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In This Issuefall 2014


Former county elected officials bring unique insight to state legislature.


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Inside Look AAC Board profile .........................................................................................................37


Public, private partners tackle road mainte- nance, species protection.


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Circuit Clerks meet in Benton County ......................................................................38 Assessors observe 60th annual education conference ........................................39 County Clerks explore 10 Simple Principles of Life ...............................................41 AAC Conference recap in photos ..............................................................................42 Randy Kemp golf tourney raises $8,600 ................................................................50 AAC staff profile ...........................................................................................................52


Departments From the Director’s Desk ..............................................................................................7


Sebastian


County Sheriff Hollenbeck sets sights on jail solutions.


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President’s Perspective ................................................................................................9 Attorney General Opinions .........................................................................................11 Legal Corner ..................................................................................................................12 From the Governor .......................................................................................................13 County Law Update ......................................................................................................14 Savings Times 2 ...........................................................................................................15 Legal Update .................................................................................................................18 Research Corner ..........................................................................................................16 Legislative Lines ...........................................................................................................19 Seems to Me .................................................................................................................20


Features AAC applauds Senators ..............................................................................................25


Faulkner County Justice Building unveiled ..............................................................25


Cover Notes: House chamber dome


he Arkansas House Restoration project began in June and was completed in October. As part of the project, 330 panes of stained glass were removed one by one to be cleaned and repaired. Nineteen different shades of paint were used to restore the dome in the House Chamber back to its original colors from 1911. The chandelier, which weighs 600 pounds, is a small-scale replica of the chandelier in the State Capitol Rotunda. The drapes, which were added in 1914 to reduce glare and temper acoustics, were removed during restoration to bring the Chamber back to its original splendor. Members of the state House and Senate will convene for their 90th General Assembly on Jan. 12, 2015.


T — Courtesy of Arkansas House of Representatives COUNTY LINES, FALL 2014 5


(AAC Photos/Christy L. Smith)


“


Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.


— John F. Kennedy ”


STORY


Trickling Up Former county elected officials bring unique experience, perspective to state Capitol


three or four legislators, but you can rest assured most of them know who the sheriff, judge, coroner, assessor or collec- tor are in their county,” said Chris Villines, executive director of the Association of Arkansas Counties In addition to being accustomed to serving a constituency, these former county elected officials are familiar with govern-


ognize their communities’ unique needs and talents. “Of the 3 million Arkansans, few can identify more than


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total of more than 100 years of experience in positions such as justice of the peace and county judge. As such, they know their constituency personally and rec-


A


pproximately 15 of the 135 legislators who will convene at the state Capitol in January previously served as county elected officials. Tey hail from across the state and bring with them a combined


ment operations and the need to prioritize funding in the budget process before they even reach the Capitol steps, ac- cording to AAC consultant Eddie Jones. “Tere is no better training ground for a legislator, in my opinion, than having served in local government,” Villines emphasized. “It is here that the mandates and policies of the state meet the practicality (or impracticality) of implementa- tion … To understand government from the ground up is an incredible advantage for our legislators with a county govern- ment background as they work through bills and study them from both a policy and administration standpoint.” In this two-part feature we will identify members of the 90th General Assembly who have county government ex- perience, highlight their work in the legislature to date and explore what their priorities will be during next year’s session.


COUNTY LINES, FALL 2014


Top left: A road at Gulf Mountain Wildlife Management Area in Van Buren County showcases runoff flows leading to erosion and poor driv- ing condition. Top right: The road following reconstruction and implementation of best management practices, including placing gravel in the road surface and crowning it to drain water from the road surface. Bottom left: A shallow crosspipe and rock armor installed at an angle diverts water away from the road, into a stable outlet with a slash apron, and into a forested area. Bottom right: One of the best manage- ment practices is to compact the aggregrate with a pavement roller. Adding proper-sized road aggregate, and then crowinng and compact- ing the material with heavy equipment significantly upgrades the road to prevent erosion and keep aggregate and base material in place. Photos and photo information courtesy of The Nature Conservancy


A Balancing Act Public and private partners cooperate on road maintenance and species protection


By Michael Dougherty For County Lines


shared by many for a number of different reasons. Program officials said eroding unpaved roads sometimes channel runoff


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from the rain in a manner that increases erosion and sediment delivery to streams, rivers and lakes. Tat makes the challenge a significant one in a state in which more than 85 percent of county roads are unpaved. Besides making for rougher rides and causing wear and tear on ve- hicles, the problem of deteriorating roads means maintenance problems for road crews (in this case, those of Arkansas counties) and a major bite on road maintenance funds in those counties. Te erosion can dam- age land and clog stream beds that serve as habitats to game fish and non-game fish and other aquatic species. Program officials also said the


he Arkansas Unpaved Roads Program is not yet two years old. But the group is opening the eyes of a number of its members and other observers in its early success in reaching a consensus on attacking sedimentation — a problem that’s


increased sediment deposits make treatment of drinking water more expensive and decreases lake capacity in such sources of drinking water. Jim Boggs, field supervisor of the Arkansas Ecological Services Field Office of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, said the Arkansas Unpaved Roads group was formed in a political atmosphere that often stymies such activity. “A number of the members had different reasons for working with the person across the table,” Boggs said. “But the willingness to look beyond agendas and motives and listen to the needs of other members to achieve a common goal seems to be working as the Unpaved Roads group moves to the halfway point of its first project, replacing a small bridge in Polk County.” Te group was formed to develop ways to solve the problem that sedimentation causes — from the deterioration of the roads them- selves to the erosion of soil from the edges of the roads to nearby land and river banks and the deposits that build up in streams and rivers that eventually may change the course of the river and restructure the beds that are home to the Arkansas Fat Muck and other mussels and organisms in the state.


COUNTY LINES, FALL 2014


PROFILE


Above: Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck and other county officials prepare to attend a Legislative Budget Committee hearing at the state Capitol in October. Right: He is the newest member of AAC’s Board of Directors and an Arkansas Sheriff’s Association executive board member.


Crowded House


Sebastian County Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck sets his sights on a solution for state inmates stuck in county jails


By Jennifer Barnett Reed For County Lines


inmates escaping or being released unintentionally. Give the department’s public image a makeover. An overhaul of the state parole system in 2013, sparked by


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the arrest of a recently released parolee in a high-profile mur- der case in Little Rock, added another item: Do something to ease overcrowding at the county jail caused by a spike in the number of state inmates — many of them parole violators — waiting for a bed in a state prison. As the end of Hollenbeck’s second two-year term approach-


es, he can point to significant progress on the first three points. Te fourth, though, remains a problem — one he’s worked to address in 2014 as the newest member of the Association of Arkansas Counties’ Board of Directors and an executive board member of the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association, and one he an-


ill Hollenbeck came into the Sebastian County sheriff’s office in January 2011 with a fairly intimi- dating to-do list: Improve training for deputies and other employees. Plug security gaps that led to


ticipates will dominate his activities in 2015 as well. “It’s not just a problem for me — it’s a big problem for


every sheriff,” Hollenbeck said. “We need the state to lead the conversation and find the solutions. Right now we have the Arkansas Sheriff’s Association and the Association of Arkansas Counties that seem to be leading the conversation. Tis is a state issue. I have our local media asking us what needs to be done, but I am the county sheriff. I’m not the director of the Department of Corrections.” As county sheriff, Hollenbeck has tried to ease overcrowd- ing in the 356-bed Sebastian County Adult Detention Cen- ter by working with other county officials to develop a com- munity service sentencing alternative. Instead of sentencing someone to jail for a nonviolent, misdemeanor offense or because they can’t afford to pay a fine, the program lets the court “sentence them to the sheriff” instead, Hollenbeck said. Each day anywhere from five to 15 individuals participate in the community service program, he said. Tey wash patrol cars, mow grass, pick up trash, and work at the county’s parks, among other jobs. In 2013, people sentenced through the program provided 1,842 days of community service worth about $100,000 to Sebastian County.


COUNTY LINES, FALL 2014


COUNTY OFFICIAL


COVER


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