AAC staff profile: Jarrod Kinnaird

Law Clerk — Jarrod Kinnaird

Family information: There is my mother, who is an amazing and strong woman. Arkansas born and raised, she is a University of Arkansas alumni and was a high school teacher for over 40 years. She recently survived a ruptured brain aneurysm and is still kicking it strong.

My favorite meal: Arby’s curly fries and ketchup.

The accomplishment of which I am most

proud: Being able to look back on my life and be happy with how it has turned out so far.

Motto or favorite quote: “If you don’t know what you want, you end up with a lot you don’t.” — Chuck Palahniuk

How long have you been at AAC and can you describe some

of your projects? I joined the AAC about two weeks before Christmas. This was the perfect time to start, as my first accomplishment was eating too much food too quickly at the Christmas party and having to duck out early. Currently, my main project is to finish compiling the Code of Ordinances for nearly all of the counties of Arkansas.

What do you like most about your position

at AAC? I like being versatile. Not many jobs will require someone to go from cramming a Christmas tree into a closet and then straight to doing legal research. I enjoy the ability to multitask, as well as the knowledge I’m gaining from first-hand experience working with the legal team. What I like most about working at the AAC is easily everyone who works here. It’s easy to see that everyone is a genuine good person, and they all work well with each other. This makes waking up early to come in for work extremely easy.

The hardest thing I have ever done: Move out of Texas.

At the top of my bucket list is to: Become a grandmaster in chess.

You might be surprised to learn that:

I scored a perfect score on the C.L.E.E.T. Handgun Qualification Course in Oklahoma.

Jarrod Kinnaird My pet peeve is: People who don’t know how to zipper merge.

www.naco.org

About NACo – The Voice of America’s Counties

National Association of Counties (NACo) is the only national organization that represents county governments in the U.S. NACo provides essential services to the nation’s 3,068 counties. NACo advances issues with a unified voice before the federal government, improves the public’s understanding of county government, assists counties in finding and sharing innovative solutions through education and research and provides value-added services to save counties and taxpayers money.

NACo testifies before bicameral hearing on “Waters of the U.S.” proposed rule

On Feb. 4, El Paso County, Colo. Commissioner and NACo’s First Vice President Sallie Clark, testified on behalf of the National Association of Counties (NACo) before the before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee (EPW) and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) at a hearing, “Impacts of the Proposed Waters of the United States Rule on State and Local Governments.” Clark’s testimony focused on the importance of the local, state and federal partnership in crafting practical rules to ensure clean water without impeding counties’ fundamental infrastructure and public safety functions.

The rare bicameral joint hearing was led by Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) who said that he expected all 79 House T&I and Senate EPW Committee members — 20 EPW and 59 T&I committee members — to attend. The hearing focused on the impact the proposed rule would have on states, local governments, their communities, businesses and industries.

In April 2014, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) jointly released a new proposed rule that would amend the definition of “waters of the U.S.” within the Clean Water Act and dramatically expand the range of public safety infrastructure that falls under federal permitting authority.

Gina McCarthy, Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works) testified on the first panel. Members of Congress questioned McCarthy and Darcy for three hours on the proposed rule. McCarthy indicated the proposed rule was in response to stakeholder requests for a rulemaking and, in fact, will make it easier to determine what waters fall under federal jurisdiction. Darcy stressed the rule was based on science and would give regulators in the regional offices greater clarity on jurisdictional waters.

Clark was joined on the second panel by E. Scott Pruitt, Attorney General, State of Okla.; Adam H. Putnam, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, on behalf of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture; Timothy Mauck, Commissioner, Clear Creek County, Colo.; and Lemeul M. Srolovic, Bureau Chief, Environmental Protection Bureau, Office of New York State Attorney General T. Schneiderman.

At the hearing, Clark discussed the main reasons that contributed to NACo’s decision to call for withdrawal of the rule, including the proposal’s impacts on counties; an inadequate consultation process with state and local governments; ambiguous and inconsistent terminology; and ongoing delays with the current permitting process. After working closely with county technical experts — county engineers, legal staff, public works directors and stormwater managers — who implement federal and state programs on the ground every day, NACo this past November called for the proposed rule to be withdrawn until further analysis and more in-depth consultation with state and local officials could be completed.

“NACo supports common-sense environmental protection. Expanded federal oversight and the proposal’s vague language would create more uncertainty and delays in critical work without any proven environmental benefit,” said Clark. “Let me be clear, counties support clean water. Our goal is to ensure public safety and economic vitality while safeguarding water quality. The current proposal falls short of this goal.”

“This issue is so important to counties because we build, own and maintain a significant portion of public safety infrastructure. The proposed rule would have direct and extensive implications,” Clark said.

Local governments own nearly 80 percent of all public road miles and half of the nation’s bridges. Counties also own water quality systems and other infrastructure like roadside ditches, storm water systems, green infrastructure and drinking water facilities.

Clark emphasized the importance of the all levels of government working together to craft workable rules and implementing Clean Water Act programs on the ground. “Counties are not just stakeholders in this discussion — we are key partners in the federal-state-local intergovernmental system,” she said.

“This is an opportunity to reset the clock and work together. NACo looks forward to working with Congress and federal agencies to craft a clear, concise, workable definition of “waters of the U.S.” to achieve our common goal: to protect water quality without inhibiting the public safety and economic vitality of our communities.”

Clark concluded, “In the eyes of county governments, this is not a political issue. It is an issue of practicality and partnership.”

The public comment period for “waters of the U.S.” closed on November 14, 2014. The agencies are currently reviewing over one million comments and plan to release a final rule by late spring of 2015.

Since the proposal was unveiled in April, NACo has advocated for greater clarity and launched an online resource hub and action center. Go to http://www.naco.org/ legislation/Pages/WOUS.aspx to access the hub and action center.

NACo releases Economic Tracker By Emilia Istrate, Research Director

NACo has released the 2014 County Economic Tracker: Progress through Adversity, an analysis of the recovery patterns across the 3,069 county economies in 2014. The conditions of a county economy can constrain and challenge county governments, residents and businesses, but can also provide opportunities.

The 2014 County Economic Tracker analyzes the annual changes of four economic performance indicators — economic output, also known as gross domestic product (GDP), employment, unemployment rates and home prices — between 2013 and 2014 across county economies. In addition, it explores 2012–2013 wage dynamics, taking into account the effect of local cost-of-living and inflation of average annual wages in county economies.

The focus of the report is on the county economy, not the county government. County economies are the building blocks of regional economies (metropolitan areas

NACo news briefs

and micropolitan areas), states and the nation. County governments ensure the functionality of these fundamental units by building and maintaining basic infrastructure assets, keeping communities healthy and safe, and providing the social safety net for those in need. 2014 was a year of growth, but recovery from the recession remains sluggish. By 2014, the GDP in 55 percent of all county economies recovered or did not decline as measured over the last decade. Home prices were in a similar situation. Job growth accelerated and 63 percent of county economies witnessed faster job gains than in 2013.

This job growth helped unemployment decline in almost all county economies during the past year, but it was not sufficient to bring most county economies to levels seen before the recession. Nearly three-quarters of county economies are still below their pre-recession employment levels and unemployment is not back to pre-recession rates in 95 percent of county economies.

However, by 2014, almost three-quarters of county economies had recovered to pre-recession levels on at least one of the indicators analyzed (GDP, employment, unemployment rates and home prices). For the first time, one large county economy (Kent County, Mich.) out of the 124 large county economies reached its unemployment rate seen before the downturn.

Yet, none of the large county economies — counties with more than 500,000 residents — recovered on all four indicators.

Smaller county economies have fared better. Sixty-five county economies recovered on all four indicators by 2014. Most are small, counties with fewer than 50,000 people. Most of them have booming energy and agriculture sectors (in states such as Alaska, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota and Texas).

County economies are where Americans feel the national economy. While the 2014 national economic numbers are strong, Americans do not see them in their paychecks. For example, only 40 percent of the new jobs in 2014 were in industries paying more than the average wage in the county where the job resides. Large county economies continued to generate a disproportionate share of the new jobs in 2014, but only 38 percent of the net jobs created in the 124 large county economies were in industries paying above the 2013 average wage in their residing county.

Between 2012 and 2013, average wages declined in half of county economies, when taking into consideration the cost of living and inflation. In states such as Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Maryland, only a third of county economies saw growth in their cost of living and inflation-adjusted wages.

This sluggish and uneven recovery across county economies adds to the obstacles that challenge counties. Counties face a triple threat from the uncertainty around major federal policy changes, from tax reform, entitlement reform and appropriation cuts, absent any reductions in unfunded mandates or federal regulations.

Counties are doing their part, investing in economic development, transportation and providing core social services. In creating economic development initiatives, counties leverage networks of public, nonprofit and private partners necessary for successful local economic development.

“The County Economic Tracker is a reminder that that the U.S. economy happens on the ground, in the 3,069 county economies that provide the basis for county governments,” said Matt Chase, NACo executive director.

“Economic growth is spreading, but most county economies have not recovered to levels seen before the recession on a number of indicators. This progress through adversity indicates the success of county economic development efforts, but also the continued need for a strong local-state-federal partnership in securing a strong economy.”

You can find the 2014 County Economic Tracker: Progress through Adversity at www. naco.org/countyeconomies. To access the companion interactive maps and the individualized county profiles, go to NACo’s County Explorer interactive map at www. naco.org/countyexplorer.

Continued From Page 49 <<<

Advertiser Resource Index

AAC Risk Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 AAC Workers’ Compensation Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Arkansas Business Publishing Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Arkansas GIS Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 DataScout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Front Cover Apprentice Information Systems, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Crews and Associates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back Cover Guardian RFID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Ergon Asphalt & Paving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Financial Intelligence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Nationwide Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Rainwater Holt & Sexton, PA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Southern Tire Mart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 Tax Pro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Time Striping, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

This publication was made possible with the support of these advertising partners who have helped to underwrite the cost of County Lines. They deserve your consideration and patronage when making your purchasing decisions. For more information on how to partner with County Lines, please call Christy L. Smith at (501) 372-7550.

PERMIT No. 2797