AAC F A M I L Y F R I E N D S » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » » BY THE NUMBERS ... Stagnant county turnback compared to inflation since 1980
revenue collected locally is the property tax. Quorum Courts can levy a maximum of 5 mills to be used for county general. Unless you have a booming local or tourist economy which generates sufficient sales tax revenue, it is very difficult to run county services on less than the full 5 mills. What has happened to us in the property tax system is not easy to explain, but suffice it to say that a stagnant economy has shifted most of our reappraisal cycles to once every five years. In addition as a result of Amendment 79 a rapidly expanding population older than 65 has frozen many of our homestead values. Tis amendment has also limited growth each year by placing caps on just how much the value of proper- ties can increase year to year. While great for the taxpayer, these three “brakes” have slowed down property tax growth tremendously. With inflation outpacing the growth in property values many counties find themselves having to increase the millage rate to 5 simply to keep county services operating at a consistent level.
And finally, the one issue that must be addressed by all of us is our state general turnback. Tere have been years when we received extra one-time money from the state, and for this we are thankful. But as a di- vision of state government we deserve to be at least on par with growth in state agencies and education. Our inflation is the same as the inflation that affects the state prison system, DHS and K-12 education. In fact our lockups currently house almost 10,000 prisoners, with over 30 percent awaiting transfer to state prisons (the state reimbursement rate of $28 per day per prisoner is unchanged since 2001, and something to be addressed as well).
Like all agencies of state government we provide services which are mandated. Jails, marriage licenses, tax collection and death certificates are not optional. And it is time we discuss in earnest the fact that state general turnback has been flat for far too long.
For those that can remember, I invite you to think back to 1980.
Te United States defeated the USSR in an epic hockey match at the Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York. Mount St. Helens erupted with the power of 500 atomic bombs. Te lights at CNN turned on for the first time. President Jimmy Carter was beaten by Governor Ronald Reagan of California.
Some average prices in 1980 were quite interesting as well. A gallon of milk was $1.60. Postage stamps went for a whopping 15 cents. Te average car was $5,413. And the counties in Arkansas received a gross $18,875,249.00 in state general turnback funding. Jumping to 2012
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reveals that milk is now averaging $3.65, stamps are 47 cents, the aver- age car costs $28,150.00 and the counties are receiving a gross state general turnback of $23,645,067.00. Of this $23 million, the counties receive a dismal $15.9 million. We are extremely thankful for Governor Beebe and his addition of $4 million from the Property Tax Relief Fund in Act 1268 of 2007. I have included this $4 million in the numbers presented here as general turnback. Were it not for this we would have seen massive cuts.
But even this $4 million addition leaves us with $8.02 per capita funding sent back to counties. Tis is simply not enough recompense to the counties of Arkansas…counties charged with providing state mandated services with escalating costs.
Using the national CPI average, we have calculated what the gross turnback to counties would have grown to from 1980 until now. Tis is not a doctored graph. In fact, this is a sad graph. If schools, prisons, rev- enue offices or any other aspect of state government been the recipients of similar stagnation they would be front-page news and a blight upon our state. Fortunately for us we do have just enough property tax growth and sales tax growth to keep our jails open (well, some of them) and public served. But we are reaching a critical point.
Te mandates since 1980 have grown, but all additional revenue collection has been on our shoulders. Sales taxes and property taxes are really all we control, and for many of us there is simply no growth on the horizon. Te time to discuss this statewide is now, and I implore all of you to visit with your state delegation about your budgets and about your funding issues. And for our state legislators, I ask that you consider not just your county, which may be doing well, but the next county over. Te impact is large and wide but hitting our rural coun- ties the hardest.
And for our counties, I hope you each find new and creative ways to be efficient and continue to serve the public despite revenue woes. It is a great testament to your care about county government that you all continue to do more with less.
Chris Villines Chris Villines AAC Executive Director
COUNTY LINES, FALL 2013
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