The Price Counties Have Paid

— Photo from CanStockPhoto

Local governments have adapted and gotten creative during the pandemic.

Story By Christy L. Smith AAC Communications Director

Counties are on the front lines of providing essential services such as road and bridge maintenance, public safety, and health and human services to residents. This unique position places counties at the forefront of responding in emergency situations. The last 18 months have been no exception, as a virus outbreak overseas became a pandemic that extended its reach around the world.

COVID-19 thrust counties into uncharted waters. Anticipated increases in demand on local government services, increasing costs, and an uncertain economic outlook, forced counties across the country to institute some sort of austerity measures.

Arkansas counties were no exception. The Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) conducted an informal poll of the state’s 75 counties in May 2020, and about a quarter of them were preparing for what many experts thought would be dire economic circumstances.

Craighead County Judge Marvin Day said his county postponed capital improvement projects, such as a courtroom expansion, to save money. And 120 of the county’s 277 employees took a voluntary furlough. Judge Day said this was done for a couple of reasons: it was a way for the county to save money, and it was a way for employees to maintain their employment with the county but receive federal assistance to cover their salaries.

“We did it in anticipation that we might have to permanently lay people off,” Day said.

Some counties did lay employees off; some implemented hiring freezes; still others opted to stay the course and wait to see what the actual economic ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic would be.

Another aspect of the counties’ response to the pandemic involved safety measures — both for those working in the courthouse buildings and for residents.

As of May 17, 2021, the Arkansas Department of Health reported that over the course of the pandemic, the state had logged nearly 339,000 confirmed and probable cases of COVD-19. The state had nearly 5,800 deaths.

According to the Health Department’s numbers the five counties with the most positive COVID-19 cases were Pulaski (33,813), Washington (23,450), Benton (21,893), Sebastian (11,790), and Craighead (11,682). The five counties with the fewest positive cases were Calhoun (307), Lafayette (378), Searcy (393), Montgomery (554), and Woodruff (452).

As positive case numbers climbed, many counties restricted public access to their courthouses, urging citizens not to conduct their business in person.

“We locked our courthouse down to the public,” said Yell County Judge Mark Thone. “We asked the public to call in to make appointments.”

Like Yell County, many Arkansas counties posted office phone numbers on the courthouse doors. In some cases, officials wearing protective gear came outside to meet residents and to accept paperwork or payments. Some had bank teller-type windows that opened to the outside, and they could conduct business that way. And counties with a robust internet presence encouraged residents to conduct their business online.

Many counties kept their courthouses open to the public but implemented strict screening protocols, required masks to be worn, placed hand sanitizer stations in the courthouse, and installed barriers between the staff and residents. In some counties, the number of people allowed in a single office was limited.

Circuit and district judges stopped having court. Jails restricted the number of intakes, set up areas where inmates testing positive could be quarantined, and acquired as much Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) as they could to protect employees.

These restrictions and new protocols meant that county government had to get creative about serving the public.

Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde issued his first emergency order in May 2020, closing the courthouse to the public. As of the publication of this magazine, the Pulaski County Courthouse will remain closed through June 4, 2021, unless the judge extends his order.

“The pandemic stifled or halted many businesses and activities in Pulaski County, our in-person services were no exception,” Pulaski County Treasurer/Collector Debra Buckner said in a press release issued by the county. “My executive staff and I worked tirelessly to find a solution that would allow inperson payments.”

That solution came in the form of a partnership from Sept. 1, 2020, through Dec. 18, 2020, with a local bank with branches where payments were accepted at the drive-through.

“We were guests of Centennial Bank,” Debbye Wolter, chief administrator in the Pulaski County Treasurer’s office, wrote in an email.

“They offered us one drive-through lane at three locations in Pulaski County. Our employees went to the branches and worked at the drive-through with taxpayers. We felt like this was a huge success as our building was closed and this was the only ‘in person’ and cash option at the beginning.”

Also in September 2020, the Pulaski County Treasurer’s office worked with CheckFreePay to accept cash payments at 52

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locations within 10 miles of downtown Little Rock — Kroger, Walmart, Edwards Food Giant, some gas stations, and other sites, according to Wolter.

“This was a great option, and we continue to use this method for Pulaski County taxpayers,” Wolter wrote.

Centennial Bank will work with the county again this fall, offering a fourth branch, she wrote.

When vaccines became available, county governments again adjusted and offered creative solutions.

Judge Thone said Yell County and the cities of Dardanelle and Danville collaborated with two pharmacies to offer drivethrough vaccination clinics. During one of those clinics, the Yell County Office of Emergency Management director counted how many vaccinations were administered in one hour — 86.

“The most successful part of our COVID response was the drive-through vaccination clinics,” Judge Thone said. “The people were very appreciative of that, particularly the elderly.”

And, fortunately, the economic disaster that some experts predicted has not come to fruition. Counties were eligible to apply for a portion of $75 million in CARES Act funding last year. Some counties used that to help food banks, volunteer fire departments, and other such entities that struggled to meet the extra demand on their services during the height of the pandemic. Counties also are receiving money under the American Rescue Plan (ARP) of 2021, the spending guidelines of which are being laid out. Plus, Judge Day in Craighead County said sales tax revenues just did not drop as expected.

Craighead County experienced not only the strain of the pandemic, but also a devastating tornado and theft of money by a county official. However, Judge Day said those things “really strengthened our team because we had to adjust, and we were all pulling together to make things better. There are just really a lot of blessings to be told on that front. We came out strong financially” because of the initial cost-saving measures the county took.

Still, he said, the county has concerns about employers who are having trouble finding people to work.

“We are cautiously optimistic going forward and going forward we are watching our sales tax numbers very closely,” Judge Day said.

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