In This Issue
tate senators and representatives job shadowing their respective county elected officials has become a County Lines mainstay. This edition is no exception as State Senator Cecile Bledsoe (R, District 3) of Rogers spent one December morning experiencing three Benton County offices. Her journey be- gan with the beginning of the taxation process where the county assessor’s office performs the first process which is to valuate personal, commercial and real estate property in the county. The next step was to the collector’s office to see how those revenues are gathered by the county and recorded properly. Finally to the treasurer’s office where those revenues are accounted and distributed to the taxing agents of the county includ- ing public schools, county funds, improvement district funds and city funds.
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Job shadowing project continues
State Senator Cecile Bledsoe (R, District 3) n Senate seniority No. 4 n Lives in Rogers n Former vice president and assistant office manager at surgical clinic n Second term in the senate n 6 years as state representative n Bachelor’s degree in journalism
“I’m so proud to rep-
resent Benton County. I couldn’t do what I do at the legislature with- out the information and communication from my county officials.”
— Sen. Bledsoe 22 COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2013 AAC F A M I L Y & F R I E N D S » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » »
Assessors gather in Garland County ........................................................................48 Circuit Clerks Association heads to Ozarks for continuing education . ..............50
Commissioner launches new mapping feature
36 AAC F A M I L Y & F R I E N D S » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » »
The Commissioner of State Lands office recently launched a new mapping feature on its website, www.
cosl.org. Parcel Level Mapping assists indi- viduals researching tax delinquent properties and people who might be searching for prop- erties to be donated for public use or low- income housing.
Commissioner launches new mapping feature Parcel level mapping to aid residents, counties
feature will assist individuals who are interested in researching tax delinquent properties, as well as those looking for properties to be donated for public use or low income housing. Te mapping is made available through the office’s established partnership with DataScoutPro, LLC, an Arkan- sas based information technology company. Te COSL website already utilizes DataScoutPro’s assessment information and attaches it to each applicable parcel. Interested individuals can go to the website,
www.cosl.org and find the mapping in two different locations by clicking on either the ‘Public Auction Catalog’ or “Negotiated Sales Lists” links. Te “Public Auction Catalog” link takes you to the listing of properties that will be coming up for public auction this year. Each county has its own listing, with the date and location listed alongside the county name. To access the mapping and attached assessment information, the user must first click on the county name and then from the list of parcels click the parcel number. Te parcel number will be highlighted in blue indicating that it is a live link with additional information within it. Te link will take you to DataScoutPro’s website, where an individual must first read and
C 36 John Thurston
ommissioner of State Lands (COSL) John Turston recently introduced an exciting new feature to the COSL website, parcel level mapping. Tis
accept the pop-up disclaimer. Te real property record is then viewable with information such as owner name and address, legal description of the property, value and taxes and deed transfer information. If there is an image available of the property, it will be at the bottom of the page. In the top left corner of this page is the “Map Tis Parcel” link, you must first read and accept another disclaimer before seeing the map view of the parcel. Once on this page, the parcel in question is highlighted orange. Clicking on the orange box brings up a window with basic par- cel information; to view additional information on this parcel you must click “More Info.” Tere are multiple options on this Google Earth map — street level views, zooming and measuring. On the left side of the page are options for utilizing different layers and entering coordinates. It is important to note that only tax delinquent parcels are available for viewing. What this means is that one can see the outlines of surrounding properties, as well as their parcel numbers, but by clicking on them a box appears indicating that an individual will need to create an account with DataScoutPro to view that information. Alternately from clicking on an individual parcel number, a visitor may choose to “Map Tis County.” Tis choice shows the entire county with location pins noting where a delinquent parcel is located. From this location a browser can zoom in which is especially useful if there are mul- tiple pins in close vicinity. Once one clicks on a pin, the same data comes up as previously mentioned. Te “Negotiated Sales Lists” area on the home page acts the same way
COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2013
Inside Look Coroner training critical in death scene investigations .........................................10
AAC Board Profiles: Will Jones, Madison Co. Assessor & John Montgomery, Baxter Co. Sheriff ......19 TOP 10 — Lobbying 101, Guide to the 89th session .............................................51
Tammy D. Schmidt, Saline County Justice of the Peace, listens to AAC Government Affairs Director Wes Fowler make a presentation on quorum court proceedings.
Patrick Moore (from right), Faulkner County Coroner, Josh Valentin, Newton County deputy coroner, Cody Middleton, Newton County Coroner and Ronnie Schwin, State Crime Lab Chief Field Investigator discuss the need for an in-state coroner training pro- gram during the coroner’s breakout session.
Eddie Jones, AAC consultant and former AAC executive director, defines a matter of county finances for newly- elected county judges.
Newly elects assemble in Little Rock
Stephanie Stanton, Jefferson County Collector, and Sue Liles, (White Co.) president of the Arkansas County Tax Collectors Association, conduct a breakout session.
Newly elected county officials from across the state of Ar- kansas attended the Association of Arkansas Counties train- ing in December in Little Rock. Veteran county officials, AAC staff and other state agency
representatives collectively provided an overview of the laws and regulations pertaining to county officials. Breakout ses- sions were held by county elected offices including judges, county and circuit clerks, treasurers, assessors, collectors, and coroners. AAC Executive Director Chris Villines welcomed the at- tendees and said, “Tere’s a lot of knowledge coming your way about the construct of county government. We’re here to help get you up to speed on counties and how they func- tions according to the law.”
Continued to Page 42 >>> 40 COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2013
Newly elects assemble in Little Rock
40 Cover stories COVER
Jackson County illuminates north central Arkansas J
ackson County was the destination for the County Lines cover story for this winter 2013 edition. We tracked down Jeff Phillips, Jackson County Judge, and spent a day in his neighborhood touring his county and learning about his first term in office. Building coalitions for the betterment of his hometown community has been at the heart of his service.
He is a people person and takes time to visit with his constituents whenever they want to bend his ear. He served the Newport Fire Department for 21 years before becoming judge and his firefighter experience is evident in his work ethic and passion for the county.
County Lines also took the opportunity to visit with 12-year justice of the peace and another pillar of the community — Elwanda Templeton. Their stories are just a turn of the page away.
Out of the flames & into the courthouse...........28
A friend of Jackson County........................30
COUNTY LINES, WINTER 2013 27 27
Jackson County Quick Facts ............................ 32
Cover Notes:
and Thomas Harding. The addition in 1939 was managed by McAninch and Anderson. The courthouse only cost $44,196 in 1892 to build, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Nov. 18, 1976. Since 1991 Jackson County has received eight courthouse grants totaling $304,093. The second photograph on the cover features Jackson County Judge Jeff Phillips posing in front of the historic mural in the courthouse. He took his 21 years of fire fighting experience to the county judge’s seat in 2011. Read more about Phillips in this issue’s cover story beginning on page 27.
T Jackson County Courthouse
he cover is composed of two photographs from Jackson County. The Jackson County Courthouse was built in 1892-4 by Lazar Hirsch, planner, with guidance from architects George H. Johnston
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Departments Calendar of Events .........................................................................................................6
From the Director’s Desk ..............................................................................................7 President’s Perspective ................................................................................................9 Attorney General Opinions .........................................................................................11 Frequently Asked Questions ......................................................................................12 From the Governor .......................................................................................................13 Research Corner ..........................................................................................................18 County Law Update ......................................................................................................14 Seems to Me .................................................................................................................20 AAC Scholarship information ...................................................................................35 AAC Staff profiles .........................................................................................................56 Advertiser Resource Index .........................................................................................58
Job Shadowing Project continues — Benton County
22
Winter 2013
Features Tax Collectors meet at AAC in November ................................................................45
(AAC Photos / Scott Perkins)
The planter, the farmer, the mechanic, and laborer...
form the great body of the people of the United States, they are the bone and sinew of the
equal laws. 7th President of the United States, namesake of Jackson County ” — Andrew Jackson of the country
men who love liberty and desire nothing but equal rights and
STORY
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