County Lines County Lines ([ISSN 2576-1137 (print) and ISSN 2576-1145 (online)] is the official publication of the Association of Arkansas Counties. It is published quarterly. For advertising inquiries, subscriptions or other information, please contact Christy L. Smith at 501.372.7550. Executive Director/Publisher Chris Villines Communications Director/ Managing Editor Christy L. Smith Communications Coordinator/ Editor Holland Doran
AAC Executive Board: Debbie Wise – President Brandon Ellison – Vice President Rhonda Cole – Secretary-Treasurer Tommy Young Terri Harrison Debra Buckner Sandra Cawyer Kevin Cleghorn Terry McNatt Debbie Cross Brenda DeShields Ellen Foote Jimmy Hart Gerone Hobbs Marty Boyd John Montgomery Heather Stevens David Thompson National Association of Counties (NACo) Board Affiliations Debbie Wise: NACo board member. She is the Randolph County Circuit Clerk and president of the AAC Board of Directors. Brandon Ellison: NACo board member. He is the Pope County Judge and vice-president of the AAC Board of Directors. Ted Harden: Finance & Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee. He serves on the Jefferson County Quorum Court. David Hudson:Vice Chair of NACo’s Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He is the Sebastian County Judge and member of the Rural Action Caucus Steering Committee. Barry Hyde: Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He is the Pulaski County Judge. Gerone Hobbs: Membership Committee. He is the Pulaski County Coroner. Kade Holliday:Arts and Culture Committee and International Economic Development Task Force. He is the Craighead County Clerk. Paul Ellliot: Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He serves on the Pulaski County Quorum Court. Ellen Foote: Community, Economic & Workforce Development Steering Committee. She is the Crittenden County Tax Collector. Tawanna Brown:Telecommunications & Technology Steering Committe. She is the Crittenden County Chief Computer Operator.
COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2019
AAC
DIRECTOR’S DESK
Marking a successful legislative session
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hank you all for your patience regarding the printing and distribution of this edition of County Lines. As many of you know, the 92nd General Assembly has all but wrapped up the regular session, and we’ve all been quite busy around here. Chris Villines This is my opportunity to pen a column bragging about our AAC Executive Director biennial success in a session, but I must tell you that the 2019 convening of the legislature was particularly good for county government in Arkansas. Before we get into the first-blush results, the counties of Arkansas owe a tremendous amount of thanks to legislators across our state who listened to our needs and worked closely with us on positive reform in local government. Many of our early session concerns thankfully did not bear fruit, and our hopes for improvement were largely fulfilled. We also need to give a great deal of thanks to each other, and your association leaders who constantly darkened the hallways of our state capitol to insure our voices were heard. And it gives me great pleasure to compliment an outstanding policy team here at the AAC on their hard work throughout the 87-day session. It all starts with our former executive director, Eddie Jones, who reads every bill that is filed to determine whether there is impact on county government, then a team of Mark Whitmore, Lindsey Bailey, Josh Curtis and Christy L. Smith who work with the groups they represent and communicate session dynamics back to you all. A supporting cast of Anne Baker, Holland Doran and Sam Moore kept everything flowing this session. Without their help we would all be at a loss. But most thanks go to each of you, county and district officials, who communicate constantly with your legislators to keep them in the loop of county issues regarding specific bills. I cannot tell you how many times I would approach a legislator about an issue important to us and they were already aware of where county government would stand because of the communications you had with them. A profound thanks and collective pat on the back is deserved by each of you for your work this year. The great NBA coach Phil Jackson, winner of eleven professional basketball championships, once said, “The strength of the team is each individual member. The strength of each member is the team.” I can think of no better descriptive of county government during a session than this. Each of you come from different backgrounds, work in different disciplines, fall in different parties and have different strengths and weaknesses, but together we are unified as one representing county government. “Seventy-Five Counties, One Voice” was heard loud and clear — and the successes I can outline below are attributable to this unanimity and strength. I’m going to use the rest of this space to bullet-point our successes, and I think you will agree that this session is a high-water mark for county government legislative accomplishment: >>> 7