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Counties: the bridge connecting state government to the people
T
he Association of Arkansas Counties stakeholders and staff have dutifully navigated a so-called off year in the legislature so far in 2016. This even year has offered not only a fiscal session, but also two special sessions in which counties were heavily involved in shaping policy and working with legislators on a multitude of issues and challenges. The first special session paved the way for the policy of Arkansas Works (Arkansas’ version of Medicaid expansion). The second piece of the puzzle — legislative approval of the state budget — was realized after frenzied political action surrounding Arkansas Works in the fiscal session. In the end, the Revenue Stabilization Act was passed, Arkansas Works lived, and a bunch of worst-case financial scenarios did not become reality. The second extraordinary session couched as a highway funding session became a catchall mini regular session by all our accounts. The legislature approved and debated 14 different topics on the call. They passed 13 of them. And to think the 91st General Assembly will convene before we know it early in 2017. Let us not forget during the last regular session we tracked more than 800 bills. The AAC board, staff and members consistently aim to educate about counties’ role in state government — and for good reason. It is imperative we share our story with our constituents and legislators. We are where the rubber meets the road in local and state government service delivery. Our school districts and various other taxing agents depend on our assessments, collections and distribution of funds. Our rural communities are able to function thanks to county roads that connect them and their goods to markets. The estimated 50,000 miles of county roads and the more than 3,000 bridges help deliver our children to and from school five days a week. Our sheriffs departments across the state help ensure public safety by patrolling our neighborhoods, taking bad guys off the streets and managing jails. By the way, there’s not a bunch of people standing in line to run a jail. It’s tough work, but our counties
We want your news COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2016
President’s Perspective
do it. Our country is gearing up for a historical general election in November, and counties will be instrumental in executing a fair and efficient election. I could go on and on, but the point is — counties are interwoven into Judy Beth Hutcherson the fabric of our state governAAC Board President; ment. There’s so much to county Clark County Treasurer government that even a seasoned public official like myself learns something everyday. In our effort to better educate our state about counties, we have developed some helpful tools, such as updated policy briefs, one pagers and infographics, including various data about counties. A recent one pager concerning rural road infrastructure can be found on page 38. More than 1,100 county bridges have been deemed structurally obsolete or deficient. Many of us don’t give the bridges we drive across everyday much thought, but next time you drive to work or church or school, count the secondary road bridges you use on just that one trip. Imagine how your quality of life would be adjusted if some of those bridges failed. We would all certainly give bridges more thought in that scenario. Our aging rural infrastructure is just one county challenge. In many ways, counties are the bridge connecting state government to the people of Arkansas. And many residents don’t give that bridge much thought. We hope to help change that. Judy Beth Hutcherson Clark County Treasurer / AAC Board President
Judy Beth Hutcherson
Did an aspect of county government “make news” recently in your county? Did any of your county officials or staff get an award, appointment or pat on the back? Please let us know about it for the next edition of County Lines magazine. You can write up a couple of paragraphs about it, or if something ran in your local paper, call and ask them to forward the story to us. We encourage you or your newspaper to attach a good quality photo, too: e-mail csmith@arcounties.org. 9
