AAC F A M I L Y & F R I E N D S
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General Turnback for Counties: Not a Grant Payment for state services administered at the county level
saloons in the United States providing a “free” lunch to patrons who had purchased at least one drink. Many foods on offer were high in salt, such as ham, cheese, salted crackers and salted nuts. You get the picture, don’t you? Tose who ate them ended up buying a lot of “beverage.” In other words, “Tere ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” Someone always pays the bill. So, who pays the bills for county government operations in
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Arkansas? For the most part counties do. Tey pay the bills with revenues derived from property taxes, sales and use taxes, fees, fines, costs and other sources of revenue. However, the state of Arkansas does provide county aid, known at the local level as general revenue turnback, and a few other sources of revenue to help offset the costs of state mandates on the county. County aid is not a grant. It is payment for state services administered at the county level. Te state should be paying for those services. Not partially — but fully. Let me provide some
history and background concerning this issue. I will be as open and honest as possible, giv- ing the state of Arkansas credit where credit is due. But I also will conclude that Arkansas is coming up short in its obligation and indebtedness to its 75 counties — and they are the state’s counties, created to help the state deliver services.
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Court cases down through the years have long settled the fact that counties in Arkansas are political subdivisions of the state created for the public convenience in the administration of government. ACA § 14-14-102 states, “A county is a political subdivision of the state for the more convenient administration of justice and the exercise of local legislative authority related to county affairs.” Te word that I consider the most important word in this Arkansas law is the conjunction “and.” A word connecting two separate clauses and two separate functions: (1) the state function of justice conveniently administered in
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state must provide financial assistance to counties in order for the state’s citizens to have any equity and equality in services that counties are required to provide — state services.
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here ain’t no such thing as a free lunch. Tat’s a popular adage communicating the idea that it is impossible to get something for nothing. Te “free lunch” refers to the once-common tradition of
accordance with law by county government, a political subdivision of the state; and (2) the local func- tion of legislative and administrative authority relating to county affairs. Te Arkansas Supreme Court
he state of Arkansas recognized decades ago the moral and legal obligation they had to counties. Tey realized that the
has previously opined, both in 1978 and 1980 after the passage of Amendment 55 — the Arkansas Constitutional amendment restruc- turing county government, that “It must be remembered that counties are still civil divisions of the state for political and judicial purposes and are the state’s auxiliaries and instrumentalities in the administration of its government. Tey are political subdivisions of the state for the administra- tion of justice. Te word ‘county’ signi- fies a portion of a state resulting from a division of the state into such areas for better govern- ment thereof and the easier administration of justice. In these respects, we have clearly held that nothing in Amendment 55 changed the status of the county insofar as its primary purpose and functions are con- cerned.” [Beaumont, Judge v. Adkisson, Judge, 267 Ark. 511 (1980);
Eddie A. Jones County Consultant
Mears v. Hall, 263 Ark. 827 (1978)] Te state of Arkansas recognized decades ago the moral and legal obligation they had to counties. Tey realized that the state must provide financial assistance to counties in order for the state’s citizens to have any equity and equality in services that counties are required to provide — state services. I doubt that at the time they had any clue how profoundly correct that was. Act 386 of 1943 established the Cities and Counties Fund and found, “whereby it is impossible for municipalities and counties to efficiently and safely administer municipal and county statutory governmental functions without additional revenues for such purposes.” Without the provision of adequate funding, the General Assembly of 1943 deemed the condi- tions created would “jeopardize the public health and safety of the citizens of the State, the Municipalities and the Counties.” A decade later, Act 188 of 1953 created and funded a County
COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2016
Seems To Me...
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