From the Director’s Desk

County Lines

Magazine

County Lines is the official publication of the Association of Arkansas Counties. It is published quarterly. For advertising inquiries, subscriptions or other information relating to the magazine, please contact Christy L. Smith or Scott Perkins at 501.372.7550.

Executive Director / Publisher Chris Villines Communications Director/ Managing Editor Scott Perkins Communications coordinator/ Editor Christy L. Smith

AAC Executive Board:

Mike Jacobs – President Roger Haney – Vice President Judy Beth Hutcherson – Secretary-Treasurer Sherry Bell Debra Buckner Sue Liles Bear Chaney Andrea Billingsley Jimmy Hart John Montgomery Patrick Moore Rhonda Cole Joe Gillenwater David Thompson Bill Hollenbeck Will Jones Debbie Wise

National Association of Counties (NACo) Board Affiliations

Alvin Black: Public Lands Steering Committee. He is the Montgomery County Judge. Roger Haney: Board of Directors. He is the Washington County Treasurer and is also on the Telecommunications & Technology Steering Committee. Ted Harden: Finance & Intergovernmental Affairs

Steering Committee. He serves on the Jefferson

County Quorum Court. Haze Hudson: Transportation Steering Committee.

He serves on the Miller 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. Mike Jacobs: NACo Board of Directors, the Membership Committee and the Agricultural & Rural

Affairs Steering Committee. He is the Johnson

County Judge.

Government harmed by ideology

Director’s Desk

Much is made these days of partisan politics, and the impasses we have seen at federal, state and local levels as a result. In days gone by, it seems that we were able to Chris Villines argue social doctrine at high levels and come to relative AAC agreement that once the argument ended, the move forward began, and the fight was left to history. Executive Director

Partisan politics can be a very good and beneficial thing, as we have all heard there are many ways to accomplish the same good goals. At times in our nation’s history, the slow plod of fleshing out arguments has resulted in new ideas that were neither partisan nor tested but proved to work well. It was only through the process of public debate that these new ideas were developed and implemented. Today we find our state part of a similar process involving the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and our move toward the private option.

In time we will find whether the private option works or does not, but regardless of which, it is a model that our state leaders reached across party lines to develop. To this day the leaders continue to fine-tune it as we reach implementation crossroads. I say this because it is disingenuous for our society to criticize partisan politics without acknowledging the examples of working together and the potentially good results that come from it.

After consideration, I believe partisan politics is not the problem in government today, and nobody is better positioned than county government to make this argument. Our close relationship with constituents as federal and state doctrines are implemented give us a front row seat to those positions and whether they really do work. Good laws passed result in compliments to us and to our staff. Bad laws earn the ire of the citizens, and criticism rarely follows the decision-makers. Instead the negative opinions are heard at our collective counters across the state.

I submit that partisan politics per se is a good thing, a meshing of ideas that results in generally better thought-out laws that take implementation into consideration. But there are two factors working together in our society that make many believe partisan politics is bad. These two factors result in rushed laws that do not take administration of the legislation into account. These two things are: 1) misplaced ideology and 2) rush to implementation.

Like many county officials from Arkansas, I was able to attend this year’s National Association of Counties Conference. Many good things come from this conference, and one statement was made that continues to stick with me. Mayor Mitch Landrieu welcomed the conference to Orleans Parish on July 14 — and he said to the group, “At the end of the day, we folks in local government do not have the luxury of engaging in ideological debate.” What a refreshing quote! Mayor Landrieu gets it. He understands that we are charged with implementation and administration, not arguing the merits of the laws we have to follow.

Many of you have spent hours in your lives at football games, from Pop Warner leagues all the way up to NFL. If you could have a dime for every Monday morning quarterback second-guessing the coach on a called play, you’d never buy a lottery ticket again. Simply stated, this is representative of a misplaced ideology that now runs rampant in our society. Financial guru Dave Ramsey has helped millions of people with >>>

individual financial planning, and one of his most used statements in that counseling is, “What happens in your house is more important than what happens in the White House.”

Dave, as you can imagine, fields many phone calls from people wanting to blame their personal financial woes on federal government — and his response is a classic call to have them examine their own personal issues for improvement instead of Washington D.C. (To be fair, he has made this statement with both Republicans and Democrats occupying the presidency). In order to get better, one must know the playing field he controls, and work at it this way. Gains and losses are amplified when the tools to affect them are under your control, and time is wasted when we blame others in positions affected only by an election.

What we are seeing, though, is armchair quarterbacking take over in all levels of society. Lost in this is that our official duties in county government do not give deference to arguing over whether we agree with certain laws. They are passed and we must follow and administer them, regardless of our opinions. This is not largely a problem in counties, we are typically too busy stretching our dollars with each new policy and unfunded mandate that comes down to spend a great deal of time bemoaning the changes.

But it does happen some. And ideological debate is creeping into all levels of government, often times misplaced. A quorum court can spend countless hours questioning federal regulations regarding what kind of food our prisoners must eat, but at the end of the day only federal change can override it. The ACA can be debated in committee at the legislature, but only federal government or courts can make major rule changes.

Misplaced ideological debate is one thing harming our government, but maybe even more dangerous is this ever-present push to rush change at ALL levels of government. I think we all get that technology causes shifts in how we handle things at lightspeed, but we cannot let these rapid shifts drive change in government to the point that we cannot administer. The failed ACA sign-up website is a perfect example of having a law implemented without deference to the operational requirements needed to make it work. As laws come faster and with less vetting, we will find ourselves with practical application gaps.

In Arkansas, the problem is compounded by some of the strongest term-limits laws in the country. Our legislators want to accomplish things, and this is commendable, but the squeeze to have much work done in a short period of time gives rise to proposals that do not allow time for affected groups to discover and implement changes necessary for the pursuits. Worse yet, a short session with a great number of bills gives little time for interaction before bills are presented and run through the system.

If we want to make partisan politics work, it takes time … time to discuss, time to ask interested parties how things will be implemented, time to vet with constituents, and time to ponder for possible better solutions along the way. Rushed bills can easily become bad acts if not looked at closely, which gives me an opportunity to invite all of you to take part in watching bills in the upcoming session and asking questions of each other as to the impact. Sometimes two public hearings is all you get, and we have to act quickly as an association to make sure that our voice is strong and loud in this process.

There are two major rules in acting. One is to know your place; the other is to not go too fast. If all of government adopted these rules and reminded themselves of the negative possibilities produced by rushed and misplaced legislation we could find our country once again engaged in congenial philosophical discussion with opposing teams shaking hands at the end of the game.

ArkAnsAs stAte CApitol snApsHots

The State Capitol Rose Gardens, along the northwest lawn and near the Justice Building, feature more than 1,500 rose bushes of more than 50 varieties that bloom throughout the summer. Ranging from the English rose and hybrid teas to shrubs and climbers, the plants are part of the national test program. Growers submit 20 specimens to the test garden each year, where they remain for three years before being replaced by younger plants and new varieties. Removed plants are donated to schools and organizations to share the beauty around Arkansas.

For more information on your Capitol go to www.sos.arkansas.gov

(AAC Photos / Christy L. Smith)