Collectors collect in Hot Springs

Collectors ‘collect’ at Arlington in Hot Springs

Arkansas County Collectors Association members attended a continuing education workshop at The Arlington Hotel in Hot Springs on Dec. 1-2. The workshop was hosted by the ARcounties Continuing Education (ACE) program. ACE is the educational arm of the AAC and serves five of the AAC’s member organizations.

Arkansas County Collectors Association members came to Hot Springs for a continuing education workshop and learned about everything from the growth in oil and gas production in the state of Arkansas to the latest in counterfeiting detection and trends from the United States Secret Service.

Paige Beavers Miller of Southwestern Energy/AIRPRO seemed to surprise many collectors and county employees when she said Arkansas ranks as the seventh leading natural gas producing state in the nation and also ranks 17th among oil producing states across the country.

Beavers Miller went on to explain the vastness of the property tax revenue generated by such a thriving energy-based industry in the state. She also said this industry and its continued success and growth will be a major factor in the state’s overall economic atmosphere and a factor in decreasing the United States’ dependency on foreign energy.

“Is the U.S. too reliant on foreign oil?” she asked as she flipped to the next slide in her presentation. “In 2011, we imported an estimated 351 barrels at a value of $37 billion. We could cut our oil imports by half by converting Sue Liles (front), White County Collector, and Cindy Walker, Columbia County Collector, look up information in a handout distributed by Paige Beavers Miller of Southwestern Energy/AIRPRO. Miller told the county collectors in attendance that natural gas was first discovered in Arkansas in 1989 and oil was discovered in Union County in 1921.

Jeff Sikes, AAC legislative director, thanks the county collectors for all they do for their respective counties at The Arlington while Rita Chandler, Arkansas County Tax Collectors Association president, looks on.

Norma Packett, Randolph County Collector, accepts the “big” door prize, a framed “Arkansas Traveler” print, from Ralph Burns of the Secretary of State’s office. Olivia Barenburg, Pope County chief deputy collector, signs her name with the opposite hand than she regularly would as part of a customer service exercise presented by Gail Steele with Bank of the Ozarks.

to domestic energy.”

She also said decreasing the reliance on foreign oil and increasing domestic production could pump $18.5 billion in the U.S. economy per month.

Jeff Sikes, AAC legislative director, said he and the AAC are thankful for the work the collectors accomplish across the state concerning tax collection management.

Gail Steele, who said she has been with Bank of the Ozarks for 14 years, explained her experience with quality customer service practices.

“Customers want to be treated like you would want to be treated when you enter a place of business,” Steele said. A smile goes a long way and putting “yourself” in the customer’s shoes is a good practice. She said simply listening and understanding a customer’s challenges are some of the keys to quality customer service.

United States Secret Service Special Agent Bruce Taylor provided his unique insight into the world of counterfeiting as he explained the intricacies of identifying counterfeit money and the several techniques used by criminals to create it.

“The most common type of counterfeit made in the U.S. is ink jet produced notes,” Taylor said. The ink jet is made of tiny colored dots that can be seen with a magnifying glass.

Taylor suggested comparing a suspected counterfeit currency to a legitimate U.S. note but to look for differences, not similarities.

He said the portrait on a genuine note would look lifelike and stand out from the background, while a counterfeit note portrait will appear lifeless and flat and the background would have distorted detail.

He also said the borders are another variable to compare.

The fine lines in the border of a genuine bill are clear and unbroken. On the counterfeit, the lines in the margin and scrollwork may be blurred and indistinct. Want more info? Go online to:

Olena Morris, Howard County chief deputy collector, listens to Bruce Taylor, Secret Service special agent, discuss the science behind ultraviolet testing for counterfeit currency. Bruce Taylor, special agent with United States Secret Service, explains processes of handling money and identifying counterfeit currency. He said the criminals counterfeiting today are most likely involved in other criminal activity and the counterfeiting is just a tangent of that lifestyle. Technology has changed the current “face” of counterfeiting tremendously in the last several years, he said.

The United States Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security created a “Law Enforcement Counterfeit Detection Guide” as a source for quick references on what indicators money handlers should be looking for.

www.secretservice.gov/know_your_ money.shtml

Did you Know?

Pens that are used every day at the point of sale to detect counterfeit currency are not foolproof. For example, bleached notes would not be detected by pens or highlighters found at most retail counters. Bleached notes are real U.S. currency that counterfeiters will bleach and then reprint a higher denomination fake note on the real United States currency paper.