President’s Perspective

Summer paves way for busy 6 months

Summer is just around the corner, and I know many of you look forward to taking much-deserved vacations with friends and family. That time spent with loved ones is irreplaceable, so enjoy it to its fullest.

The beginning of June marks a busy period for us all. Many of you will still be campaigning for re-election — knocking on doors, attending community events, and spreading the good news of what you have accomplished for your county. I wish all of you the best of luck.

All eight county associations have continuing education meetings scheduled between the first part of June and midJuly. These meetings are invaluable, as we learn from one another and expand our knowledge about issues affecting the offices we hold.

This year, each association will finalize its legislative package. All the groups have been working diligently over the last six months — or even longer — to identify laws that need to be clarified, processes that need to be updated, and challenges that need to be solved. I commend you all on your dedication to making county government operate more efficiently and more effectively.

Several county and district officials will attend the National Association of Counties’ (NACo) 2018 Annual Conference & Exposition. The four-day event features more than a 100 workshops, committee meetings, forums, and sessions that will explore topical issues such as the national opioid epidemic, criminal justice and behavioral health, and disaster recovery, to name only a few. The NACo conference gives us an opportunity not only to interact with our counterparts in other states and learn best practices, but also to help shape federal policies. Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) are just two federal programs Arkansas counties rely on and must ensure are preserved.

Soon after the NACo conference, hundreds of us will gather in Rogers Aug. 8-10 to celebrate the Association of Arkansas Counties’ (AAC) 50th anniversary. The AAC and its staff have been a valuable resource for elected officials for five decades. We rely heavily on the staff’s input and the expertise they demonstrate at the state Capitol. I hope you can attend this year’s conference to celebrate alongside the AAC staff — and to learn from the wide array of speakers and presenters.

From there, we move into our fall association meeting schedule. And, of course, many of us face opponents in the November election. We’ll say a bittersweet goodbye to retiring officials, and we will welcome some new faces at the December New-Elect training hosted by the AAC.

County officials who are elected or re-elected this year will serve a four-year term for the first time ever. We won that right by waging a hard-fought battle at the state Capitol in 2015. We are so appreciative to the state legislators who supported and referred the four-year term initiative to the 2016 ballot. And we are grateful to the voters who overwhelmingly approved the measure. Four-year terms bring stability to our offices and allow us to accomplish much more without the distraction of waging a re-election campaign before we even get settled at our desks. In the end, it is our constituents who reap the rewards.

In closing, please enjoy your summer — but also prepare to work hard alongside your colleagues across the state during the next six months. We have much to get accomplished.

DEBBIE WISE AAC Board President; Randolph County Circuit Clerk

Debbie Wise

Debbie Wise Randolph County Circuit Clerk / AAC Board President

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