No. 12 – Director Elections
Guide No. 13 – Watershed Sponsor Responsibilities
Guide No. 14 – Recruiting Board Members
Guide No. 15 – Understanding Types of Leave for Conservation District Employees
Guide No. 16 – Oklahoma Open Records Act
Guide No. 17 – Understanding the Terms of At-Will Employment
Guide No. 18 – Parliamentary Procedure
Guide No. 20 – Economics of Conservation
Guide No. 21 – Duties of a Conservation District Public Official
Guide No. 22 – Locally-Earned Funds
Guide No. 23 – Responsibilities of Conservation District Officers
Guide No. 24 – Progressive Discipline
Guide No. 25 – Tort Claims To view an Acrobat pdf file of a PowerPoint presentation on Tort Claims, click here — Oklahoma Tort Claims Act Overview 2009.
Guide No. 26 – Associate Board Members
Guide No. 28 – Minutes of Board Meetings
Guide No. 29 – Working with Legislators