AAC
County Lines
Navigating COVID-19 and the CARES Act funding for counties
County Lines [(ISSN 2576-1137 (print) and ISSN 2576-1145 (online)] is the official publication of the AAC. 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 Jimmy Hart – Secretary-Treasurer Tommy Young Terri Harrison Debra Buckner Dana Baker Kevin Cleghorn Terry McNatt Debbie Cross Brenda DeShields Ellen Foote Doug Curtis Gerone Hobbs Marty Boyd John Montgomery Heather Stevens David Thompson National Association of Counties (NACo) Board Affiliations Debbie Wise: NACo board member. She is Randolph County Circuit Clerk and president of the AAC Board of Directors. Brandon Ellison: NACo board member. He is Polk County Judge and vice-president of the AAC Board of Directors. Ted Harden: Finance & Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee. He is a member of the Jefferson County Quorum Court. David Hudson: Chair of Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He is Sebastian Co. Judge and member of Rural Action Caucus Steering Committee and IT Standing Committee. Barry Hyde: Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He is the Pulaski County Judge. Rusty McMillon: Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee. He is Greene County Judge Joseph Wood: Community, Economic and Workforce Development Steering Committee. He is Washington County Judge. Kevin Smith: IT Standing Committee. He is the Sebastian County Director of Information Technology Services. Gerone Hobbs: Membership Committee. He is the Pulaski County Coroner. Paul Ellliot: Justice and Public Safety Steering Committee, vice-chair of law enforcement subcommittee. He is a member of 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 Crittenden County Chief Computer Operator.
DIRECTOR’S DESK
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or over two decades I have seen a lot of things in the government sector. And many times, the slow, methodical proclivity of government serves Chris Villines AAC us well to not overreact and create unintended Executive Director consequences. Plodding along forces multiple layers of review to make sure all angles are analyzed and evaluated. While this often is beneficial it can also create unnecessary delay and inefficiency. Then comes COVID-19. Everything I knew about our ponderous government has been thrown out the window in a series of rushed reactions it is not used to. Daily press briefings, minute by minute decisions, and changed guidance are all a part of this pandemic. And they have to be. Decisions made today set the curve in an exponential way down the road — and we are not talking about incidental significances, we are talking about lives. I know many businessmen and businesswomen who have joined the ranks of county government. Many want to “make government run like a business.” Having grown up in the business ranks I see the wisdom in business efficiencies that can, in ways, make county government better. But this political promise is always set aside in part because government is purposefully designed in areas to seek input and decision-making that businesses have the luxury of avoiding. Government values differing opinions that take time to gather and process. Businesses often react based on a CEO or Board of Directors making a decision and moving instantaneously. Both philosophies have merit and serve their respective duties well. But back to my point, government is absolutely not used to, nor is it designed for, turning on a dime and changing operations quickly. The bottom line is that during the COVID-19 pandemic we have asked government to undergo the most profound changes it has ever experienced, and to do so quickly. Furthermore, we have asked it to do so within a bulky time-consuming framework of laws designed to slowly seek due process and input that the private sector does not have to adhere to. Ladies and Gentlemen of county government in Arkansas — you have accomplished the impossible. We now have ZOOM quorum court meetings. We have segregated jails into infected and uninfected areas. We have rewritten 9-1-1 dispatch questions. We have socially distanced from our customers all the while continuing to provide mandated services. We have implemented new training, new programs and turned seldom used practices like absentee ballot voting into the norm. We have worn masks, installed plexiglass barriers, implemented protocols regarding entering courthouses and courtrooms and rewritten jobs so that some can be accomplished remotely. Again, these are things that the business community
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