AAC
F a m i ly F r i e n d s
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Reflections on 2011
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 Scott Perkins at 501.372.7550. Executive Director / Executive Editor Chris Villines Managing Editor Scott Perkins
AAC Executive Board: Mike Jacobs – President Roger Haney – Vice President Danny Hickman – Secretary-Treasurer Sherry Bell Debra Buckner Rita Chandler Jim Crawford Vacant position Jimmy Hart Judy Beth Hutcherson Leonard Krout Faron Ledbetter Skippy Leek Gene Raible Danny Russell Johnny Rye Debbie Wise National Association of Counties (NACo) Board Affiliations Alvin Black: Public Lands Steering Committee. He is the Montgomery County Judge.
H.O. Gray: Chair, Aging Subcommittee of the Hu-
man Services & Education Steering Committee (Subcommittee chair). He serves on the Jefferson County Quorum Court.
Roger Haney: Board of Directors. (He is the Washington County Treasurer.)
Ted Harden: Finance & Intergovernmental Affairs
Steering Committee. He serves on the Jefferson County Quorum Court.
Haze Hudson: Community & Economic Development Steering Committee. He is a member of the Miller County Quorum Court.
David Hudson: Chair of NACo’s Justice and Public
Safety Steering Committee. He serves as Sebastian County Judge.
Mike Jacobs: NACo Board of Directors, the Mem-
bership Committee and the Agricultural & Rural Affairs Steering Committee. He is the Johnson County Judge.
Buddy Villines: Transportation Steering Committee. He is the Pulaski County Judge.
COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2012
Director’s Desk
Another fresh new year
A
s 2012 dawns upon us, it is time to reflect on past accomplishments and hope for future ones. But planning the next year requires you to survey the landscape ahead. The mountains and valleys in front of us help determine the path to our dreams,¬ both personally and in relation to our careers.
Chris Villines AAC Executive Director
To that end, a time to reflect on the year just closed is in order. The last year has been one of struggles, victories, celebrations and somber moments. Chalked up as a victory is that the 88th Arkansas General Assembly has come and gone, and by all accounts it can be deemed a rousing success for the counties of Arkansas. This can, in small part, be linked to the bills that we prepared and got passed. But a larger, more effective measure of our accomplishment is the elimination of hundreds of bills, some of which could have had a profoundly negative effect across the state. But 2011 had its terrible disappointments as well. The losses of AAC Communications Director Randy Kemp and Lafayette County Judge Frank Scroggins (see tributes to both throughout this issue of County Lines) were difficult times for us all. It is in times like these that the best character of our counties comes out. We are a resilient sort. Be it dealing with constituents or running campaigns, lobbying at the capitol, budget cuts or implementing new laws, our county offices continually beat back impediments. The good news is that we face adversity well. Unfortunately, tough economic times found their way to all of us. We are fortunate that our difficulties pale beside many in other parts of the country, but we had to deal with some financial setbacks nonetheless. We are currently working our way out of the deepest recession since the Great Depression. Thankfully our government survived that crisis and I relate to President Harry S. Truman, who once said: “The only thing new in the world is the history you don’t know.” We have been here before. Looking into the 2012 crystal ball, I believe our tough economic times are not over, and despite all efforts to continue funding at current levels, the year ahead will be difficult. AAC President and Johnson County Judge Mike Jacobs joined me in a recent trip to Washington, D.C., where we heard from federal leadership regarding expected budget cuts. What we left with was the sobering reality that shrinking dollars present a real problem nationwide for counties and the services we are mandated to provide. Trickle-down economic theory has long been a part of American politics and its merit has been hotly debated and its success arguable. What is not arguable is that we have entered into a new era of major cuts and that these cuts do indeed trickle >>> 7
