County Lines Summer 2019
The Official Publication of the Association of Arkansas Counties
AAC Conference 2019
Page 32
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In This Issue SUMMER 2019
Cover Story 2019 AAC Conference Recap.........................................................32 Randy Kemp Memorial Golf Tournament Results......................38 Thank You to Our Exhibitors, Sponsors.........................................40
Features Frank Weaver Wins Wes Fowler Award.........................................25 2019 AAC Scholarship Recipients................................................26 Legislators Given Diamond Awards...............................................28 Saline County Coroner Selected for National Board................29 Hot Spring County unveils strategic plan.....................................30 Cleveland County/Circuit Clerk Receives Diamond Award....42 Governor Creates Levee Task Force..........................................43 Trump’s Counties..........................................................................44 Staff Profiles.................................................................................48
Inside Look Coroners hold crime scene photo class....................................50 Sheriffs meet in Rogers/Benton County...................................51 Judges Gather for Spring Meeting..............................................52
Treasurers Gather in Pope County.............................................53 Assessors Meet in Crittenden County...........................................54 Circuit Clerks Hold June Meeting in Logan County.....................55 Collectors Meet at DeGray Lake Resort.......................................56 Coroners Train in Aquatic Death....................................................57 County Clerks Meet in Hot Spring, Clark Counties......................58 Worker’s Compensation Fund Pays Dividends............................61
Departments From the Director’s Desk...................................................................7 President’s Perspective..................................................................11 From the Governor............................................................................13 Research Corner...............................................................................14 AG Opinions........................................................................................16 Governmental Affairs.......................................................................17 Legal Corner.......................................................................................18 Seems to Me..................................................................................... 20 Litigation Lessons.............................................................................22 Wellness & Safety.............................................................................24 NACo News Update...........................................................................62
Cover Notes: 51st Annual AAC Conference Recap
Pictured above are (from left to right) Assessment Coordination Department Director Bear Chaney, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, AAC Executive Director Chris Villines, Sebastian County Judge David Hudson, and Crawford County Judge Dennis Gilstrap. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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(Cover Illustration by Christy L. Smith)
he 51st Annual AAC Conference, held Aug. 21-23, 2019, in Hot Springs/Garland County proved successful in many ways. This year’s conference set a new record for attendance — nearly 900. Part of that increase can be attributed to the addition of a Jail Track Training. For the first time, the AAC offered separate training for jail administrators and other jail employees. The sessions, led by Risk Management staff, were well attended. So expect that program to continue in the future. This year’s theme — “Superheroes of County Government Unite” — was popular among attendees. And the central location helped to attract officials from across the state. Read a longer conference recap and see photos from the event beginning on Page 32. — Photo by Holland Doran
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AAC
CALENDAR
2019
Mission Statement: The Association of Arkansas Counties
Oct. 9-11 Circuit Clerks Meeting Hilton Garden Inn, Little Rock
Dec. 4-6 Collectors Meeting Fairfield Inn/BEC, Benton
Oct. 15-17 Roads Seminar Red Apple Inn, Heber Springs
Dec. 13 HR Seminar AAC Office Building
Oct. 29-Nov. 1 Assessors Meeting Holiday Inn, Springdale
Calendar activities also are posted on our website:
Contact AAC
www.arcounties.org
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he Association of Arkansas Counties supports and promotes the idea that all elected officials must have the opportunity to act together in order to solve mutual problems as a unified group. To further this goal, the Association of Arkansas Counties is committed to providing a single source of cooperative support and information for all counties and county and district officials. The overall purpose of the Association of Arkansas Counties is to work for the improvement of county government in the state of Arkansas. The Association accomplishes this purpose by providing legislative representation, on-site assistance, general research, training, various publications and conferences to assist county officials in carrying out the duties and responsibilities of their office.
1415 West Third Street Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 372-7550 phone / (501) 372-0611 fax www.arcounties.org
Chris Villines, Executive Director cvillines@arcounties.org
Cindy Posey, Accountant cposey@arcounties.org
Karen Bell, Administrative Assistant kbell@aacrms.com
Anne Baker, Executive Assistant abaker@arcounties.org
Mark Harrell, IT Manager mharrell@arcounties.org
Ellen Wood, Admin. Asst./Receptionist ewood@aacrms.com
Deann Campbell, Receptionist dcampbell@arcounties.org
Risk Management/ Workers’ Compensation
Brandy McAllister, RMS Counsel bmcallister@arcounties.org
Eddie Jones, Consultant e.jonesconsulting@gmail.com
Debbie Norman, Risk Mgmt. & Insurance Director dnorman@aacrms.com
Colin Jorgensen, RMF Litigation Counsel cjorgensen@arcounties.org
Mark Whitmore, Chief Legal Counsel mwhitmore@arcounties.org
Debbie Lakey, Workers’ Comp Claims Mgr. dlakey@aacrms.com
JaNan Thomas, RMF Litigation Counsel jdavis@arcounties.org
Josh Curtis, Governmental Affairs Director jcurtis@arcounties.org
Cathy Perry, Admin. Asst./Claims Analyst cperry@aacrms.com
Melissa Hollowell, RMF Litigation Counsel mhollowell@arcounties.org
Lindsey Bailey, Legal Counsel lbailey@arcounties.org
Kim Nash, Workers’ Comp Claims Adjuster knash@aacrms.com
Fonda Fitzgerald, RMF Paralegal ffitzgerald@arcounties.org
Christy L. Smith, Communications Director csmith@arcounties.org
Renee Turner,Workers’ Comp Claims Adjuster rturner@aacrms.com
Samantha Wren, RMF Paralegal swren@arcounties.org
Holland Doran, Communications Coordinator hdoran@arcounties.org
Riley Groover, Claims Analyst rgroover@aacrms.com
Becky Comet, Member Benefits Manager bcomet@arcounties.org
Karan Skarda, ACE Program Coordinator kskarda@arcounties.org
Greg Hunt, Claims Analyst ghunt@aacrms.com
Ed Piker, Loss Control Consultant epiker@arcounties.org
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COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
AAC
County Lines
Programs address the risks you face in county government
County Lines [(ISSN 2576-1137 (print) and ISSN 2576-1145 (online)] is the official publication of the Association of Arkansas Counties. It is published quarterly. For advertising inquiries, subscriptions or other information, please contact Christy L. Smith at 501.372.7550. Executive Director/Publisher Chris Villines Communications Director/ Managing Editor Christy L. Smith Communications Coordinator/ Editor Holland Doran
AAC Executive Board: Debbie Wise – President Brandon Ellison – Vice President Rhonda Cole – Secretary-Treasurer Tommy Young Terri Harrison Debra Buckner Sandra Cawyer Kevin Cleghorn Terry McNatt Debbie Cross Brenda DeShields Ellen Foote Jimmy Hart Gerone Hobbs Marty Boyd John Montgomery Heather Stevens David Thompson National Association of Counties (NACo) Board Affiliations Debbie Wise: NACo board member. She is the Randolph County Circuit Clerk and president of the AAC Board of Directors. Brandon Ellison: NACo board member. He is the Polk County Judge and vice-president of the AAC Board of Directors. Ted Harden: Finance & Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee. He serves on the Jefferson County Quorum Court. David Hudson: Chair of NACo’s Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He is the Sebastian County Judge and member of the Rural Action Caucus Steering Committee. Barry Hyde: Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He is the Pulaski County Judge. Gerone Hobbs: Membership Committee. He is the Pulaski County Coroner. Kade Holliday: Arts and Culture Committee and International Economic Development Task Force. He is the Craighead County Clerk. Paul Ellliot: Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee, vice-chair of law enforcement subcommittee. He serves on the Pulaski County Quorum Court. Ellen Foote: Community, Economic & Workforce Development Steering Committee. She is the Crittenden County Tax Collector. Tawanna Brown:Telecommunications & Technology Steering Committe. She is the Crittenden County Chief Computer Operator.
DIRECTOR’S DESK
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saw something the other day that made me happy and sad at the same time. It was the newly coined word “Hotumn.” This probably was devised by someChris Villines body up North suffering through mid-80-degree late AAC September heat and a dewpoint soaring around 55 degrees. Executive Director Of course, I think we in the South should copyright and use profusely this new description of our normal transition into fall. Over time, we simply get used to this tug of war between seasons, and since this is my 21st year in county government, I’m also used to the rite of passage that the beginning of school and our annual AAC Conference represents. Thinking back on our AAC Conference provides some wonderful memories of a great time in Garland County, and I want to thank our Hot Springs area hosts for making us feel at home. To me, having attended the last 21 conferences, it always mentally signals a shift into fall. In this issue you will find a number of recap pages of our conference, and I want to thank an incredible AAC Board of Directors and staff for making it one of our most successful ones. There is always some room for improvement, and we will aim to continue to make it better year after year, but one shining light of this year’s conference was our Jail Track training. For those of you in our Risk Management Program, you are aware of our growth in the legal department at the AAC. By adding four in-house attorneys over the last few years and commensurate support staff, we have created yet another nationally leading enterprise within this division. One of the most frustrating things we encounter as elected officials are lawsuits, frivolous or not. When you are sued, it becomes not only a legal issue, but also an issue of public opinion. By adding a legal team with a focus on training and lawsuit response, we are offering the tools you need to not only win these lawsuits, but to prevent them in the first place — a goal that Risk Management Director Debbie Norman, the Risk Management Board of Directors and I have had for a number of years. The fruits of our labor are events like this Jail Track training at conference, something that we plan to continue and expand in the future. To further enhance our training, all four of our risk management attorneys — Brandy McAllister, JaNan Thomas, Colin Jorgensen and Melissa Hollowell — have become certified CLEST instructors, giving our law enforcement valuable training hours toward their certification. The Jail Track training was not only CLEST certified, but it also provided CLE hours for lawyers toward their continuing education requirements. This new world of risk prevention for us doesn’t confine itself to law enforcement though. Many of you have gained valuable employment knowledge from Brandy as she burns up the state roads to speak at your conferences or individually with your office-holders to help develop policies for your counties. I am excited about the fruits of this labor as we move into the future. This transition within our office has made the Association of Arkansas Counties a formidable law firm, and the vision of our Board of Directors to make this happen has been laser beam focused and right on target. Your county board members
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DIRECTOR’S DESK
who serve on the seven-member board are:
eliminating the risk of transports. The codification program is now online and allows you to view other counties’ ordiJimmy Hart — Conway County Judge nances when designing your own. And Guardian continues John Montgomery — Baxter County Sheriff to improve with tracking abilities that will help us show you Sherry Huskey — Randolph County Treasurer where the most risk exists in your jails. Stacey Avey — Stone County Judge You should all be proud of the AAC Risk Management David Lucas — Jackson County Sheriff Program. It has grown exponentially through the years and, Brandon Ellison — Polk County Judge, and unlike a non-county risk pool, you OWN this program Shane Jones — Pope County Sheriff while others RENT coverage. We look forward to continuing to grow this program and add new features for member I mention this board because you have county friends on counties into the future. What this board has done over the here steering the ship. They do a great job for you. Should last few years is exciting and has shifted the paradigm not you have any questions about the merits of our Risk Manage- just in Arkansas, but nationally. ment Program, they can knowledgeably talk with you about As we move ahead into our next season, please know we the benefits, which are not limited to the newly created train- are working hard to continue improvements for you. If you ing programs. We have any queslead the nation tions, need any with programs information or ou should all be proud of the AAC Risk Management Prolike codification, if you have ideas Guardian inmate that could help gram. It has grown exponentially through the years and, untracking and Justhe AAC help tice Bridge, which like a non-county risk pool, you OWN this program while others RENT you, please let is a nationally me know. It is award-winning an incredible coverage. We look forward to continuing to grow this program ... video link between honor to work courtrooms, jails for all of you, and prisons. and each step The Justice Bridge program alone is saving counties hunforward gives us great satisfaction here at the Association of dreds of thousands of dollars a year in transport costs AND Arkansas Counties.
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Flickr: Association of Arkansas Counties COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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AAC
PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE
Connecting with our colleagues is one benefit of attending conference
I
am still invigorated by the 51st annual AAC Conference held in August in Hot Springs/Garland County. There’s an excitement, an energy surrounding conference. And this year more people than ever had the opportunity to experience that feeling. Close to 900 attended this year’s conference. That’s a new attendance record. That’s close to 900 people who came to learn and to become more effective leaders in their counties. Conference always reminds me of the importance of our role as public servants. From the remarks made by National Association of Counties 1st Vice President Judge Gary Moore to the association meetings to the breakout sessions, each element of this year’s conference emphasized the responsibility bestowed upon us by our constituents. It is our duty to remain informed and engaged so we can act in their best interest. We heard the Senate and House City, County, and Local Affairs committees discuss the spring flooding and the condition of our state’s levees. The Joint Committee on Public Retirement and Social Security discussed the status of the Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (APERS). This is such an important issue, and any changes to the current system could greatly impact current and retired county officials and employees. I urge you to attend one of the committee’s fall town hall meetings. You can find the times, dates and locations of those meetings under the new “Retirement” tab on the AAC web site (www.arcounties.org). I was impressed with author Sam Quinones, who wrote the book “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opioid Epidemic.” He opened my eyes a little wider about the state of drug addiction in our nation. I thought each breakout session — from the quorum court’s session with Attorney Mike Rainwater to the panel discussion of The Future of County Roads and Bridges — offered useful and meaningful information to attendees. The new Jail Track training for jail employees was a perfect addition to the conference this
year, and it is something we plan to continue to offer in the future. It was a delight to watch Sen. Jason Rapert and Rep. Michelle Gray being honored for their work DEBBIE WISE on the 911 reform bill during the AAC Board President; regular legislative session. And it was Randolph County Circuit Clerk a pleasure to present the 2019 Wes Fowler Advocacy Award to Madison County Judge Frank Weaver. I thank Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Senior Editor Rex Nelson for joining us. The Governor recounted what a successful legislative session the counties had this year, and Nelson took us on a fun ride through Arkansas history. I thank the AAC staff, in particular Anne Baker, for their work both before and during conference. The staff works passionately every year to craft an event that will leave an impression on us. If you get a chance, please commend them on a job well done. The fellowship with other county and district officials is such an important element of conference. The relationships we establish with those in our county family are so important. We are our greatest allies and sources of support. You can’t put a price tag on the experience of those who have been serving the public for numerous years. With their sage wisdom, we all can be more effective servants to our public. You may view a photo recap of conference starting on page 32 in this issue of County Lines.
Debbie Wise Debbie Wise Randolph County Circuit Clerk / AAC Board President
www.arcounties.org COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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SAVE THE DATE 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, Dec. 13, 2019 AACRMF Human Resources Seminar 9 a.m. IRS & Fringe Benefits 10 a.m. Personnel Policy Discussion 10:30 a.m. Overtime and Minimum Wage Litigation 11:30 a.m. Lunch provided onsite 12:15 p.m. Panel: ADA, FMLA, Worker’s Compensation 1:30 p.m. Break 1:45 p.m. EEOC: Overview and Update
RSVP by contacting Samantha Wren swren@arcounties.org or (501) 375-8805, Ext. 516 Association of Arkansas Counties • 1415 West Third St. • Little Rock
AAC
FROM THE GOVERNOR
Expanding access for those in crisis
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oday I want to talk about what we are doing in Arkansas to expand access to mental health services and for those in need of drug-addiction counseling. In the two years since we transformed Medicaid coverage, the number of counselors has risen from 31 in 2017 to 207 this last year. That is an increase of 567 percent. The number of behavioral health agency sites has increased from 253 to 311. What that means for Arkansas is that more people have quicker access to the professional assistance they need. Arkansas has not been exempt from the devastating impact of opioid addiction that is stealing the future from tens of thousands of people around our nation. In addition to the obvious ill effects of the abuse of drugs and alcohol, that lifestyle often leads to mental-health issues. Arkansas is blessed with leaders in the Department of Human Services, the Department of Health, and the General Assembly who understand that we have to find creative ways to help our neighbors. They know that if we don’t act, the epidemic will swamp families and entire communities. The goal of the 2017 Medicaid transformation was to expand counseling for drug addiction and broaden access to mental-health services. The transformation led to several improvements in the system. We eliminated the rule that limited the number of providers that Medicaid could reimburse for services. We increased the rate of reimbursement to increase the number of counselors. This leveled the playing field for the small service providers. The new rules also allowed counselors to work in the same building as doctors. This has improved the chance for successful treatment because a doctor is free to send a patient to a counselor down the hall rather than simply hope the patient will drive across town a week later to keep an appointment. I talked about this tremendous growth at a news conference. I also announced that DHS has launched a helpline with trained staff members who will steer to the appropriate
source those who are seeking help with mental-health issues and drug addiction. The helpline complements Arkansas’s system of Crisis Stabilization Units, which offers a person in the midst of a mental-health crisis the option of immediate treatment Hon. ASA HuTCHINSON rather than a trip to jail. Arrest isn’t Governor of Arkansas always the best option for a person who is suffering a mental-health crisis. Staff members at the CSUs are trained to assess the needs of those in crisis, provide immediate aid, and then guide them to the appropriate help. The success of our CSUs and the growth in the number of providers allows us to give more Arkansans a chance to improve their life. With the launch of the Mental Health and Addiction Services Support line, my hope is that our reach will expand faster and farther. Our goal is to help Arkansans who are in distress to navigate their obstacles rather than add to their load with an arrest record or leave them to face their trouble alone. As I have toured the state during natural disasters, I have seen over and over that we show up in huge numbers to rescue our neighbors. In that same spirit, we are showing up to help those who are suffering through a crisis of a different kind.
Asa Hutchinson The Honorable Asa Hutchinson Governor of Arkansas
75 Counties - One Voice COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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AAC
RESEARCH CORNER
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Energy efficiency
ommon sense indicates that counties facing outdated equipment, increasing maintenance and energy costs, and limited budgets should consider energy efficiency projects. Some of us are old enough to remember the call for use of solar energy during the oil embargo. The development of alternative energy dates back centuries. Developments in technology and the laws in Arkansas now make energy efficiencies available to counties and local communities. The mills harnessing the power of the wind or water are nothing new. Europeans commenced use of water mills as sources of energy as far back as 200 B.C. Persians commenced use of windmills as energy sources to grind grain and pump water in the 10th century. Starting in the 1590s, the Dutch built windmills to saw wood, ground spices and grain, and to reclaim lands from the sea, to control water and keep it back. The first hydroelectric plant commenced operation in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1882. The first windmill to generate electricity was located in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1888. The Hoover Dam was completed in 1935. The world’s first wind farm was built in Crotched Mountain, New Hampshire, in 1980. The World’s largest windmill farm was created in 1981 at Altamont Pass, California, in 1981. Harnessing energy from the sun predates the Carter administration. The first solar cell, generating electricity directly from sunlight, was produced in 1876 by exposure of selenium to sunlight. Albert Einstein published his papers on light having the packets of energy, quanta, and significant energy known as the photovoltaic effect in 1905. The first silicon solar cell was developed in Bell Laboratories in 1953 and began the ability to harness energy from the sun. Solar cells flourished in space during the 1960s and 1970s. During the 1970s, solar cells became commonplace on oil drilling rigs on land or sea and remote places. These uses provided the fledgling solar cell industry the capital it needed to continue forward. In 1977 the U.S. Department of Energy launched the Solar Energy Research Institute in Golden, Colorado, (now the Renewable Energy Laboratory); and the same year President Jimmy Cater called upon conservation, reduction in the reliance upon foreign oil, and the development of solar energy. The Solar One Power plant was the first large-scale power plant to go online in 1981. In 1999 Solar Two was developed near Barstow, California, to collect and store over 10 megawatts. The largest concentrating solar power plant (CSP) in the world, Ivanpah, commenced generating 393 megawatts in 2014 and services over 94,000 average American homes. More recently states including New Mexico, 14
California and Hawaii are now injecting solar energy panels into the design of new homes. According to the State Energy Office, the following counties have completed energy savings/ Mark Whitmore solar energy projects: WashingAAC Chief Counsel ton, Pulaski, Jefferson, Howard and Ouachita counties. Energy efficiency projects include upgrading county owned buildings, HVAC, lighting, and solar panels for energy efficiency (and as well include local community-based projects to convey energy efficiency to the local businesses and residents). Amendment 89 is related to energy efficiency, the repeal of the usury provisions of the Arkansas Constitution limiting the interest rate ceiling on consumer debt in Arkansas; and amended the provisions on rates for state and local bonds. During the 2009 regular session the Arkansas General Assembly approved House Joint Resolution (H.J.R.) 1004 to submit the measure to the citizens. By a vote of the people of 448,711 For and 250,167 Against the measure was approved and became effective Jan. 1, 2011. Section 4 of the “Amendment 89, Energy Efficiency Project Bonds, Issuance, Terms and Conditions” authorized a government unit, under laws adopted by the General Assembly, to issue bonds to finance all or a portion of the costs of energy efficiency projects. Prior to Amendment 89, the capacity of counties to finance or issue bonds under the Arkansas Constitution was generally contained in Amendment 65 (Revenue Bonds) and Amendment 78 (City and County Redevelopment Bonds and Short-Term Financing). During the regular sessions of 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019, acts were adopted authorizing and enhancing the feasibility of energy efficiency financing, projects and programs. “Governmental unit” means: The state of Arkansas, county, city, school district, or other political subdivision of the state, special assessment or taxing unit established under the laws of Arkansas, and any agency, board, commission or instrumentality of any of the foregoing. In February 2017, Chet Howland, Financial Projects Manager with the Arkansas Energy Office, kindly made a presentation to the County Judges’ Association of Arkansas (CJAA) during the CJAA winter conference. Director Howland explained the Arkansas Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) program, which originated with respect to the state of Arkansas under Act 554 of 2013 and extended to local COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
AAC
RESEARCH CORNER
governments under Act 1275 of 2015. Act 1252 of 2013 was efficient units, and install the largest, completely taxpayer the enabling legislation for Amendment 89. owned, solar production facility in Arkansas. In making WashMr. Howland explained how counties and other governington County better, our elected officials see the opportunities mental units can take advantage of the alternative financing and benefits of being good stewards of our environment while mechanisms available, without the need of upfront capital. being cost efficient in managing county facilities.” Most energy performance contracts are financed by leveragDuring the 2019 regular session of the General Assembly ing contractually guaranteed energy savings over a period the CJAA supported Senate Bill (SB) 145 sponsored by Senaof up to 20 years. In essence, the improvements are paid for tors David Wallace and Bart Hester, Act 464 of 2019. The by the energy cost savings the project generates. As I recall, act amended the Renewable Energy Development Act and the Arkansas Energy Office can provide technical assistance amended the authority of the Public Service Commission on such as providing a county a list of qualified potential energy renewable energy. These amendments are vital to the feasibilservice companies ity of net metering (ESCOs) that have by counties and cities In making Washington County better, our elected experience in and and the feasibility are approved to do of the establishment officials see the opportunities and benefits of being projects in Arkansas. of energy efficiency Technical assistance improvements and good stewards of our environment while being cost effiby the Arkansas Ennet metering by cities, cient in managing county facilities.” ergy Office can also counties and local include monitoring communities. We construction acgreatly appreciate the tivities, verifying the support and efforts — Washington County Judge Joseph Wood validity of reported of sponsors and the savings, and even General Assembly, resolving disputes. as well as Pulaski The ESCO serves as County Attorney a combination Architect/Engineering Company and General Adam Fogleman, the various stakeholders, and Ted Thomas Contractor. The ESCO provides assurances and indemnifies and his staff at the Public Service Commission. the public entities by virtue of an annual energy savings guarThe authority of cities, counties and local communities to antee. The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administra- acquire access to efficient energy and feasible net metering tion (ADFA), provides the financing for projects for the state goes far beyond furnishing energy for buildings owned by of Arkansas and may be an attractive partner for local entities city or county government. Local communities now have the for small to medium sized projects. authority to feasibly establish energy efficiency improvements Washington County Judge Joseph Wood explains: “In April for city and county owned buildings and to an extent for loof 2017, Washington County began looking into performance cal communities, business or residents. contracting to address energy production, lowering the need The CJAA fall conference in Benton during Sept. 23-25 for total energy consumption, and deferred maintenance will focus on these issues. Chet Howland, Financial Projects throughout county buildings. Performance contracting is Manager for the Arkansas Energy Office, Pulaski County allowing Washington County to replace HVAC equipment, Attorney Adam Fogleman, and several of our county judges update campus building life and fire alarm safety systems, will update the CJAA on the efficacy and contract necessities manage its utility consumption units with much higher energy regarding energy efficiency in Arkansas.
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www.arcounties.org COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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AAC
AG OPINIONS
AG Opinions: RDA hospital licenses and EMS districts AG OPINION NO. 2019-002 The Attorney General determined that in light of Act 830 of 2019 Rural Development Authorities (RDAs) in Arkansas can now fund, acquire, own, operate or possess a hospital or a critical access hospital license. Traditionally, the Rural Development Act enacted in 1963 authorized RDAs for funding public projects in rural Arkansas to address unemployment, the lack of economic development, the patterns of land use that contribute to erosion and depleted soil fertility. RDAs also were formed to control surface waters and conservation of water sources. Act 830 of 2019 made explicit that health care facilities are essential to economic development of the rural areas of Arkansas. RDA areas of operation now include the unincor-
porated areas of the county and within the city limits of cities with a population of 9,000 people or less (prior to Act 830 the threshold included cities with a population of 5,500 or less). Following Act 830 the RDAs in Arkansas can now function to acquire, construct, operate, maintain and improve health care facilities in the unincorporated areas of the county and cities with populations not to exceed 9,000.
AG OPINION NO. 2018-081 The Attorney General explained that an EMS, Emergency Medical Services, under Ark. Code §20-13-305, establishes EMS districts and a fee upon the residents of the district to fund the emergency medical ambulance services. In contrast, the issuance of a license for an ambulance emergency services
under Ark. 14-266-105, Ambulance Mark Whitmore Licensing Act, simply AAC Chief Counsel authorizes the service entity to provide the service in the area covered by the license. There is no basis under the Ambulance License Act to create a fee upon residents to pay for ambulance services. Act 1122 of 2015 amended the Ambulance Licensing Act to provide counties the same capacities as cities to issue exclusive or non-exclusive licenses or franchises. The AAC website has posted the Ambulance Services Guidebook 2015 which includes the various sections of Arkansas Code and Attorney General opinions relating to ambulance services.
We want to hear from YOU Tell us your good news. Here at the AAC we love the opportunity to visit with county and district officials. We want to know about your celebrations, ribbon cuttings, ground breakings, grand openings, community service work, and more. Give us a shout, and we’ll do our best to be there. Also, let us know if an aspect of county government “made news” recently in your county. Or if your county officials or staff get an award, appointment or pat on the back. We want the whole state to know about your successes and accomplishments. Contact Communications Director Christy L. Smith at csmith@arcounties.org.
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AAC
GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS
Using magic to demonstrate leadership
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n July I attended the NACo Annual Conference. During the opening general session, David Kwong, an illusionist, magician and crossword puzzle maker, shared his insight on the thought processes of magicians to “pull back the curtain on magic” for the crowd. Using magic tricks, Scrabble hacks and a deck of cards, he taught county officials how to see the world from a different perspective and learn valuable lessons about being leaders, according to a NACo article about the opening general session. “Magic in a sense is a puzzle. It’s a way to challenge your brain to see if you can work out the solution,” he said. Well, the first thing we need to address: is magic not inherently manipulative, and are you deceiving people? You can take it that way, but Kwong is asking you to use your powers for good. There are ways you can use illusion to increase your own command and control in life to get a step ahead. That’s the spirit of what he’s talking about. Kwong said a fundamental aspect of magic is preparing ahead of time and described the principle of magic, which occurs when there is an excess amount of preparation that an audience would doubt went into a trick. He explained a trick that he performed at a man’s house. The man knew of Kwong’s work and wanted he and his friend to come over and do some tricks. Kwong did several magic acts. At the end of the night the man begged for one more. Kwong had been planning for the final trick well in advance. He described the “deepest, darkest secret of magic” as the illusion of free choice: If you can get your audience believing that they are dictating how the trick goes, they will more readily buy into the illusion. Kwong and his partner had arrived at the house two hours beforehand to set up the final trick. They went to the back yard and buried 52 cards in the flower beds. They also made a map and memorized it so they could point to any card the guy might draw. Adding to the illusion, he and his partner arrived at the house late. They said they had had trouble finding the address. After the man talked the duo into preforming one final trick, Kwong asked if there was an open space that has lots
of room to accommodate the trick. The man said “let’s go to the back yard it’s just the spot you are looking for.” It was totally his idea so he would never have dreamed that cards were buried out there. The homeowner was stunned when he Josh Curtis was told your card is under the yelGovernmental Affairs low and red flower beside the fenceDirector post. The perception was built up so much that he had no idea that it was even possible for cards to be back there. After the initial shock, Kwong said there is a two of hearts under the big green leaf next to the sprinkler. Then his partner pulled out an Ipad and played a video of the duo hiding all 52 cards earlier in the day. Kwong compared this to having a good idea at work and convincing a boss it was his or her idea, which will result in the idea moving forward. He referred to the “choice of architects,” where someone controls the choices of others or nudges someone to take a certain action, according to the NACo article. Kwong transferred this concept to leadership, saying leaders know how to get an audience, followers or employees to make decisions that are good for them, according to the NACo article. “You’ll find when you can empower other people to make decisions, the overall fact is that they will be more engaged in the outcome,” Kwong said. He showed off his magic skills to the crowd by doing sleightof-hand card tricks, pulling a dollar bill out of a kiwi, and using random Scrabble words where the scores added up to the numbers on the bottom of the dollar bill pulled out of the kiwi, according to the NACo article. I figured how he did this trick, but I don’t want to give away all his secrets. “My hope is that you can take some of these principles and think about them and apply them to your life in not a manipulative way but rather embrace them as a way that you can get ahead in your own situations and have more control in your own life,” he said.
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LEGAL CORNER Walmart, Dark Store Valuation Theory, Lakeview School District, and what it all means for schools, counties, and cities
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enton County-based retail giant, Walmart, has led the effort across the country to slash property taxes for big box stores, joined by others, such as Target, Home Depot, and Menards. The logic behind the effort, widely known as “dark store theory,” is based on the idea that a fairly new and operating store should be valued as if it were “dark” or shut-down. They argue that cost and income approaches should not be considered, but rather the amount they would be able to sell the building to a buyer on the open market, insisting that some construction costs that make the building “unique” actually lower its value since the unique feature would not be of use to a potential buyer. With a mixed bag of success and failure across the country, Walmart has avoided trying these claims in its home state — until now. In October 2018, Walmart filed a petition with the Pulaski County Court challenging the county assessor’s assessment of 10 parcels (eight Walmart stores and two Sam’s Clubs) totaling $145 million to a reduced alleged value of $93.4 million dollars. Walmart later amended its petition with the court to further reduce its claimed value to $74.3 million, roughly half of the properties’ assessed value according to the assessor. It is peculiar that Walmart incorporated its first petition’s values (which had no supporting appraisal) into its amended petition which was supported by an appraisal, even though there was a nearly $20 million inconsistency between the two petitions’ alleged true and correct values. Approximately $900,000 tax dollars are at stake in this case, of which roughly three-fourths of that loss would be borne by Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Pulaski County Special school districts, with the remaining losses being split between the cities and Pulaski County. History shows that once a corporation is successful with its dark store theory claims, it does not stop. According to a November 2018 report by CityLab, “[i]n Wisconsin, at least 230 cases have been filed across 34 counties since 2015, many of them repeat appeals for the same properties, by the top three attorneys representing retailers. In Michigan, more than $75 million in tax value was lost from the rolls from related appeals between 2013 and 2015. In Indiana, an estimated $3.5 billion in property value is on the line. Texas stands to lose $2.6 billion per year if successful 18
appeals become widespread.” County assessors from across LINDSEY BAILEY the state showed up at Walmart’s General Counsel Pulaski County Court hearing held on July 17 and 18, driving home their vested interest in maintaining the integrity of the property tax system, as well as fair funding of the schools, counties, and cities. County Judge Barry Hyde presided over the hearing and asked both parties to submit post-hearing briefs before issuing his ruling. At the hearing, the petitioner has the burden of proof, by a preponderance of the evidence, that their alleged values are the true and correct values according to law. Walmart presented two expert witnesses. David Lennhoff, an expert on appraisal methodology, admitted that he had not reviewed Walmart’s appraisals and could not speculate as to their correctness, nor had he investigated the subject properties personally. Second, Jeff Ford, the appraiser who conducted the appraisals relied upon by Walmart, gave a full day’s testimony on how he arrived at his values. Cross-examination and testimony by the Pulaski County Assessor’s Commercial Division Manager, Robert Clay, revealed numerous and significant flaws in Walmart’s appraisals, especially with regard to comparable properties used by Mr. Ford. As pointed out in Judge Hyde’s Aug. 14 final ruling against Walmart’s petition for a reduced assessment, some of the comparable properties relied upon in the appraisals were not similarly situated properties. Mr. Ford appraised several properties using comparable properties that were out of state, and not at all similarly situated. Additionally, some of the comparable properties that Mr. Ford used to value some of the petitioner’s properties were not armslength transaction comparable sales at all, including sales from a Limited Liability Corporation to its very owner, which Mr. Ford admitted he had not investigated. Also peculiar was Mr. Ford’s reliance on Marshall & Swift data for every metric utilized in his valuation under the cost approach, except depreciation, instead relying on Age and Life tables, resulting in approximately 50 percent greater depreciation than Marshall & Swift on nearly every property, according to the County Assessor’s attorney, Harrison Kemp. Mr. Kemp suggested that Walmart’s appraisals were not independent apCOUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
AAC praisals at all, but attained for the sole purpose of arriving at a lower value than the county’s assessments, and Mr. Ford’s errors and omissions made that clear. Judge Hyde’s order reflected this concern, stating, “too many errors and open questions render an appraisal unbefitting credibility.” The order continues, “The appraisals were flawed on multiple points and the evidence and testimony presented at the County Court hearings failed to adequately support Petitioners’ assertion of true and correct value,” therefore not meeting Petitioners’ required burden of proof ” due to their heavy reliance on fundamentally flawed appraisal reports.” Earlier this month, Walmart filed its appeal of the county court order to circuit court, which will be a trial de novo, a new trial where new evidence may be presented, with a final appeal being available to the state appellate court. School administrators as well as county and city elected officials will continue to watch this case carefully as it progresses through the court system, which could take years. Washington County Assessor Russell Hill has stated that the impact statewide should the state appellate court rule in favor of Walmart would be upwards of $100 million in
LEGAL CORNER
tax revenue, again hitting the school districts the hardest. A state appellate court decision in Walmart’s favor could potentially not just impact Walmart’s property values, but the values of all similar big box stores across the state. It is worth noting that the 2002 Lakeview School District No. 25 v. Huckabee Arkansas Supreme Court ruling (in a case which carried on for 15 years) requires the state legislature to provide an “adequate and equitable” education for all students under the Arkansas Constitution. In response, in 2004 and every two years since then, the Arkansas General Assembly adjusts its “adequacy” funding formula, increasing the money appropriated to school districts in need so that its constitutional duty under Lakeview is met. With the current legislature’s fiscally conservative nature, it is difficult to guess where they would find additional annual funds to make up for the inevitable shortfall to public school funding should the local property tax system take a $100 million hit. The case that Walmart has brought in its home state has real, statewide consequences, and you can be sure that all those who might potentially be affected will be paying close attention to its progress through the court system.
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SEEMS TO ME... Budgets reveal much about the county
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other had decided to trim the household budget wherever possible, so instead of having a dress dry-cleaned she carefully washed it by hand. Proud of her savings, she boasted to my father. “Just think, Alden, we are seven dollars richer because I washed this dress by hand.” “Good,” my dad quickly replied. “Wash it again.” That’s funny but not very deep when it comes to household budgeting. Some county budgeting is not very deep either — but it should be. A county budget reflects the county’s vision, strategy, and priorities — or the lack thereof. The process used to develop and communicate the budget reflects how county leaders operate. Good and effective budget processes are inclusive, transparent, and efficient. A good budget process builds trust through involvement and buy-in from elected officials, department heads, and yes — even county citizens. It is all too common for the county budget to be developed “in secret” and then presented at a public quorum court meeting for passage. Without it actually being said, what is heard is, “Here’s the budget we’ve put together behind closed doors without your input. Trust us. It’s a good budget.” Is it? Does it actually reflect the vision, strategy and priorities of the county? I’m afraid, all too often, the county does not really have a vision, strategy or priorities. Some counties operate haphazardly just letting “things” happen rather than operating with a plan. The plan starts with a good budget and when done right, key budget processes and information are communicated frequently and communicated with simplicity and clarity. That is the process that builds trust. I have said often, and continue to say, the budget is the most important document enacted by the quorum court each year. It is the financial map for the county, and it provides the elected officials, department heads, and your citizens with great information because it talks about the priorities of the county, the money coming in, the money going out, the county operation and the services being rendered. Budgets matter. They reveal the county’s policies and priorities. The budget is where the rubber meets the road; it shows how a county will spend and invest. A budget reflects what matters most to a county. Changes in a budget from year to year show the direction in which a county wants to head —or it should. Is your county heading in the right direction? I understand that sometimes the budget is not fully what we envision for our county, sometimes because of obstacles not of our making. Every budget cycle presents challenges including: • Diminished or stagnant local government revenues. In Arkansas, counties find themselves having to use more and more of their revenue to support state functions, such as the court system. That leaves less money for lo20
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cal government services and functions. State mandates are a heavy burden that need to be remedied. Some counties don’t avail themselves of revenues available. Several counties have not maxed their property tax millage to the Eddie A. Jones detriment of county government County Consultant operations. Lack of clear direction from the quorum court, finance committee and the finance officers of the county (judge, treasurer, clerk or comptroller) — meaning a lack of alignment around a central vision or strategy. Lack of budget ownership. Every county official and department head should make the case for the budget they need. But once the budget is established, every official and department head should earnestly strive to stay within their budget. Low levels of citizen understanding, input, involvement, and engagement. If you really want to build trust in county government involve your constituency.
When you have budget challenges you must develop “Best Practices” to help overcome those challenges. You must find ways to improve budgeting efficiency, effectiveness, buy-in, budget ownership and public involvement. Here are a few Budget Best Practices: • Have a clear, well-defined budget process. Establish a timeline with all the key steps. Know what has to happen at each step, when the step must occur, how long the step must take, and who should be involved. • Start with a vision, goals, and a strategic plan. The budget supports what a county wants to accomplish. The first step in a good budget process is articulation of a clear vision by elected officials. How does that happen? It begins with a strategic planning and goal-setting session of the quorum court and elected officials where visions are shared and short-term and long-term goals are set. • Focus. Choose a challenge or two to focus on for the budget year. You can’t do everything at once. Pick a challenge, come up with a strategy, and then execute. • Get buy-in from all officials and departments. Budget time should not be a free-for-all. It should be a Three Musketeers time. Nineteenth century French author Alexandre Dumas developed a great motto for the title characters in his book The Three Musketeers, “All for one and one for all.” All the members of a group support COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
AAC each of the individual members, and the individual members pledge to support the group. It is important for all county officials and departments to understand the vision and goals of the budget, and how they fit into the budget process. Engage all departments in creating and implementing the budget. • Invite citizen input. Budgets are more credible and receive more widespread support when citizens understand and know that they have a voice in them. It is the citizenry that we are working for. • Communicate the budget broadly, simply, and clearly. Once the budget has been developed, the key is to communicate it to all key stakeholders, including elected officials, departments, staff, and citizens. Successful county government leaders communicate. An effective budget process builds trust in local government. For county leaders to successfully implement their plans they must have the support, buy-in, and most importantly, trust of all key constituents. Dr. Michael Stewart, a management consultant, said “A leader can only implement what people can understand.” So successful implementation requires understanding and trust. Because good budgets, by nature, are complex and detailed, achieving understanding and trust requires moving from overwhelming amounts of data to simple, clear information. In other words, you may have to put the budget in summary form — but not hiding information. Keys to successfully communicating priorities and building trust include: • Be as transparent as possible. Trust is built through transparency. Share as much as you can, as often as you can. If you’re caught hiding something trust is thrown out the window. • Make it simple. Don’t assume that all officials, county employees, and residents of your county have the same level of expertise as those developing the budget. As I mentioned earlier, you may need to summarize the budget, but clearly delineate the contents of the budget. • Allow feedback and interaction. In addition to making budget information transparent, easily accessible and simple, build trust by fostering dialogue with citizens. What does your county budget reveal about your county operation? Many county budgets in Arkansas reveal too little planning for the future; failure to establish clear priorities (employees should always be a priority); and the lack of reserves for emergencies and infrastructure needs, including courthouse maintenance and preservation. One of the worst budget habits that counties have developed is the reliance on one-time money for on-going expenses, and that includes carryover balances. Using one-time money to fund budget items that result in recurring costs is a slippery COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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slope that will lead to a structurally unbalanced budget. The carryover balances, or at least a portion, should be used to establish reserve funds that could then be relied on for emergencies, etc. That is actually the intent of law. Arkansas Code § 14-21-106 actually ascribes the term “surplus” to any moneys left remaining unexpended and unappropriated in any county fund from any previous year. In accordance with law the county court, which is the county judge, may enter a court order to add the surplus to the respective funds of which the surplus remains unexpended and use it as revenue for the current fiscal year. So it is the county judge, not the quorum court that gets to decide whether to use the surplus/carryover cash from any fund in making the current year budget. More county judges should exercise the authority this law provides to hold back all or part of the carryover fund balances to put the county in a better financial operating position, especially as it relates to cash flow and preparation for emergencies. This is especially important for the major funds of the county, including County General and Road & Bridge. The few Arkansas counties that employ this budget practice, using the “surplus” or “reserve” as the law intended, have much better cash flow. And they have a reserve to make additional appropriations during the course of the year as unexpected needs arise for capital, infrastructure, and other emergency type expenditures. Wilbur Mills, former Arkansas Congressman from 1939 until his retirement in 1977, was chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee for many years and was many times referred to as “the most powerful man in Washington.” One of this committee’s main functions was appropriations — budget. Congressman Mills once said, “What I wanted to do was see if we couldn’t balance the budget.” They couldn’t. Counties of Arkansas don’t have a choice. You must have a balanced budget, or should. I’m afraid some county budgets are only balanced on paper but not in reality. As you develop your 2020 county budget, remember the law clearly defines those things that a county must fund and those things a county may fund but are not required to [A.C.A. 1414-802]. A county must prioritize. Dave Ramsey, America’s voice on money said, “Doing a budget means learning an ancient and powerful word: No.” Prioritize, first funding those offices and functions that counties are required to properly fund. Keeping our counties running efficiently, effectively and financially sound is a painful process requiring shared sacrifice and pain. Making tough choices is what county and district officials do to keep counties solvent and moving forward. What picture does your county budget paint? It should reflect the values and priorities of your county and its people. A budget is more than just a bunch of numbers in a document; it is a blueprint and priorities; it embodies our values. Make it your first order of business this fall to develop a good budget telling your money where to go instead of wondering where it went. 21
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LITIGATION LESSONS Constitutional duty to protect
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ne of the more common civil-rights claims we see in the jail context is a claim that jail officials failed to protect an inmate against harm, for example, from attack by a fellow inmate. Because jails and prisons are inherently dangerous and this type of claim is common, the contours of the claim are well established, and governing law is clear. Jail officials have a constitutional duty to protect inmates from violence at the hands of other inmates. But jail officials do not incur constitutional liability every time an inmate is attacked by another inmate — in fact, liability is the exception rather than the rule. To establish liability, an inmate must prove two elements: (1) incarceration under conditions posing a substantial risk of serious harm, and (2) that the prison official knew about and disregarded an excessive risk to the inmate’s health or safety. In practice, this typically means that a prison official must know that a particular inmate poses a serious risk to the safety of the attacked inmate, before the attack, and deliberately do nothing to protect the attacked inmate in advance of the attack. Properly trained jail/prison officials should take steps to keep inmates separated when officials have knowledge that the inmates are enemies. But if officials are not aware that inmates are enemies, officials cannot be held liable for failing to protect the inmates. In the free world, plaintiffs sometimes attempt to bring civil-rights claims against law enforcement for failure to protect people against private acts of violence. For example, families of victims of the Feb. 14, 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., have filed dozens of lawsuits against former Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy Scot Peterson, who was on duty and assigned to the school the day of the shooting, but failed to stop the attack or take action in an attempt to stop the attack. In June, Peterson also was charged with 11 criminal charges, including child neglect, negligence, and perjury. But the Parkland/Peterson cases are extraordinary and unusual, and should not be interpreted to mean that law enforcement is liable (civilly or criminally) for private acts of violence in the free world. Although “failure to protect” claims by free-world citizens against law enforcement seem similar to “failure to protect” claims by inmates against prison officials, the governing legal standards are very different. Unlike in the prison context, outside of prison, government officials generally do not have a duty to protect people against private acts of violence — even if officials are aware of a risk of harm to citizens and fail to take action to protect against the risk. The U.S. Supreme Court has explained that constitutional protections “generally confer no affirmative right to govern22
ment aid, even where such aid may be necessary to secure life, liberty, or property interests of which the government itself may not deprive the individual.” DeShaney v. Winnebago County Dep’t of Social Services, 489 U.S. 189, 196 (1989). Colin Jorgensen In DeShaney, Chief Justice WilRisk Management liam Rehnquist explained that a Litigation Counsel boy who was beaten and permanently injured by his father could not hold government officials liable for constitutional violations, even though the officials had received reliable complaints that the boy was being abused by his father, yet did not act to remove the boy from his father’s custody before the beating that permanently injured the boy. The Supreme Court has reaffirmed this general rule in subsequent cases, including cases with tragic facts. For example, in Town of Castle Rock v. Gonzales, 545 U.S. 748 (2005), a woman reported to police that her husband took their three children away from her in violation of a restraining order that required police to arrest him for this sort of violation. The woman reported the abduction to police repeatedly and begged police to act. After hours of phone calls, she went to the police station and continued to request assistance, to no avail. Late in the night, her husband arrived at the police station and opened fire with a gun he had purchased earlier that evening, and was killed when police returned fire. The bodies of all three children were found in his truck in the parking lot of the police station. While acknowledging the “horrible facts” of the case (Castle Rock, 545 U.S. at 751), the Court held that Ms. Gonzales “did not, for purposes of the Due Process Clause, have a property interest in police enforcement of the restraining order against her husband.” Castle Rock, 545 U.S. at 768. Other courts, including the Arkansas Supreme Court, have followed suit and held that the constitution does not generally require law enforcement to protect citizens from private violence. In Repking v. Lokey, 2010 Ark. 356, 377 S.W.3d 211, a woman had multiple protective orders against her husband and was living at a battered women’s shelter in Fort Smith. She was alerted that her husband was attempting to remove one of their children from school. At the school, she met with a police officer who confirmed that her husband had left the school without taking the child. She left the school to return to the shelter with the police officer following her in his vehicle. After he determined that she was not being followed by her husband, the officer took a different COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
AAC route and did not follow her all the way to the shelter. At an intersection, the woman’s husband spotted her and rammed her vehicle with his vehicle, walked to her vehicle and began beating her, returned to his car and got a knife, and used the knife to stab her to death in her car. Citing DeShaney and Castle Rock, the Arkansas Supreme Court explained that individuals do not have a constitutional right to have a person arrested, so the officer could not be held liable for failing to arrest the husband, and the officer “was under no affirmative duty to aid or protect” the woman “from a private act of violence” under the constitution. There is an exception to the general rule that the government has no constitutional duty to render aid in the free world. Sometimes called the “special-relationship exception” and sometimes called the “state-created-danger exception,” the exception basically holds that there is a constitutionally enforceable duty to protect when a government official affirmatively places an “individual in a position of danger that [the person] would not otherwise have faced.” Repking, 2010 Ark. 356, at 9, 377 S.W.3d at 218. A government official can be liable for private acts of violence if the government official has taken action to assume a special custodial relationship with the perpetrator or to place potential victims in danger, and thereby affirmatively created a duty to protect that would not otherwise exist. For example, in Sherpherd v. Washington County, 331 Ark. 480, 962 S.W.2d 779 (1998),
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LITIGATION LESSONS
the court permitted a constitutional claim against government officials arising from a murder and other violent acts committed by an inmate at a private medical clinic because government officials transported the inmate to the private medical clinic but failed to take precautions to prevent the inmate from committing violent acts against potential victims at the private medical clinic, though the officials knew the inmate was extremely violent. In conclusion, the general rule that government officials are not constitutionally required to protect citizens from private violence (outside the jail and prison context) may seem harsh — especially in light of some of the tragic facts of the seminal cases — but it would be unfair to hold law enforcement liable for private acts of violence just because violence might have been prevented with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. Of course, regardless of whether the courts allow constitutional claims against law enforcement for failure to protect or not, and regardless of whether the actions of law enforcement contribute to a risk of harm to citizens or not, law enforcement officers are sworn to protect and serve the citizenry, and do so gracefully and effectively the vast majority of the time. In light of the exception to the general rule, deputy sheriffs and other law enforcement officials should be aware that a constitutional duty to protect may arise in custodial situations and other circumstances where the actions of law enforcement contribute to or create a risk of harm to citizens.
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WELLNESS & SAFETY Are you prepared?
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hat would you do if someone collapsed in your office or courthouse? What would happen if you collapsed in your office? As many of you know, I was on the NBC television show, “The Biggest Loser,” in 2011. My trainer for the last half of my time on the “Biggest Loser” ranch was the well-known trainer, Bob Harper. In February 2017, Bob, at the age of 51, collapsed with sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) while working out in a New York City gym. He said later he is thankful to be alive. “I was in full cardiac arrest. I was dead, on that ground dead,” Harper said. “I was so lucky. They started performing CPR on me. They pulled out the AEDs (automatic external defibrillator) and used those on me twice before the paramedics got there and jolted me one more time.” With that in mind, I go back to the original question. What would you do if someone in your office or courthouse collapsed from an SCA? Is there an AED that you can get to and back within two minutes? If you have an AED, has it been checked monthly and serviced yearly? Is anyone in the courthouse cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) trained? Sudden cardiac arrest is not the same as a heart attack, which usually is caused by blockage in an artery. SCA causes the heart to suddenly and unexpectedly stop beating, according to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. A person with no signs of heart disease can suddenly pass out and appear lifeless. Here are three shocking statistics about sudden cardiac arrest, according to the Occupational Health and Safety Administration: • 10,000 SCAs occur in the workplace each year. Even the fastest paramedics could take eight to 12 minutes to get to a patient after he or she collapses. Quick access to an AED by an engaged bystander could increase the odds of survival from about 5 percent to 40 percent and higher. For each minute defibrillation
is delayed, the chance of survival is reduced by about 10 percent. • Each year, more than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) occur in the United States. Becky Comet To add to that, about 90 AAC Member percent of the people who Benefits Manager experience an OHCA will die. While these numbers are staggering, The American Heart Association also notes, “CPR, especially if administered immediately after cardiac arrest, can double or triple a person’s chance of survival.” • 45 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims survive when bystander CPR is administered. If you are interested in CPR and AED training for yourself and/or a group in your courthouse, contact the American Heart Association or the American Red Cross. Both groups offer class options that can fit your needs. They use highly trained and certified instructors. In about three hours your group can be trained in the use of an AED as well as CPR. Participants will receive certification that lasts two years. If your county is in need of AEDs, the replenishment of supplies, or accessories you will be happy to know that the AAC has a partnership with eMed+Grogan’s Healthcare Supply. Account Manager Sam Gately offers counties in Arkansas discounted prices on AEDs, supplies, and accessories as well as a free site equipment assessment. eMed’s goal is for you to be ready with the right equipment at the right time to make the ultimate difference in someone’s life. You can find more information on what eMed has to offer and how to contact them on the AAC website at www.arcounties.org or contact me at bcomet@arcounties.org.
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FEATURE
Left: Randolph County Circuit Clerk and AAC Board President Debbie Wise (left) and AAC Executive Director Chris Villines (right) present the Wes Fowler Advocacy Award to Madison County Judge Frank Weaver. Right: Madison County Judge Frank Weaver succeeded Wes Fowler as county judge in 2011. He also served as president of the County Judges Association of Arkansas.
Wes Fowler Advocacy Award presented to ‘humble’ Madison County Judge
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Story by Christy L. Smith Photos by Holland Doran AAC Communications Staff
he Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) awarded the 2019 Wes Fowler Advocacy Award during its 51st annual conference, held Aug. 2123, 2019, in Garland County. Madison County Judge and County Judges Association of Arkansas President Frank Weaver received the award, which recognizes a county or district official who best embodies Fowler’s dedication to local government and demonstrates “tireless work in boldly advocating for the counties of Arkansas.” Weaver was self-employed in the logging industry and served as fire chief and first responder for the Kingston Fire Department before running for retiring County Judge Wes Fowler’s seat in 2010. “I am very honored to receive an award like this — and very humbled that I was even considered for, let alone, chosen for it,” said Weaver. “I’m challenged by it as well to continue working in the direction of the person who this award was established for. His intent was for every county to succeed, and I want to continue doing that for as long as I can.” The award was established in 2017 following the death of COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
Fowler, who spent decades working in Madison County government before finishing his career at the AAC as Governmental Relations Director. The award will be given annually to a county or district official that has exhibited great passion for advocacy over the previous year. The AAC Board of Directors Scholarship Committee selects the recipient of the award. Recipients will receive an Arkansas County Diamond Award and will be honored in perpetuity at the AAC with a permanently placed plaque and names added each year. Randolph County Circuit Clerk and AAC Board President Debbie Wise and AAC Executive Director Chris Villines presented the advocacy award to Weaver. In her presentation, Wise called Judge Weaver “an unassuming and humble person.” Villines reminisced about the friendship Weaver and Fowler shared and explained the reasons Weaver was selected to receive the award. “They had a deep friendship, and both lived Godly lives. I will never forget Frank singing at Wes’ funeral and the love the two of them shared,” said Villines. “Frank has earned leadership roles within the County Judges’ Association of Arkansas, and he helped lead them to an incredibly successful 2019 legislative session as their president.” Weaver and his wife, Beth, have been married for 45 years. They have three sons. 25
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FEATURE
AAC names 2019 scholarship recipients
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Several of the students plan to pursue degrees in science.
he Association of Arkansas Counties has announced its 2019 AAC Scholarship Trust recipients. AAC established the trust in 1985 to provide college financial assistance to the children, stepchildren and grandchildren of Arkansas county and district officials and employees. AAC has since awarded nearly a quarter of a million dollars in scholarships. Along with the AAC, the following county associations contributed to the scholarship trust in 2019: The County Judges Association of Arkansas, the Arkansas County Clerks Association the Arkansas Circuit Clerks Association, the County Collectors Association of Arkansas, the Arkansas County Treasurers Association, the Assessors Association of Arkansas, the Arkansas Coroner’s Association, the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association and the Arkansas Association of Quorum Courts.
Makayla Anderson
Makayla Anderson — Makayla is the daughter of Christopher Anderson, an employee in the Polk County Road Department. She is a 2019 graduate of Acorn High School in Mena. Makayla will attend the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith to study radiology. She plans to seek a degree in sonography. 26
Bradley Bearden
Kimberlee Holman
Bradley Bearden — Bradley is the son of Terah Bearden, who works in the Little River County Assessor’s Office. He is a 2019 graduate of Ashdown High School and will attend Texas State Technical College in Marshall, Texas, where he will seek an associate’s degree in electrical line work.
Kimberlee Holman — Kimberlee is the stepdaughter of Crawford County Justice of the Peace Daniel Perry. She is a 2019 graduate of Van Buren High School and will attend the University of Central Arkansas, where she plans to study chemistry.
Amelia Counts
Amelia Counts — Amelia is the daughter of Sharp County Sheriff Mark Counts and is a 2019 graduate of Cave City High School. She will attend the University of Arkansas, where she will study animal science and seek a degree in pre-veterinary medicine. She plans to become a veterinarian.
Emma Jackson
Emma Jackson — Emma is the daughter of Jackson County Tax Collector Kelly Walker. She graduated from Newport High School in 2018 and has completed her freshman year at Arkansas State University at Jonesboro, where she is studying biology/psychology. She is seeking a bachelor of science degree. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
AAC
Jacob Ladd Powell
Noah Worley
Jacob Ladd Powell — Jacob is the son of Tonya M. Powell, who works in the Sharp County Clerk and Circuit Clerk’s offices. Jacob is a 2019 graduate of Highland High School in Hardy. He will attend College of the Ozarks, where he will seek a degree in biology.
FEATURE
Quentin Tolbert — Quentin is the recipient of the Matt Morris Scholarship. He is a 2019 graduate of Danville High School and the son of Demoine Tolbert, who works in the Yell County Juvenile Detention Center. Quentin will attend Hendrix College to seek a degree in health science/social justice. The Matt Morris scholarship was established following the death in 1999 of Matt Morris, son of former Searcy Mayor David Morris, who is a former AAC employee. Matt was an Arkansas Razorback baseball recruit. The scholarship is funded by donations made in Matt’s name and by the County Judges Association. It is awarded each year to an applicant who reminds the scholarship committee of Matt, either through their sports involvement or by helping others.
Stephen Thomas Worley
Connor Sanders
Stephen Thomas Worley — Thomas is the grandson of retired Bradley County Circuit Clerk Catherine Lee Richardson, who served for 20 years. He also is a sophomore at Ouachita Baptist University, where he has declared a double major in accounting and finance.
Connor Sanders — Connor is the son of Izard County Treasurer Warren Sanders. He is a 2019 graduate of Calico Rock High School. He plans to attend Arkansas State University at Mountain Home and work toward a degree in dentistry. Noah Worley — Noah is a sophomore at Ouachita Baptist University, where he is working toward a biology degree. He is the grandson of retired Bradley County Circuit Clerk Catherine Lee Richardson, who served for 20 years. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
Quentin Tolbert
Lindsey Logan
Lindsey Logan — Lindsey is a 2019 graduate of Mena High School and the daughter of Laura Kiersey, who has worked in the Polk County Tax Collector’s office for 16 years. Lindsey plans to attend the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, where she will major in elementary education. Lindsey is the recipient of the Randy Kemp Memorial Scholarship. Randy served as AAC Communications Director from July 2008 until his death in August 2011. The scholarship is funded exclusively by the annual Randy Kemp Golf Tournament. 27
AAC
FEATURE
Top: AAC Governmental Affairs Director Josh Curtis (left) and AAC Executive Director Chris Villines (right) present the Diamond Award to state Rep. Michelle Gray. Bottom: AAC Governmental Affairs Director Josh Curtis (left) and AAC Executive Director Chris Villines (right) present the Diamond Award to state Sen. Jason Rapert.
AAC honors legislators with Diamond Awards
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he Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) honored state Rep. Michelle Gray and state Sen. Jason Rapert for championing the passage of the 2019 Public Safety Act. Each received an AAC Diamond Award during the AAC’s annual August conference. 28
At the heart of the legislation that became Act 660 of 2019 is the transformation of the state’s 911 system. AAC Executive Director Chris Villines called the 2019 Public Safety Act “one of the most critical pieces of legislation in the last 10 years.” He thanked Rep. Gray and Sen. Rap-
ert for their “leadership, hard work, persistence, and dedication to saving lives and giving counties the tools we need to upgrade and fund our antiquated 911 system in Arkansas.” AAC Governmental Relations Director Josh Curtis, who worked closely with Rep. Gray and Sen. Rapert to develop the legislation, encouraged all conference attendees to thank their legislators for their support of the act. “We had a wild ride working on this bill. To some people, it looked easy because we had over a super majority of the votes in the house and senate. It was not easy,” he said. “This act 660 isn’t about money or power. It’s about all of Arkansas doing what’s right to save lives and provide the best public safety to all of our citizens.” Act 660 does several things. Among them, it replaces the Arkansas Emergency Telephone Services Board with the Arkansas 911 Board and gives that board oversight of public service answering points (PSAPs) and the ability to upgrade the state’s 911 system. In his remarks, Sen. Rapert called the legislation a “heavy lift” but acknowledged the importance of its passage. “The 911 system is critical to the state of Arkansas,” he said. “Whether you’re in El Dorado or Pocahontas, whether you are in Junction City or Conway, Fayetteville or Fort Smith, when somebody is in need of help you want to pick up that phone and be able to call 911 and know that there’s going be someone there.” Rep. Gray thanked county officials, in particular county judges, for talking to the state representatives and senators and conveying the need for 911 reform. She also said she was pleased that the act establishes an oversight board. “For me, one of the biggest things moving forward is knowing that we now have a statewide board so that we can have all of our counties at least on the same page moving forward together in the future,” she said. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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FEATURE
Saline County coroner named to national advisory board
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Story and Photo by Holland Doran AAC Communications Staff
aline County Coroner and Arkansas Coroners’ Association President Kevin Cleghorn was recently named to the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators (ABMDI) Advisory Council. “It’s very humbling, very nerve-racking, and very scary and exciting all at the same time,” he said. Cleghorn will serve a one-year term and will attend his first council meeting in October. He joins 19 other coroners, medical examiners and death investigation experts in lending his field experience and knowledge to promoting the highest standards for medicolegal death investigators. “My job will be reviewing the national standards for death investigation that the ABMDI testing procedure isbased on,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to assure that the testing procedure and information included is up-todate and accurate with the current curriculum being taught across the country.” The way deaths are recorded varies state by state. The majority of states have medical examiners offices that send investigators or doctors to a death scene. Arkansas, however, relies on coroners to actually do the hands-on work in the field. Because of this, Cleghorn has the unique opportunity to bring a fresh perspective to the council. “I will be adding a new perspective to that because we (coroners) are the ones going out,” he said. “We don’t have people that do it for us. So, it gives them (council members) a new perspective as to how things are done.” Cleghorn will be a voice not only for Arkansas coroners, but also for states that have the same reporting system as Arkansas. “I’m going to be the voice for several other states that have systems very similar to ours that have never had that kind of voice on the board before,” he said. Now that he is influencing coroner training on the national level, Cleghorn expects coroners and deputy coroners will be encouraged to take advantage of Arkansas Medicolegal Death Investigators (ARMDI) training opportunities, and to embrace Arkansas’ new death investigation reporting system called MDILog, a program that helps coroners more accurately report deaths. Cleghorn said nearly half of the state’s coroners — around 42-43 — have MDILog credentials. He hopes to COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
see this number grow in the coming year as more coroners are trained in the program. Cleghorn has been Saline County coroner since 2015 and was elected Arkansas Coroners’ Association president in 2016. He is a licensed forensic death investigator, an ABMDI diplomat, state-licensed paramedic and national registered paramedic. He is director of the South Central Region of the Infant and Child Death Review Committee and a member of the Arkansas Coroners’ Association’s inaugural Education Development Committee. He also serves on the AAC Board of Directors. ABMDI is a voluntary national, not-for-profit, independent professional certification board that has been established to promote the highest standards of practice for medicolegal death investigators. 29
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Hot Spring County presents its 10-year strategic plan for growth and development Citizens cite broadband access, job creation, housing, more as needs. Story and Photos by Christy L. Smith AAC Communications Director
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ot Spring County Judge Dennis Thornton welcomed about 200 guests to the unveiling of Hot Spring County Conversations (HSCC) 10-year strategic plan on Aug. 20, at the College of the Ouachitas in Malvern. HSCC “is a future-focused, positive community development initiative” that began in Fall 2017, according to the narrative in the strategic plan. It began as an effort to discover the needs of Hot Spring County residents and to identify community leaders able to take action to meet those needs. HSCC leaders worked with the University of Central Arkansas’ Center for Community and Economic Development, and with Newport Economic Development Commission Executive Director Jon Chadwell on the project. Two countywide meetings were held, and a countywide survey was distributed. The success of those meetings and survey led Judge Thornton and the HSCC executive commit30
tee to hold two meetings at each of the five school districts (Bismarck, Glen Rose, Ouachita, Magnet Cove, and Malvern) in the county. Residents in each community were invited to attend and provide their feedback on how to improve life in Hot Spring County, as well as in their particular community. “When Hot Spring County Conversations began its very purpose was to set vision and goals by community and county,” Judge Thornton said during the unveiling ceremony. “Goals that were set by you — the citizens of Hot Spring County. Through this we have action groups throughout the county working together.” The executive committee identified five areas to improve upon by 2030. For instance, by 2030 Hot Spring County will have a skilled workforce that meets the needs of current and future businesses and industries. Other goals were established in the areas of job creation; family recreation and youth activities; health and public safety; and housing, real estate and downtown development. Residents of Bismarck named entrepreneurship and small business development as their first priority. The Glen Rose COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
AAC and Magnet Cove communities prioritized internet access. Malvern identified education, job creation and workforce development as its No. 1 priority. The Ouachita community did much the same by naming education and workforce development as its primary focus. Other speakers included Shelby Fiegel, managing director of the Center for Community and Economic Development at the University of Central Arkansas; Chadwell of Newport; Rex Nelson, senior editor of the Arkansas DemocratGazette; and Gov. Asa Hutchinson. The Governor commended Hot Spring County for developing a “successful” 10year strategic plan that mirrors and supplements the state’s strategic plan in its focus on education, job creation, and the expansion of internet service. Going forward, Community Action Teams and Steering Committees will meet regularly to work on implementing the communities’ initiatives.
FEATURE
Opposite page: Members of the Hot Spring County Conversations executive commitee, who are posing for a photo with Gov. Asa Hutchinson, were vital in gathering data from citizens about their long-range vision for Hot Spring County. Above Left: Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Newport Economic Development Commission provided guidance to the executive committee. Above Right: Arkansas Democrat Gazette Senior Editor and Columnist Rex Nelson and Shelby Fiegel, Managing Director of the Center for Community and Economic Development at the University of Central Arkansas also were invited speakers.
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County ‘superheroes’ attend 51st annual conference Nearly 900 attend conference, setting new attendance record Story by Christy L. Smith Photos by Holland Doran AAC Communications Staff
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he Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) held its 51st annual conference Aug. 21-23, 2019, at the Hot Springs Convention Center in Hot Springs/Garland County. “Superheroes of County Government” was the theme for the event, which drew a record attendance of nearly 900. That beats last year’s attendance by about 150 people. Randolph County Circuit Clerk and AAC Board President Debbie Wise presided over the event. Garland County Judge Darryl Mahoney welcomed attendees, then AAC Executive Director Chris Villines led the traditional roll call just as he did last year. Attendees watched video of all 85 courthouses in the state and let their presence be known as their courthouse appeared on the screen. The keynote speaker for Wednesday’s opening session was NACo 1st Vice President and Boone County, Ky., Judge Gary Moore. This year’s conference featured a new component — jail track training for jail administrators and employees. The sessions, led by AAC Risk Management staff, ran concurrently with other conference sessions. Members of the House and Senate City, County, and Local Affairs committees met Wednesday afternoon to discuss spring flooding and the status of levees across the state. Gov. Asa Hutchinson joined the group on Thursday morning, commending counties for their successful legislative session. Afterward the Joint Committee on Public Retirement and Social Security Programs met to discuss the Arkansas Public Employee Retirement System (APERS). The committee will hold additional town hall meetings across the state through Nov. 6. 32
The featured speaker for lunch on Thursday was Sam Quinones, author of “Dreamland: America’s Opiate Epidemic, How We Got Here and Where We are Today.” Following his presentation, AAC honored state Sen. Jason Rapert and state Rep. Michelle Gray for their work on the 911 reform bill that passed during the regular legislative session. The AAC also presented the 2019 Wes
Fowler Advocacy Award to Madison County Judge Frank Weaver. Break out sessions included topics such as medical marijuana, active shooter response/self defense, and county roads and bridges. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Senior Editor Rex Nelson closed the conference Friday morning with a sometimes comical look at Arkansas’ history.
Top: Nevada County was well represented by (front row) Justice of the Peace for 40 years Curtis Lee Johnson and new Justice of the Peace Pat Grimes, as well as (back row, from left to right) County Assessor Pam Box, County Clerk Julie Stockton Oliver, and County Treasurer Susie Key. Bottom: Lawrence County turned out big time for the AAC’s 51st Annual Conference. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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National Association of Counties (NACo) 1st Vice-President and Boone County, Ky., Judge Gary Moore chats with AAC Board Secretary/Treasurer and Clark County Clerk Rhonda Cole (left) and AAC Board President and Randolph County Clerk Debbie Wise (right).
AAC Executive Director Chris Villines speaks to conference attendees.
Above left: AAC Board President and Randolph County Circuit Clerk Debbie Wise welcomes nearly 900 people to conference. Top right: Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks during the luncheon on Aug. 22.
Above left: AAC Board Vice-President and Polk County Judge Brandon Ellison speaks. Above center: NACo 1st Vice-President and Boone County, Ky., Judge Gary Moore speaks during the opening session on Aug. 21. Above right: AAC Board member, Treasurers’ Association President, AAC Legislative Committee Chair and Craighead County Treasurer Terry McNatt presents the legislative committee report. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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AAC
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Left: Chris Villines welcomes members of the Senate and House City, County, and Local Affairs committees to the AAC conference. Above left: Miss Arkansas 2019 Darynne Dahlem sings the National Anthem. Above right: Garland County Judge Darryl Mahoney welcomes attendees to the county.
Above: Senate and House City, County, and Local Affairs Committees Chairs state Sen. Gary Stubblefield (left) and state Rep. Lanny Fite lead the joint meeting. Right: AAC Legal Counsel Lindsey Bailey, Baxter County Sheriff and AAC Board member John Montgomery, Sebastian County Judge David Hudson, and AAC Consultant Eddie Jones address the joint committee about jail reimbursement rates.
Above left: Ouachita County Circuit Clerk Gladys Nettles strikes a superhero pose alongside state Rep. David Fielding. Above right: AAC Consultant Eddie Jones leads attendees in a prayer before AAC’s annual conference fish fry. Right: Arkansas Department of Emergency Management (ADEM) Director A.J. Gary testifies before the Senate and House City, County, and Local Affairs committees. 34
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Left: Sam Quinones, author of “Dreamland: America’s Opiate Epidemic,” speaks during lunch Aug. 22. Above left: AAC Board member and Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery introduces Quinones. Above right: AAC Board member, Arkansas Association of Quorum Courts President and Boone County Justice of the Peace David Thompson (left) and AAC Board member and Jackson County Justice of the Peace Tommy Young stop to pose for a photo.
Above left: Arkansas Drug Director Kirk Lane; Trevor Villines, substance abuse collegiate program coordinator in the drug director’s office; author Sam Quinones; AAC Board member and Pulaski County Coroner Gerone Hobbs; AAC RMF Legal Counsel Colin Jorgensen; and AAC Board member, Arkansas Coroners Association President and Saline County Coroner Kevin Cleghorn take a photo. Above right: Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks during the opening general session on Thursday, Aug. 22. Garland County Undersheriff Jason Lawrence leads a session entitled “Active Shooter Response Plan/ Self Defense.”
Conference attendees pack a convention center room to hear from Garland County Undersheriff Jason Lawrence. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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AAC
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Above left: AAC Risk Management Fund (RMF) Litigation Counsel JaNan Thomas, AAC RMF Legal Counsel Brandy McAllister, AAC Loss Control Specialist Ed Piker, AAC RMF Paralegal Samantha Wren, AAC RMF Claims Manager Debbie Lakey, AAC RMF Litigation Counsel Melissa Hollowell, AAC RMF Director Debbie Norman, and AAC RMF Administrative Assistant Kim Mitchell take a photo in front of the RMF exhibit booth. Above right: Phillips County Circuit Clerk Lynn Stillwell, Phillips County Assessor Jerome Turner, Phillips County Coroner Earnest Larry and Phillips County Clerk Linda White-Winfield take a photo. Far left: AAC RMF Litigation Counsel Colin Jorgensen speaks to jail administrators and employees. Right: Jail administrators and employees attend a Jail Track training session. The Jail Track training was a new addition to conference this year.
Above left: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Senior Editor Rex Nelson gives conference attendees an interesting look at the history of Arkansas. Above center: AAC Board member, Arkansas County Tax Collectors Association President and Crittenden County Collector Ellen Foote leads an association meeting. Above right: The Diamond Empire Band performs during the annual conference dinner and dance. The theme was “Superhero Soiree!” 36
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AAC
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Left: AAC Executive Director Chris Villines (left) speaks with Executive Director of Arkansas Public Employees Retirement System (APERS) Duncan Baird, Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration Chief Fiscal Officer Larry Walther; and Sebastian County Judge David Hudson. Above: AAC Board member and Pulaski County Treasurer/Collector Debra Buckner (center) talks with state Rep. Tippi McCullough (left) and state Sen. Joyce Elliott. Right: AAC Board member and Benton County Circuit Clerk Brenda DeShields talks with APERS Director Duncan Baird. Far right: Chairs of the Public Retirement & Social Security Programs Committee, Sen. Bill Sample and Rep. Les Warren, speak during a joint committee meeting. Far left: Craighead County Circuit Clerk and Arkansas Circuit Clerks Association Legislative Committee Representative Kyle Sylvester (right) talks with state Sen. Lance Eads. Left: AAC Board member and Conway County Judge Jimmy Hart (right) chats with Arkansas Good Roads Foundation Executive Director Joe Quinn. Right: Interstate 30 band plays during AAC’s annual fish fry Aug. 21. Far right: Rainwater, Holt, & Sexton Attorney Mike Rainwater speaks to quorum court members during a conference session.
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AAC
COVER STORY State Representatives Stan Berry and Keith Slape.
Ben Starsky and Scott Moody
Secretary of State John Thurston and Phillip Carper with DataScout.
Record number turn out for annual tournament
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orty-eight golfers teed off at the Ponce de Leon Golf Club in Hot Springs Village, Aug. 20, 2019, for the 21st Annual Randy Kemp Memorial Scholarship Fund golf tournament. The tournament each year raises money for the fund in honor of Randy Kemp, AAC’s first communications director.
He joined AAC in 2008 after a successful career in newspapers. He died in a motorcycle accident in August 2011. The Randy Kemp Memorial Scholarship aims to raise funds for scholarships for the children, stepchildren and grandchildren of county officials or employees who intend to pursue a college degree in communications.
TOURNAMENT RESULTS FIRST FLIGHT
SECOND FLIGHT
Sponsored by Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions
Sponsored by Correct Solutions Group
FIRST Darryl Gardner & Billy Ryan
FIRST Mark Whitmore & Mike Moore
SECOND Steve Morgan
SECOND Kade Holliday & Josh Longmire
THIRD Jason Owens & Mark Miller
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THIRD Bob Ramsey & Dennis Teel
LONG DRIVE WINNER Josh Lingo Sponsored by DataScout PUTTING CONTEST WINNER Vince Grimes Sponsored by Delta Mass Appraisal CLOSEST TO THE PIN WINNER Scott Moody
The 2019 scholarship was awarded to Lindsey Logan, a 2019 graduate of Mena High School and the daughter of Laura Kiersey, who has worked in the Polk County Tax Collector’s Office for 16 years. AAC extends its appreciation to fund supporters, golfers and sponsors for making this year’s tournament a success.
SPONSORS PLATINUM Ergon Asphalt & Emulsions Correct Solutions Group GOLD JCD Consulting Keystone Solutions SILVER Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association Delta Mass Appraisal National MedTest Bank of Delight 1st Arkansas Bail Bonds DataScout HOLE SPONSORS Jason Owens Law Firm Arkansas Cama Technology Holiday Development and Management Apprentice Information Systems COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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COVER STORY
Patrick Hardy with Apprentice Information Systems.
AAC Chief Legal Counsel Mark Whitmore, AAC Accountant Cindy Posey, AAC Executive Director Chris Villines, AAC Governmental Affairs Director Josh Curtis and AAC Legal Counsel Lindsey Bailey at the tournament. April and Tommy Fisher.
Craighead County Justice of the Peace Josh Longmire and Craighead County Clerk Kade Holliday.
Vince Grimes and Nevada County Justice of the Peace Patricia Grimes. Kelly Beaty, Robert Gandy, Waylan Arnold with the Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office, and Conway County Assessor Mark Stobaugh.
Jefferson County Collector Tony Washington and Cory Scott with DataScout.
Former AAC Law Clerk Blake Gary.
Steve Morgan and Billy Ryan. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
Saline County Judge Jeff Arey. 39
AAC
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Thank you to our 2019 Exhibitors and Sponsors! AAC Risk Management 1415 West Third Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 375-8805 www.arcounties.org ACT 38 W. Trenton Blvd., Ste. 101 Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 587-9055 www.arcamatech.com ADEM — Federal Surplus Property 8700 Remount Road N.Little Rock, AR 72118 (501) 835-3111 www.adem.arkansas.gov American Stamp & Marketing Products 500 Fee Fee Road Maryland Heights, MO 63043 (800) 872-7840 www.americanstamp.com Apprentice Information Systems, Inc. 900 N. Dixieland, Ste 102 Rogers, AR 72756 (479) 631-8054 www.apprenticeis.com Arkansas 811 2120 Maple Ridge Circle Conway, AR 72034 (501) 328-2500 www.arkonecall.com Arkansas Aggregates 1910 W. 65th Street Little Rock, AR 71913 (501) 545-6977 www.arkagg.com Arkansas Correctional Industries 6841 West 13th Street Pine Bluff, AR 71602 (877) 635-7213 www.acicatalog.com Arkansas Crime Information Center
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322 S. Main Street, Ste. 615 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 682-2222 www.acic.org ADEQ 5301 Northshore Drive N. Little Rock, AR 72118 (501) 682-0744 www.adeq.state.ar.us ARDOT 10324 Interstate 30 Little Rock, AR 72209 (501) 569-2000 www.ardot.gov Arkansas ETS Board / Arkansas 911 Board P.O. Box 34075 Little Rock, AR 72203 (501) 375-9911 Arkansas Farm Bureau P.O. Box 31 Little Rock, AR 72203 (501) 224-4400 www.arfb.com
Auditor of State 500 Woodlane St., Ste. 230 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 682-6030 www.claimitAR.com AutoMail 3401 One Place Jonesboro, AR 72404 (800) 898-2540 www.goautomail.com Badger Daylighting 1480 E Dave Ward Conway, AR 72032 (501) 548-5919 www.badgerinc.com BHC Insurance 5500 Euper Lane Fort Smith, AR 72903 (479) 452-4000 www.bhca.com BIS Digital, Inc. 1350 NE 56th St., Ste. 300 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33334 (800) 834-7674 www.bisdigital.com
Arkansas Municipal Equipment P.O. Box 157 Poyen, AR 72128 (501) 425-1567 www.ametrucks.com
Colonial Life 1701 Centerview Dr., Ste. 300 Little Rock, AR 72211 (501) 246-8978 www.coloniallife.com
Arkansas Sign & Barricade 10601 Otter Creek E Blvd Mabelvale, AR 72103 (501) 653-2300 www.asbtrafficcontrol.com
Commissioner of State Lands 500 Woodlane St., Ste. 109 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 683-3031 www.cosl.org
Arkansas State Archives 1 Capitol Mall #215 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 682-6900 archives.arkansas.gov
Custom Pavement Maintenance and Safety P.O. Box 435 Van Buren, AR 72957 (479) 262-6160 www.custompavement.com
Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa 239 Central Avenue Hot Springs, AR 71901 (800) 643-1502 www.arlingtonhotel.com
DataScout, LLC 38 W. Trenton Blvd., Ste. 101 Fayetteville, AR 72701 (479) 521-5607 www.datascoutllc.com
AT&T 1401 West Capitol, Ste. 420 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 373-3330 www.att.com
Delta Mass Appraisal Svcs. P.O. Box 504 England, AR 72046 (501) 803-0500 www.deltamassappraisal.com
DHS/Choices in Living Resource Center P.O. Box 1437, Slot S530 Little Rock, AR 72203 (501) 682-1011 www.choicesinliving. arkansas.gov Diamond Mowers 350 East 60th Street N. Sioux Falls, SD 57104 (605) 977-3300 www.diamondmowers.com Doggett Freightliner 11700 Valentine Road N. Little Rock, AR 72117 (800) 562-8875 www.doggett.com EFS GeoTechnologies 360 Airport Road Monticello, AR 71655 (870) 460-9994 www.efsgeotech.com Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas 1 Cooperative Way Little Rock, AR 72209 (501) 570-2263 www.ecark.org Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) Camp Robinson Box 27 N. Little Rock, AR 72199 (501) 212-4018 www.esgr.mil Entegrity 1403 East 6th Street Little Rock, AR 72202 (800) 700-1414 www.entegritypartners.com EZ Street Asphalt 69 Huntington Drive Greenbrier, AR 72058 (870) 307-2279 www.atlasasphaltinc.com Fidlar Technologies 350 Research Parkway Davenport, IA 52806 (563) 345-1200 www.fidlar.com Financial Intelligence 124 W. Capitol Ave., Ste. 876
Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 708-0313 www.financial-intel.com FirstNet Team 1401 W. Capitol, Ste. 420 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 373-3330 www.firstnet.com/home Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP 400 W. Capitol, Ste. 2000 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 370-2011 www.fridayfirm.com GeoConex Corp 6923 Maynardville Pike PMB 109 Knoxville, TN 37918 (865) 686-0411 www.geoconex.com GovPayNet 7102 Lakeview Parkway West Drive Indianapolis, IN 46268 (916) 450-1418 www.govpaynet.com Greenfeather Monitoring 305 W. Central Wichita, KS 67202 (316) 425-4505 www.greenfeathermonitoring.com Guard 4 Life GPS Tracking 106 Ridgeway, Suite F Hot Springs, AR 71901 (501) 762-6745 www.g4Ltracking.com Guardian RFID 6900 Wedgewood Road N., Ste. 325 Maple Grove, MN 55311 (855) 777-7343 guardianrfid.com Homeland Safety Systems 724 W 61st Street Shreveport, LA 71106 (318) 221-8062 www.homelandsafetysystems.com Iberia Bank 10901 Rodney Parham Rd. Little Rock, AR 72212
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AAC (501) 661-7890 www.iberiabank.com Information Network of Arkansas 425 W. Capital Suite 1620 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 683-5307 www.ina.arkansas.gov Interstate Document Recovery 7427 Tower Street Richland Hills, TX 76118 (817) 996-7820 www.interstaterestoration. com IronWolf Manufacturing 9000 South Highway 77 Noble, OK 73068 (405) 872-1890 www.ironwolf.com Jason Owens Law Firm, PA 1023 Main St., Ste. 203 Conway, AR 72032 (501) 764-4334 www.jowenslawfirm.com Keystone Solutions P.O. Box 2395 Batesville, AR 72503 (870) 376-3088 www.keystonesolutions.io LC Manufacturing, LLC 1122 Antigo Street Stamps, AR 71860 (870) 533-6043 www.lc-mfg.com Lift Truck Service Center 12829 Interstate 30 Little Rock, AR 72209 (501) 568-7078 www.lifttruckservicecenterinc.com LS & Associates 1973 Oak Tree Cove Hernando, MS 38632 (662) 393-9115 www.lsassoc.net McKinstry 4201 Spring Valley, Ste. 250 Dallas, TX 75244 (972) 532-4290 www.mckinstry.com NACo 660 N Capitol St. NW,
Ste. 400 Washington, DC 20001 (888) 407-6226 www.naco.org National Medtest, Inc. 601 Southwest Drive Jonesboro, AR 72401 (870) 931-1993 www.nationalmedtest.com Nationwide Retirement Solutions 7100 W. Camino Real, Suite 302-46 Boca Raton, FL 33433 (470) 216-6872 www.nrsforu.com Office of Attorney General 323 Center St., Ste. 200 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 682-2007 www.arkansasag.gov Performance Services 7691 Northshore Place, Ste. B N. Little Rock, AR 72118 (501) 353-2299 www.performanceservices. com Rainwater, Holt & Sexton 801 Technology Drive Little Rock, AR 72223 (800) 767-4815 www.callrainwater.com RAVE Mobile Safety 501 Woodlane Ave, Ste. 105 Little Rock, AR 72201 (888) 605-7164 www.ravemobilesafety.com Raymond James 50 N. Front Street Memphis, TN 38103 (800) 564-2249 www.raymondjames.com Records Consultants, Inc. 12829 Wetmore Road San Antonio, TX 78247 (877) 366-4127 www.rcitech.com Reynolds Construction and Commercial Roofing P.O. Box 20580 White Hall, AR 71612
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(870) 247-5753 www.reynoldsconstructioncompany.com Roadside, Inc. 2038 Lee Road 137 Auburn, AL 36832 (334) 887-1373 www.roadsideinc.com Roadway Mgt. Technologies 313 W 2nd Street Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 626-1313 www.roadwaymanagementusa.com Ryburn Law Firm 650 S. Shackleford, Ste 231 Little Rock, AR 72211 (501) 228-8100 www.ryburnlawfirm.com SALT Group of Arkansas 1914 East Matthews Jonesboro, AR 72401 (870) 520-5017 www.salt-ar.com Secretary of State John Thurston 500 Woodlane, State Capitol, Room 256 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 682-1010 www.sos.arkansas.gov skyePBX, LLC 1050 White Drive Batesville, AR 72501 (855) 759-3729 www.skyepbx.com SouthBuild, LLC 134 W. South Street Collierville, TN 38017 (901) 457-7690 www.southbuild.com Southern Tire Mart, LLC 800 Highway 98 Columbia, MS 39429 (601) 424-3200 www.stmtires.com Southwest EAP 415 N. McKinley, Ste. 520 Little Rock, AR 72205 (501) 663-1797 www.southwesteap.com
Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) 400 W. Capitol Ave., Ste. 1610 Little Rock, AR 72201 (888) 216-3523 www.swepco.com Stephens Inc. 111 Center St., Ste. 100 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 377-2000 www.stephens.com Summit Truck Group 11401 Diamond Drive N. Little Rock, AR 72117 (501) 940-6509 www.summittruckgroup.com
Sutterfield Technologies, Inc. 104 South 10th Street Duncan, OK 73533 (580) 786-4390 www.sutterfieldtechnologies. com Systemedic 11617 Kanis Road Little Rock, AR 72211 (501) 214-1723 www.systemedic.com TaxPRO 124 W. Capitol Ave., Ste. 876 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 246-8060 www.gowithtaxpro.com TeleComp 5104 S. Pinnacle Hills Pkwy. Rogers, AR 72758 (479) 271-2200 www.telecomp.com Telogix 5050 Quorum Dr., Ste. 700 Dallas, TX 75254 (870) 777-5358 www.telogix.com TIPS — The Interlocal Purchasing System 4845 US Hwy 271 N Pittsburg, TX 75686 (866) 839-8477 www.tips-usa.com Total Assessment Solutions Corp. P.O. Box 499
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Glenwood, AR 71943 (870) 356-4511 www.totalassessments.com TRANE 10303 Colonel Glenn Rd., Suite 1-0 Little Rock, AR 72204 (501) 227-3009 www.trane.com Turn Key Health 2593 Baughman Cutoff Harrison, AR 72601 (870) 391-6555 www.turnkeyhealthclinics.com
U of A, Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service 2301 S. University Ave. Little Rock, AR 72204 (501) 671-2000 www.uaex.edu U.S. Census Bureau 4600 Silver Hill Road Suitland, MD 20746 (312) 498-2240 www.census.gov Univo Data, Inc. 401 S. Chestnut Street Morrilton, AR 72110 (501) 476-7580 www.univodata.com U.S. Department of Homeland Security 111 Center Street #1700 Little Rock, AR 72202 (501) 414-1468 www.dhs.gov/cisa US Imaging, Inc. 400 S Franklin Street Saginaw, MI 48607 (989) 753-7933 www.us-imaging.com USDA Rural Development 700 W. Capitol Ave., Room 3416 Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 301-3200 www.rd.usda.gov Wilson Culverts, Inc. P.O. Box 940 Elkhart, TX 75839 (800) 234-0084 www.wilsonculverts.com
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Left: The AAC presented Cleveland County Clerk Jimmy Cummings with a Diamond Award for his work and diligence during the 2019 Legislative Session. Above: The wording on the Diamond Award reads, “In recognition of your outstanding service and dedication to the Arkansas Association of County Clerks during the 92nd General Assembly Regular Session of 2019.
Cummings honored for work during 2019 session Story by Christy L. Smith Photos by Holland Doran AAC Communications Staff
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uring its June meeting, the Arkansas Association of County Clerks awarded Cleveland County/Circuit Clerk Jimmy Cummings a Diamond Award in recognition of his “outstanding service and dedication to the Arkansas Association of County Clerks during the 92nd General Assembly Regular Session of 2019.” According to AAC Legal Counsel and County Clerks Liaison Lindsey Bailey, the session saw an overwhelming number of bills aimed at amending elections procedures. Some had a positive impact — such as a bill that passed both chambers and will provide one-time money for all counties to acquire 42
new voting equipment — while many others would have had a negative impact. Many of those bills were introduced without input from the county clerks or election commissioners, who actually conduct elections. Compounding things, there was no predicting what day a legislator would run a bill that would adversely affect the administration of elections. “Jimmy was faithful to be at the capitol any day that he was able when there was a possibility that a bill might run, and was not afraid to step up and be the voice of the County Clerks Association, testifying on its behalf,” Bailey said. “Jimmy went above and beyond serving his fellow county clerks this session and was pivotal in preventing some bad legislation from being passed. I cannot think of another county official more deserving of a diamond award this session.” COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
AAC
COVER STORY Governor creates Arkansas Levee Task Force Photo by Holland Doran AAC Communications Coordinator
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Commission Deidre Smith • Director of the Geographic Information Office Shelby Johnson • Sen. Jason Rapert • Sen. Gary Stubblefield • Rep. Mary Bentley • Rep. David Hillman • Yell County Judge Mark Thone • Jackson County Judge Jeff Phillips • Chicot County Judge Mack Ball • Pope County Clerk Pam Ennis • Dardanelle Mayor Jimmy Witt • Pine Bluff Mayor Shirley Washington • St. Francis Levee Board Member Rob Rash • Mike Lowe, representing Miller County • Tim Ralston, representing Pope and Conway counties • Marty Shell, representing Sebastian and Crawford counties • Farm Bureau Engineer Evan Teague • Pulaski County Engineer Tommy Bond • Pulaski County Attorney Hal Kemp
overnor Asa Hutchinson issued Executive Order 19-10 on June 27, to create the Arkansas Levee Task Force. In a news release, the governor cited “record flooding that impacted a number of communities along the Arkansas River, causing extensive damage.” Severe storms and flooding began in Conway, Crawford, Faulkner, Jefferson, Perry, Pulaski, Sebastian and Yell counties on May 21 through June 14, according to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Development. A total of 17 counties were affected. “Several levees were impacted, as a result, including the breach of the Holla Bend Levee in Yell County,” the Governor said in his June 27 news release. He also announced he will request legislative approval for $10 million to be made available through the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, in consultation with the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, for immediate levee repair. “The flood of 2019 revealed the many weaknesses in our The task force will study and analyze the condition of the state’s system of levees and points to the urgent need to formulate a plan to coordinate inspection and maintenance in state’s levees. It also will identify sources and requirements for cooperation with the Corps of Engineers and the local levee funding the construction, repair, and maintenance of levees; boards,” the Governor said in his news release. “We can’t post- and review adequacy of current laws and organizational strucpone this planning until another historic flood puts us to a ture of the levee system and levee district boards. test. The Arkansans who live and work along our waterways depend on our leaders to secure their safety as much as humanly possible by ensuring we incorporate the best practices and technology to fortify our levees.” On July 8, the Governor announced the following members of the task force: • Secretary of the Department of Public Safety Jami Cook, chairman • Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands Tommy Land • Secretary of the Department of Agriculture Wes Ward • Secretary of the Department of Finance and Administration Larry Walther • Director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission Bruce Holland • Director of the Arkansas Department of Gov. Asa Hutchinson (middle) announces on June 27, the creation of the ArkanEmergency Management A.J. Gary sas Levee Task Force. Standing alongside him are, from left to right, Rep. Mary • Director of the Arkansas Waterways Bentley, Sen. Jason Rapert, Sen. Mark Johnson, and Rep. David Hillman. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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In 2017, President Donald Trump signed the Waters of the United States executive order. He was flanked at left by Bryan Desloge, then NACo’s president, and other county leaders. — Photo by Associated Press
Trump’s counties The administration is focusing on a level of government that past presidents have often neglected.
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Story by Alan greenblatt Governing magazine
ouy Griffin came riding into town on a horse. Back in February, Griffin led a dozen “Cowboys for Trump” on a 170-mile ride from a farm in Cumberland, Md., to the White House, intending to show support for the president and present him with a hat. They didn’t make it past the gate, but President Trump got wind of the event — they were featured on Fox & Friends — and called up Griffin, who was already at the airport on his way home to New Mexico, to thank him. Griffin, who serves on the Otero County, New Mexico, commission, had the presence of mind not just to flatter Trump, but to bring up policy concerns. Griffin told the president that his county is home to Lincoln National Forest, which he said was mismanaged and presented a severe fire hazard that one day could wipe out the entire neighboring village of Cloudcroft. Trump promised to look into the matter. It wasn’t lip service. Griffin soon found himself on a conference call with USDA and Forest Service officials. “Commissioner Griffin, I want to start out by saying you definitely have the ear of the president of the United States on this,” said Jim Hubbard, the agriculture undersecretary who oversees the Forest Service. Not many county officials can bank on being able to draw the president’s attention to a parochial matter, but counties in gen44
eral are finding greater success communicating their concerns to the White House than they have had for a long time, if ever. Top administration officials have consulted with counties about opioids and opportunity zones, disaster response and environmental management. “They’re not just talking to us — we’ve seen real action on things we’ve been pushing for for years,” says Christian Leinbach, who chairs the county commission in Berks County, Pennsylvnia. “We couldn’t even get our concerns heard through channels in the Obama administration.” The White House has invited every county commissioner in the country to attend a series of 35 summits held at the Old Executive Office Building. All told, more than 2,000 have come. Each of the summits featured at least one cabinet secretary; half included Vice President Mike Pence. Trump himself spoke at the last one. These weren’t grip-and-grin occasions where county commissioners took selfies or grabbed napkins embossed with the White House seal. At each event, the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs promised to guide them through the federal government as a whole, handing out names and contact information of individual officials who could help them out with problems or concerns, whether at EPA, HUD, the Army Corps of Engineers, or elsewhere. To many of these visiting politicians, it felt like concierge service. Handing out business cards may be no big deal, but county officials around the country say they consistently get quick responses — and COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
AAC quite often results — whenever they reach out to the administration. “It’s refreshing for us at a county level to see this level of responsiveness,” says Chris Villines, executive director of the Association of Arkansas Counties. The Trump White House is doing more than acting as a liaison between counties and federal departments. It has created a new competitive grant program that will provide $225 million for rural counties to repair and replace bridges. It’s proposed $340 million to clean up sewage that runs from Mexico into 25 border counties from San Diego to Brownsville, Texas. The administration has invited county commissioners to participate formally in the rulemaking process for rewriting regulations, including federal oversight of waterways that some county officials complain burdens them with excessive red tape. “We’ve always had an open door at the White House with recent presidents,” says Matt Chase, executive director of the National Association of Counties (NACo). “What is different about the Trump White House is they’re sustaining the outreach. They’re inviting any and all county commissioners to tap into the administration It amounts to something of a winning streak for counties, traditionally described by academics as “the forgotten governments” of America. Last year, the Interior Department sent out a record $552.8 million to counties through the payments in lieu of taxes (PILTs) program. The 2018 law reauthorizing the Federal Aviation Administration included several grant programs that flow directly to counties, which are involved in a third of public airports. Thanks in large part to lobbying from counties, that law also contains a provision limiting the Federal Emergency Management Agency to a three-year window for conducting audits on disaster funds, ending the practice under which FEMA sometimes would “claw back” money from counties a decade after paying out grants. EPA’s brownfields program offers new liability protections to state and local governments. In December, Trump signed a five-year farm bill that includes increased assistance for rural counties and schools, allows counties to exclude prisoners from population caps on eligibility for rural development programs and gives them greater flexibility in using federal broadband funds. Policies such as brownfield liability or PILTs aren’t going to make a lot of headlines. Day-to-day issues on which counties and the federal government interact can fly so low under the radar that they don’t command much attention even from policymakers in Washington, let alone the press. But most key state and federal programs have to be executed by counties when they get to the local level — transportation, Medicaid, public health, mental health and services for children, youth and seniors among them. Counties own nearly half the roads in the country and are largely responsible for storm water and sewage. Yet presidents and governors routinely have given them short shrift, treating them as places to dump their problems, rather than partners in devising solutions. No matter how often county officials parrot the line
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that they provide more services than cities do, even to city residents, they rarely have commanded the attention that cities and states are able to claim. Counties have traditionally been treated like red-headed stepchildren by federal officials. It’s always easier to deal with 50 states than 3,069 counties. Counties still aren’t getting everything they might want from this administration. Trump has made it a crusade to cut back on Medicaid and Affordable Care Act spending; many of those dollars flow through counties. The president also sought deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), still better known as food stamps. Counties administer SNAP in just 10 states, but those states are home to nearly a third of the people who receive the benefit. Trump’s budgets have called for eliminating Community Development Block Grants, a rare source of flexible federal funding for localities. But to the extent counties are looking for relief from federal regulations and unfunded mandates, their desires align with the larger goals of an administration looking to slice through the federal rulebook. “We’ve listened to state and local leaders where they think there’s not smart regulation that’s hampering opportunity and growth,” says Doug Hoelscher, who directs the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. “We don’t always give ‘yes’ answers, but I think we give answers on a lot more things than prior administrations.” Every administration takes a different approach to federalism. Although George W. Bush had been governor of Texas and selected several governors as cabinet secretaries, his Office of Intergovernmental Affairs functioned as a command center, giving states and localities their marching orders. Barack Obama, the first president elected from a big city in nearly a century, quickly scored points among state and local officials with a more open approach. Under Obama, HUD, EPA and Transportation at least talked publicly about knitting together programs on the local level in a more collaborative way. But the primary conduit for Obama policies was the nation’s cohort of big-city mayors. While past presidents tended to do business with states, to the extent they cared about other levels of government at all, Obama worked directly with mayors on a variety of programs he couldn’t get through Congress, including minimum wage increases, paid sick leave requirements, early childhood education and community policing. It made sense for Obama to find common cause with mayors. For half a century and more, big cities have been dominated politically by liberal Democrats. Counties have been different. Hillary Clinton ran extremely well in 2016 in the biggest ones, carrying 88 of the 100 most populous counties, but that largely was the extent of her success. All told, she carried fewer than 500 counties, while Trump won more than 2,500. He took two-thirds of the vote in rural counties and small towns. Paying close, ongoing attention to friendly counties may be rare for a president, but it makes perfect political See
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COUNTIES sense for Trump. “We typically think of the president as the leader of the whole nation, but presidents also act like members of Congress do,” says Michael Sances, a political scientist at the University of Memphis. “They try to do things for their own base to shore up their reelection prospects.” The mere act of talking to county officials is a way of keeping Trump’s bond with supporters from rural and small-town areas who complain about being ignored by Washington. “Having that reputation is something that’s noticed back home, outside the beltway,” says Hoelscher, the White House intergovernmental affairs director. “It’s not the biggest news above the fold, but usually with these initiatives it’s local news that these local leaders are coming to the White House.” The administration isn’t devoting its downward attention exclusively to counties. During his first two years in office, the president met with governors in person 65 percent more often than Ronald Reagan had at the same point in his term. His office is also launching a series of summits for state legislators, similar to those organized for county commissioners. For county officials, however, after long neglect in Washington, a White House invitation is so unusual and unexpected that they sometimes think it must be a prank. Amy Galey, a commissioner from Alamance County, North Carolina, reported her email to her county’s IT department, convinced it was an attempt at hacking. But the communications keep coming. When Hurricane Michael was bearing down on the Atlantic Coast last October, the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs called county officials even before the storm landed, making sure they had access to the federal contacts and resources they’d need. They keep following up after disaster strikes. “Our lead here from FEMA is in constant contact with us, almost on a daily basis, sending us fact sheets about what needs to be done, what eligible moneys are available, the process you should use,” says Mary Ann Borgeson, a commissioner in Douglas County, Neb. There have been complaints that when counties in red states such as Nebraska get in trouble, they are given A-plus treatment, but when solidly Democratic California counties suffer historic wildfires, the president criticizes them for bad forest management. Trump’s 2017 tax-cut package eliminated deductions for personal losses from wildfires and earthquakes —twin calamities in California — but maintained the tax break for victims of hurricanes in the predominantly Republican Southeast. In June, Congress approved a $19 billion disaster relief package intended to provide help primarily to victims of hurricanes and flooding. The county customer service ethic promoted by the White House has started permeating down to various federal agencies. Judd Freed is the director of emergency management for Ramsey County, Minnesota, which includes St. Paul. He notes 46
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that there are plenty of apps on his phone that are great at telling him the weather where his brother lives, but his department relies on moment-to-moment information from the National Weather Service regarding local conditions practically on a block-by-block basis. “Under the Obama administration, we did have pretty good access to them,” Freed says. “Under the Trump administration, they have made an outstanding effort to remain accessible to us.” It’s less than likely the average voter will ever know that the administration went to bat for her county on sharing weather data or ending FEMA clawbacks. But voters will hear about bridges being built, or possibly that their public works department is saving money thanks to environmental deregulation. “The focus of the national media is on the acrimony and the disruptions going on in Washington, D.C.,” says San Diego County Supervisor Greg Cox. “The White House certainly understands that counties have a lot of responsibilities. So far, we’ve seen some pretty substantive things being addressed.” The county courthouse gang may not be the machine bosses they once were, but having local officials talk up the president can’t hurt in the places Trump relies on most for votes. Even during the 2016 campaign, Trump’s people were unusually alert to the value of doing outreach with NACo and counties. “The goal here might be to sway Republicans who weren’t totally sold on Trump in 2016, showing he can be pragmatic,” says Sances, the Memphis professor. “If they hear from county officials that, despite the tweets, he’s doing real things to help us here, that explicit messaging will convince some people on the fence.” Trump has won over some reluctant county officials individually. A few Republican commissioners who’ve attended the White House summits have admitted to reporters that they backed other candidates in the primaries in 2016, but have since come to believe that Trump has their interests at heart. “I don’t agree with everything the Trump administration has to say — especially President Trump,” says Leinbach, the commissioner in Berks County, Pennsylvania, “but I’ve got to tell you his actions speak very loud.” Griffin, the “cowboy commissioner” from New Mexico, goes a lot further. Initially, he dismissed Trump as “a New York Yankee real estate tycoon who we know is not one of us.” Now he believes Trump will “go down as the greatest president that we’ve ever had.” Despite the access he’s gotten to decisionmakers in the Forest Service and USDA, though, Griffin still hasn’t gotten what he wants from them in terms of cleaning up the national forest. He’s confident that Trump will make it right. The president, after all, has already invited him to return to the White House, telling Griffin there are 20 acres on the South Lawn where he can ride his horses when he comes back to deliver his hat. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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AAC
STAFF PROFILE Paralegal – Samantha Wren
Family information: I was born and raised in Little Rock. My parents are Dwayne and Blanca Tucker. I have a younger brother, Christopher. I recently married Patrick Wren. I love spending time with our parents and dog.
At the top of my bucket list is to: Keep traveling. I hope to visit each state in the United States, and someday visit Europe. The hardest thing I have ever done is: I am very scared of heights, but Patrick encouraged me to conquer my fears and go cliff jumping with him at Greers Ferry Lake.
My favorite meal: My favorite has to be Pupusas from El Salvador. Pupusas are made with masa that is stuffed with cheese, chicharron, beans or a combination of ingredients. They are served with beans, rice and a traditional slaw. I would definitely recommend this meal to others.
You might be surprised to learn that: I’m a black belt in Taekwondo.
How long have you been at the AAC, and what projects are you working on? I started working at AAC on July 29 as a paralegal in the When I’m not working I’m: I enjoy legal department. I assist our team of attorneys Saman tha Wr spending time with my family and with auto claims, and with litigation of 1983 civil en friends, going to movies, photography, travrights and restitution claims. I also aid RMF Legal ling and relaxing at the lake. Counsel Brandy McAllister on the codification of county ordinances by retrieving updated ordinances The accomplishments of which I am most proud: and summarizing them for publication. My day-to-day Graduating from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. I projects change from administrative tasks to assistance love going back to visit the campus and see my name on the with case management to best help our team of attorneys senior walk. complete their tasks efficiently.
Law Clerk – Savannah Johnston Family information: I’m a born and raised Arkansan from Russeville and the youngest of two children. My sister and I are only 15 months apart, so we have been inseparable since we were born. Last year, she moved to Washington D.C., to work for the Jane Goodall Institute, but we don’t let a day go by without talking to each other. I’m also very lucky because I got to marry my high school sweetheart in November. My favorite meal: Thanksgiving dinner, hands down. What’s better than turkey and dressing, mashed potatoes and pecan pie?
At the top of my bucket list is to: Before it’s all said and done, I’d like to tag along on a storm chase.
Savann ah John ston
When I’m not working I’m: Studying. But, if I can manage to sneak away for a while, my husband and I like to host game nights, go bowling, play mini-golf — anything that allows us to be competitive. I also love taking road trips. I always make sure that we stop by a restaurant from “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” when we go somewhere new. 48
The accomplishments of which I am most proud: Education is something that has always meant a lot to me, and I am very proud of my progress so far. I have a bachelor of arts in political science, an associate’s degree in criminal justice, and I am now working on my Juris Doctorate If I could be a degree collector for a living, I totally would.
The hardest thing I have ever done is: Law school is definitely the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s been the most rewarding.
How long have you been at the AAC, and what projects are you working on? I began at AAC in August, and I’ve had the opportunity to do some policy research. I’ll continue to work on projects on the policy side of things during my time here, and I am thankful for the chance to serve my home state. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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STAFF PROFILE
Law Clerk – Arik Cruz Family information: Though I was born in San Antonio, I’ve lived in Arkansas since I was a baby. I grew up and attended school in Flippin and am the youngest of four children. We’re actually a great example of a blended family, with step-parents, step-siblings, half-siblings, and so on. It’s complicated to explain on paper, but it’s really just a close-knit family in practice. My favorite meal: I love just about anything from a Mexican restaurant; the more authentic the better. I’m also a sucker for seafood, especially when it’s fresh from the Gulf.
Arik C ruz
When I’m not working I’m: Probably running on a trail in the woods somewhere. Otherwise, I’m likely either playing/listening to music (I play the drums and am trying to learn the guitar) or binge-watching something funny on Netflix or Hulu.
The accomplishments of which I am most proud: I’m proud of the independent sociological research on gang activity abatement that I conducted during my time at U of A,
as well as the fact that I’m about to be in my last year of law school. On a more personal note, I’m proud to have run 11 full marathons over the years without managing to injure myself in any significant way. At the top of my bucket list is to: While cliché, I’d have to say simply embarking down a career path that is truly fulfilling and that brings happiness to me and those around me. Holding some sort of political office in order to improve the lives of my fellow Arkansans is a close second. The hardest thing I have ever done is: Definitely law school, but all the unique and rewarding social/networking experiences have really made up for the hard times. How long have you been at the AAC, and what projects are you working on? I have been at the AAC since July. The project on which I’m currently working is the development of a statutory guidebook intended to provide general information to — and address many of the questions and concerns of — fire departments across the state.
Law Clerk – Adam Rose Family information: I am a proud Texan. I grew up in the Dallas area as the youngest of three children. My two older sisters still live in Texas with my 6-year-old niece and my 2-year-old nephew. We spend a lot of time with the kids and really enjoy watching them grow up. My favorite meal: Sadly, I love all food. But, you cannot go wrong with a fresh, wellmade taco. When I’m not working I’m: In law school and will graduate in May, so I am obviously very busy with that. I really love to work out, rock climb and see movies. I am also on the trial team at Bowen Law School, so that also keeps me quite busy.
At the top of my bucket list is to: Sky dive. The hardest thing I have ever done is: Stayed in school for as long as I have. I have wanted to quit several times, but have made it almost all the way through.
You might be surprised to learn that: I recently got engaged and can’t wait to get married in October 2020. Also, I have a podcast on iTunes called, “Rose Reviews,” where I review TV and film. Adam Rose
The accomplishments of which I am most proud: In graduate school I got to work on a human trafficking database and am very proud of being able to work on that and help so many future victims. I am also proud to have my two COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
bachelor’s degrees, master’s degree, and hopefully my Juris Doctorate in May.
How long have you been at the AAC, and what projects are you working on? I started at AAC in early August, and I have really enjoyed my experience so far. I will be continuing to learn and work on discovery requests and interesting legal research problems. I am looking forward to my time here and can’t wait to see all the things I will learn. 49
AAC
PHOTO RECAP
Right: Pike County Coroner Hannah Pate uses a flash light to take a photo of a finger print. Far right: Johnson County Deputy Coroner David Cogan and Johnson County Coroner Pamela Cogan work together to adjust the settings on their camera.
Coroners hold crime scene photography course Coroners and deputy coroners attended the Arkansas Coroners’ Association Crime Scene Photography course Aug. 10-11, at the Hilton Garden Inn in Little Rock/Pulaski County. Attendees heard from Arkansas Law Enforcement Academy (ALETA) Instructor Juan Reyes on the proper techniques to photograph crime scenes.
ALETA Instructor Juan Reyes speaks to a room of coroners and deputy coroners Aug. 10. Desha County Deputy Coroner Shelby Walters takes a photo during the Arkansas Coroners’ Association Crime Scene Photography Class Aug. 10.
Crawford County Chief Deputy Coroner Steven Edwards (left) and Saline County Deputy Coroner Charles Anderson watche ALETA Instructor Juan Reyes work with a camera. 50
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PHOTO RECAP
Sheriffs meet in Rogers for conference Sheriffs, deputies, jail administrators, chaplains and sheriffs’ wives met in Rogers/Benton County Aug. 4-6, for the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association summer conference. Conference attendees heard from guest speakers U.S. Senator from Arkansas Tom Cotton, and Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. They also heard from a host of dynamic speakers during the three-day conference.
Sheriffs listen during a session at the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association summer conference held in Rogers/Benton County. U.S. Senator from Arkansas Tom Cotton, takes a photo with Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association Executive Director Scott Bradley. Cotton was the guest speaker Aug. 5.
Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley, Pope County Sheriff Shane Jones, Mississippi County Sheriff Dale Cook, Saline County Sheriff Rodney Wright, Craighead County Sheriff Marty Boyd and Hempstead County Sheriff James Singleton are sworn in by Arkansas Division 2 District Court Judge, the Hon. Ralph Ohm. Saline County Sheriff Rodney Wright (left) presents Saline County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Wade Gilliam with the 2019 Outstanding Service Award for his dedication to the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association Honor Guard. Gilliam has been a member of the honor guard since 2015 and the team coordinator since 2017. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
Crawford County Sheriff Ron Brown is sworn in by Arkansas Division 2 District Court Judge, the Hon. Ralph Ohm, as the new Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association President. Brown is joined by his wife, Darla.
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PHOTO RECAP
Judges gather for spring meeting The County Judges’ Association held its spring meeting June 26-28 2019, in Hot Springs/Garland County. They had a packed agenda, with topics such as the 2019 legislative session, The Public Safety Act of 2019, purchasing commodities and other services, the coroners’ MDILog, the importance of accurate US Census counts, and more. Keynote speakers included Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands Tommy Land and U.S. Congressman French Hill.
Garland County Judge Darryl Mahoney welcomes his colleagues. Madison County Judge and CJAA President Frank Weaver is also pictured.
Above left: Sharp County Judge Gene Moore and Lawrence County Judge John Thomison have a discussion during a break in the meeting. Above right: Sevier County Judge Greg Ray and Lafayette County Judge Danny Ormand prepare for the start of Thursday’s general session. Right: Commissioner of State Lands Tommy Land was the Thursday luncheon keynote speaker. One of the things he spoke about are his efforts to modernize the property redemption process. Far right: U.S. Congressman French Hill served as the Friday morning keynote speaker, covering a variety of topics, including the response to recent flooding in several counties. 52
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PHOTO RECAP
Far left: Arkansas Treasurers’ Association President and Craighead County Treasurer Terry McNatt (right) chats with Arkansas District Court Attorney Kristin Clark, a guest speaker on June 21. Left: AAC Consultant Eddie Jones gives an overview of bills passed during the legislative session that will apply to treasurers.
Treasurers gather in Pope County for meeting Treasurers gathered in Russellville, Pope County June 19-21, 2019, for their summer meeting. They tackled a full agenda and heard from a variety of speakers on topics such as legislation that will affect their offices, audits, working with banks, and more. They also used the time to hear from their peers and get to know newly elected treasurers.
Treasurers listen to AAC Consultant Eddie Jones give a legislative recap during their summer meeting.
Above left: Clark County Treasurer Karen Arnold provides tips on how to get “the biggest bang from their bank.” Above middle: Faulkner County Treasurer Scott Sanson leads a group discussion. Right: Washington County Judge Joseph Wood gets help from treasurers during his presentation, “Saving Joey.” COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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AAC
PHOTO RECAP Assessors meet in Crittenden County
County assessors from across the state gathered June 18-21 in Crittenden County. They received a legislative update from AAC staff and a Government Transformation update from Arkansas Assessment Coordinator Department Director Bear Chaney. They also learned CPR and self defense, and discussed Dark Store litigation in Pulaski County.
Arkansas Assessment Coordination Department (AACD) Deputy Director Angela Hill (standing) speaks with Miller County Assessor Nancy Herron (middle).
Above left: Conference attendees spent Wednesday, June 19, learning how to perform Hands-Only CPR, which does not include mouth-to-mouth breaths. Above right: AACD Deputy Director Angela Hill answers questions from Lee County Assessor Becky Hogan and Arkansas County Assessor Marcia Theis. Far left: Crittenden County Assessor Kimberly Hollowell does some “house keeping” and introduces speakers. Left: Arkansas County Assessor’s Association President and Pope County Assessor Dana Baker welcomes attendees and thanks Crittenden County Assessor Kimberly Hollowell for hosting the meeting in her county. 54
COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
AAC
PHOTO RECAP
Right: AAC Legal Counsel Lindsey Bailey, Benton County Circuit Clerk Brenda DeShields and Saline County Circuit Clerk Myka Sample lead a panel discussion. Far right: Paul Charton, appellate review attorney with the Arkansas Judiciary, speaks to circuit clerks June 12, 2019.
Circuit Clerks meet in Logan County for June meeting
Circuit clerks hold a break-out session to discuss e-filing.
The Arkansas Circuit Clerks Association held its summer meeting June 11-14, 2019, at the Lodge at Mount Magazine. Their program included presentations on legislation passed during the 2019 legislative session, per curiams, e-filing records, the Contexte system, preparing transcripts, records retention and more. Meeting attendees also heard from Mount Magazine Park Interpreter Don Simons on the park’s wildlife. Craighead County Circuit Clerk Candace Edwards (middle) makes a comment during a discussion.
Arkansas Circuit Clerks Association President and Monroe County Circuit Clerk Alice Smith listens during a group discussion. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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AAC
PHOTO RECAP Collectors meet at DeGray Lake Resort State Park in June
Lawrence County Tax Collector Stephanie Harris (middle) speaks during a roundtable discussion entitled “In Office Procedures.” Perry County Chief Deputy Collector Pam Eubanks (left) and Izard County Collector Paul Womack listen intently as she speaks.
Above: Carroll County Collector Kay Phillips-Brown asks a question of Arkansas Department of Veteran’s Affairs Assistant Director Gina Chandler. Top Right: Garland County Undersheriff Jason Lawrence leads a presentation on courthouse security. Pictured in the foreground are Pope County Collector Jennifer Haley, Dallas County Collector Brenda WilsonBlack, and Carroll County Collector Kay Phillips-Brown. Patrick Hardy of Apprentice Information Systems sits in the back. 56
The Arkansas County Tax Collectors’ Association held its June meeting at DeGray Lake Resort in Clark County. Their program included presentations on courthouse security and tax issues associated with disabled veterans. Ovarian Cancer Survivor Stephanie Carper shared her inspirational story of battling the disease with the collectors before the meeting ended on June 7, 2019.
Left: Secretary of State John Thurston and State Land Commissioner Tommy Land spoke to the group. Above: Ovarian Cancer Survivor Stephanie Carper shares her story. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
AAC
PHOTO RECAP
Above: Sharp County Coroner Renee Clay-Circle (center) takes notes during class June 5. Right: Saline County Deputy Coroner Greg Lucas and Arkansas Coroners’ Association President and Saline County Coroner Kevin Cleghorn chat during a break.
Coroners train in aquatic death, homicidal investigations
Andrea Zaferes teaches coroners and deputy coroners how to properly investigate an underwater scene and preserve evidence.
The Arkansas Coroners’ Association held a 16-hour Aquatic Death and Homicidal Drowning Investigations Class June 4-5, 2019, in Pulaski County. Thirty coroners and deputy coroners gathered to hear from aquatic death and homicidal drowning investigations expert Andrea Zaferes on conducting proper investigations. Class attendees work together to solve a hypothetical drowning death situation.
Miller County Coroner Dakota Boyd and Faulkner County Deputy Coroner Ronnie Smith take notes during the class. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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AAC
PHOTO RECAP
County Clerks meet in Clark County The Arkansas Association of County Clerks held its summer meeting June 3-5, 2019, at DeGray Lodge and State Park in Clark County. Attendees were updated on legislation passed during the 2019 session, election ethics, Contexte features, election precinct boundaries, retirement and more. They also heard Kaylon Bradford speak on “Getting People to do their Danged Job.
AAC Legal Counsel Lindsey Bailey (right) shows meeting attendees the Index of County Government Acts from the 2019 legislative session. She and Director of the State Board of Election Commissioners Daniel Shults (left) and Director of Elections in the Secretary of State’s Office Leslie Bellamy answer legislative questions.
Arkansas State Rep. Lanny Fite, Association Secretary and Saline County Clerk Doug Curtis, and Association President and Boone County Clerk Crystal Graddy talk at the meeting.
Deputy Director of the Arkansas Assessment Coordination Department Angela Hill (right) speaks on equalization board procedures and abstracts. 58
Above: County clerks have fun during the presentation of “Getting People to do Their Danged Job” by Kaylon Bradford. Left: Arkansas GIS Office Geographic Information Officer Shelby Johnson talks with county clerks after his presentation on election precinct boundaries.
COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
AAC AAC a m i l yo n f e rr ei enncdes »
F
C
&F
Association of Arkansas Counties Workers’ Compensation Trust
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W
hen you participate in the A A C Wo r k e r s ’ C o m p e n sa tio n Tru s t, you can relax in the hands of professional staff members who are going to take care of your needs. The AAC team has decades of experience in handling county government claims – t h e y ’ r e s i m p l y t h e b e s t a t w h a t t h e y d o ! Did we mention that participants in our plan are accustomed to getting money back? Since we started paying dividends in 1997, the AAC Workers’ Compensation Trust has declared almost $ 2 9 MI L L I O N dollars in dividends, payable to members of the fund. In fact, we mailed $750,000 in savings back to member counties in August 2019.
The service is available for any size county government and other county government-related entities. We’ve got you
c ov e r e d!
Members enjoy dividends! $29 Million paid since 1997
We’ve got you
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Debbie Norman
Debbie Lakey
Kim Nash
Renee Turner
Kim Mitchell
Ellen Wood
Brandy McAllister
Risk Management &
Claims Manager
Claims Adjuster
Admin. Assistant
Admin. Assistant
RMF General Counsel
Insurance Director
501.708.1850
Claims Adjuster
501.375.8805, ext. 546
501.375.8805, ext. 545
501.375.8805, ext. 541
501.375.8805, ext. 540
501.375.8694
501.375.8247
1415 West Third Street • Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
AAC Risk Management Fund 56 Member Counties Strong!
The AAC Risk Management Fund program offers General Liability, and Auto and Property Protection. The fund is managed by a board of trustees comprised of your county colleagues. As a member, you help develop the fund’s products to meet the needs of our unique and valued county resources and employees. Our latest added benefit is the Justice Bridge video/audio communication system for law enforcement, prisons and the judiciary. AACRMF benefits continue to STRENGTHEN the program and SAVE counties across the state hundreds of thousands of dollars.
With the budget process quickly approaching, NOW is the time to contact us for a quote.
Other AACRMF benefits Justice Bridge This innovative program is a simple video/audio communication system for use in circuit and district courts, sheriff’s offices, inmate box portals, and state prisons. Benefits include: n Reduced inmate transports to court hearings. n Reduced liability due to vehicular accidents, inmate assaults and medical costs. n Reduced contraband in prisons. n Reduced escape potential; increased public safety.
Codification of county ordinances
n A single-bound volume of your substantive county ordinances gives you easy access.
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Drug testing n Free CDL drug testing with participation in the RMF Auto Program.
n Your peace of mind partnership for emergency claim services. RMF members receive priority response with participation in the Property Program.
Guardian Inmate tracking system n 20x faster and more defensible than barcode. n Exclusively endorsed by the National Sheriffs’ Association since 2008, the first product in the world to earn this distinction. n The only Inmate Management System in the world that exclusively leverages radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology. n GUARDIAN RFID® Mobile™ is the most widely used mobile app in corrections, actively deployed in 25 states.
For information: Debbie Norman, RMF Director, (501) 375-8247
Becky Comet, Member Benefits, (501) 372-7550
AAC
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
Workers’ Compensation Fund pays $750,000 in dividends to its member counties in 2019
T
he Association of Arkansas Counties Workers’ Compensation Trust is proud to announce that for the 23rd straight year dividends will be returned to all participating counties. The 2019 dividend is declared based on 2015 premiums paid and losses incurred. This brings the total dividends paid over the last 23 years to $29,198,953. AAC Workers’ Compensation Trust Group Manager Chris Villines recommended the $750,000 dividend to the board of trustees at its June meeting. Checks were issued in July. “There are several reasons that we are able to continue returning such large sums to the counties,” Villines said. “Our staff is excellent and efficient and the counties of Arkansas work hard to minimize risks at home. I cannot compliment our Risk Management and Insurance Director Debbie Norman enough. She has an incredible responsibility and handles it wonderfully. The Workers’ Comp staff is equally adept. Debbie Lakey, Kim Nash, Renee Turner, Kim Mitchell, and Ellen Wood do an excellent job.” AAC Risk Management and Insurance Director Debbie Norman said, “From inception to today, this program has performed beyond expectations. It has always been our goal to reward counties with dividends, and this is the 23rd straight year that successful management of the program and the commitment to safety in our counties has allowed it to occur.” AAC, along with county officials from around the state, created the AAC Workers’ Compensation Trust in 1985 — a plan to pool resources and form a
self-funded, county-owned trust to provide premium Workers’ Compensation coverage at a savings to members. The AAC Workers’ Compensation Trust is fully regulated by the State of Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission. Current trustees are Rhonda Cole, Clark County Clerk; Debbie Wise, Randolph County Circuit Clerk; Debra Buckner, Pulaski County Treasurer; Brandon Ellison, Polk County Judge; and Rusty McMillon, Greene County Judge. Here are the formulaic dividend amounts per county as approved by the AAC/WCT board: Arkansas County.........................$8,287 Ashley County..........................$12,926 Baxter County...........................$16,075 Benton County.........................$42,661 Boone County..........................$14,062 Bradley County...........................$6,443 Calhoun County.........................$4,968 Carroll County............................$5,117 Chicot County............................$3,942 Clark County..............................$9,075 Clay County................................$5,155 Cleburne County........................$9,696 Cleveland County.......................$5,688 Columbia County.......................$9,281 Conway County..........................$8,134 Craighead County....................$14,926 Crawford County........................$7,762 Crittenden County...................$12,282 Cross County..............................$5,330 Dallas County.............................$8,132 Desha County.............................$6,084 Drew County..............................$6,829 Faulkner County.......................$14,829 Franklin County.......................$11,303 Fulton County............................$4,601 Garland County........................$30,974 Grant County..............................$6,758 Greene County............................$5,930 Hempstead County.....................$6,311 Hot Spring County...................$10,183
Howard County..........................$6,419 Independence County..............$16,689 Izard County...............................$4,243 Jackson County...........................$6,234 Jefferson County.......................$16,358 Johnson County..........................$2,340 Lafayette County.........................$3,959 Lawrence County........................$5,576 Lee County..................................$3,701 Lincoln County...........................$7,143 Little River County.....................$2,333 Logan County...........................$12,019 Lonoke County.........................$14,906 Madison County.......................$10,328 Marion County...........................$7,291 Miller County...........................$16,556 Mississippi County......................$2,918 Monroe County..........................$2,728 Montgomery County..................$6,975 Nevada County...........................$3,665 Newton County..........................$8,198 Ouachita County........................$6,828 Perry County...............................$5,161 Phillips County...........................$9,982 Pike County................................$3,114 Poinsett County..........................$3,805 Polk County................................$7,780 Pope County...............................$7,459 Prairie County.............................$5,943 Pulaski County..........................$59,780 Randolph County..........................$500 St. Francis County....................$11,532 Saline County............................$18,232 Scott County...............................$6,139 Searcy County.............................$4,992 Sebastian County......................$27,093 Sevier County..............................$7,249 Sharp County..............................$8,956 Stone County............................$10,294 Union County...........................$15,614 Van Buren County....................$12,737 Washington County..................$15,184 White County...........................$21,704 Woodruff County.......................$2,395 Yell County.................................$3,204
www.arcounties.org COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2019
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NEWS FROM NACO 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.
www.naco.org Control Things, Manage Processes, Lead People By Tim Rahschulte
In “The Principles of Scientific Management,” Frederick Winslow Taylor wrote, “The principal object of management should be to secure the maximum prosperity for the employer, coupled with the maximum prosperity for each employee.” Prosperity, as he defined it, was about higher wages and, importantly, the development of each employee to his or her optimal state of possibility. Taylor was certainly looking to optimize the efficiency of the company, but he was also outlining the need for leaders to look out for the benefit of their employees — to care about them, their families and their livelihoods. Taylor thought the best way to do this was to first illustrate the inefficiencies in our daily routines of work and to next convince people that the remedy for such inefficiencies is scientific and systematic management of processes and functions in our routines. Taylor realized then, in 1911, the difference between leadership and management. The latter is grounded in science and focused on continual improvement through efficiency. The former is an art of influence that’s effective only through the personal connection with people and their desire of work —
both the value of the company’s outcome from each individual’s effort and the value as seen beyond the employee to its effect on family, friends and community. The importance of this was echoed by Cynthia Trudell, the chief human resources officer at PepsiCo, who said, “You control things, you manage processes and you lead people.” That’s true! You don’t work with people the same way you would leverage a process or use a tool or any other “thing” for that matter. You work with people — especially when leading them — to make a connection between the person and the work being performed and from one person to another throughout the organization and beyond. It’s about making meaningful contacts and experiences and doing so with an understanding that the whole person is important. Remember, a person is an employee for just a third of any given day. For many employees, leaders know that connecting the person, the work and meaning sometimes requires looking beyond the work itself — understanding and helping to support the person’s nonwork life. This is often a stumbling block for struggling leaders, but in understanding this, a leader finds the “true” power to lead, which is to care for, connect with and realize the whole person.
Advertiser Resource Index AAC Risk Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 AAC Workers’ Compensation Trust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Crews and Associates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Back Cover Custom Pavement Maintenance and Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 DataScout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Front Cover Ergon Asphalt & Paving. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Financial Intelligence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Guardian RFID. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Keystone Solutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Nationwide Insurance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Rainwater Holt & Sexton, PA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Southern Tire Mart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Tax Pro. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
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