In This Issue
Exploring the past and the future of dual- seat counties in Arkansas.
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SUMMER 2016
Features Conway County courthouse makes architectural statement ..............................36
Counties receive courthouse restoration grants ....................................................39 Longtime AAC employees retire ...............................................................................40
Inside Look Annual golf tournament attracts 38 ........................................................................42
Ten deserving students receive scholarships from AAC this school year.
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AAC holds 48th Annual Conference .........................................................................44 ACD Equalization Board meeting held in Little Rock ............................................50 Voting machines among topics for county clerks ..................................................51 Sheriffs honor former association director .............................................................52 Treasurers focus on leadership in Texarkana .........................................................53 Circuit Clerks hear about jail mail ............................................................................54 West Memphis is site of collectors’ meeting ..........................................................55 Judges convene in Hot Springs ..................................................................................56 AAC staff profiles: Greg Hunt and Camille Neeman ..............................................58 Worker’s Compensation Fund pays $1 million in dividends ................................60
Departments From the Director’s Desk ..............................................................................................7
County judge, state legislator work in tandem on local issues.
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President’s Perspective ................................................................................................9 From the Governor .......................................................................................................11 Attorney General Opinions .........................................................................................12 Behind the Lines ..........................................................................................................13 Governmental Affairs ..................................................................................................14 Legal Corner ..................................................................................................................15 Seems to Me .................................................................................................................18 County Law Update ......................................................................................................21 Savings Times 2 ...........................................................................................................22 Research Corner ..........................................................................................................24 NACo News Updates ....................................................................................................61
Cover Notes: Working in Tandem
n the Summer 2012 issue of County Lines, AAC invited then-state Rep. Ann Clemmer to shadow then-Saline County Judge Lanny Fite for a day. In this issue, we revisit that concept with state Rep. Michelle Gray and Izard County Judge David Sherrell. While Gray’s District 62 also in- cludes parts of Sharp, Stone and Independence counties, she lives and works in Melbourne, Ark., the seat of Izard County.
I Turn to page 32 to read the job shadow story. COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2016 5 “ (Photo by Christy L. Smith) Our road department [budget] is just a
million, five hundred thousand ... It’s probablyone of the lowest in the state. We just do the best with what we have.
— Izard County Judge David Sherrell ”
AAC F A M I L Y & F R I E N D S
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1. Carroll 2. Clay 3. Sebastian 4. Franklin 5. Logan 6.
Yell
7. Craighead 8. Mississippi 9. Prairie 10. Arkansas
Past, future of dual-seat counties in Arkansas
By Jay Barth and Barrett Goodwin For County Lines
courthouse and are seen as a center of county government. Across the 3000-plus counties and county equivalents in the United States, only 28 have two county seats. Arkansas and Mississippi contain the majority of dual county seats across America, those from outside the state often are curious about the origins of the practice. In total, 10 Arkansas counties are described as having two county seats. However, in recent years, legal questions have arisen about the legitimacy of nine of them. As a result, the next few years may produce more conversations — in legal
O
County Arkansas Carroll Clay
Craighead Franklin Logan
Mississippi Prairie
Sebastian Yell
Seats (Creation Date)
DeWitt (1855) Stuttgart (≈1928)
Berryville (1875) Eureka Springs (1883)
Corning (1881) Piggott (1891)
Jonesboro (1859) Lake City (1883)
Ozark (1838) Charleston (1901) Paris (1873)
Booneville (1901)
Osceola (1833) Blytheville (1901)
DeValls Bluff (1873) Des Arc (1877)
Greenwood (1851) Fort Smith (1861)
Danville (c. 1844) Dardanelle (1875)
COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2016
ne quirk of local government in Arkansas is the significant number of “dual county seats,” that is two communities in the county that have a
proceedings and coffee shops — about the somewhat counterintuitive practice of, making two municipalities “the principal site” for county government business. Te legitimacy of one of the dual county seat arrangements is unquestioned. Arkansas’s 1874 Constitution clearly states Sebastian County may have two county seats in Article 13, Section 5: “Sebastian County may have two districts and two county seats, at which county, probate and circuit courts shall be held as may be provided by law, each district paying its own expenses.” Te allowance of a dual county seat system in Sebastian emanated from the chaos in the county in its early years regarding the location of the county seat produced by competition between Greenwood and the upstart town of Fort Smith. Sebastian County was created in 1851 from territory taken from three other counties. Te first county seat was at Eaton Tatum’s home in Jenny Lind, but it quickly moved to Greenwood. Tis was controversial, however, as Fort Smith was a growing boomtown in the northern part of the county thanks to its place as a stop on the wagon trail headed to the California. In 1852, the county seat shifted to Fort Smith. It was then moved back to Greenwood from 1854 to 1861. Te solution to this feud was found in 1861, when the Arkansas Legislature divided the county into a Northern district seated in Fort Smith and a Southern one seated in Greenwood. Te 1874 Constitution ratified the permanence of this set-up. Article 13 suggests other counties can choose to have additional county seats. However, the Constitution is also quite clear that the county’s voters must make any decision about any creation (or alteration) of a county seat at the ballot box. As Section 2 states: “No county seat shall be established or changed without the consent of a majority of the qualified voters of the county to be affected by such change…” However, in most of the other counties with a second
See “PAST” on Page 27 >>> 25
AAC F A M I L Y & F R I E N D S
2016 AAC Scholarship Trust recipients. AAC established the trust in 1985 to provide college financial assistance to the children, stepchildren and grandchildren of Arkansas county and district officials and employees. AAC has since awarded more than $185,000 in scholarships. Along with AAC, the fol-
T
lowing county associations contribute to the scholarship trust annually: Te County Judges Association of Ar- kansas, the Arkansas County Clerks Association, the Ar- kansas Circuit Clerks Associa- tion, the County Collectors Association of Arkansas, the Arkansas County Treasurers Association, the Assessors Association of Arkansas, the Arkansas Association of Quo- rum Courts and the Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association.
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AAC names 2016 scholarship recipients Students plan to study accounting, nursing, engineering and more
he Association of Arkansas Coun- ties recently announced its
Megan Renee Davidian
who works in the Boone County Clerk’s office. Kayle plans to attend Missouri State University in Springfield to pursue a Masters of Accoun- tancy degree.
• Megan Renee Davidian
– Megan graduated from Fay- etteville High School East this year and is the daughter of Edit Waynette Davidian, who works in the Washington County Col- lector’s office. She will attend
• Kasey Keith – Kasey is a sophomore at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. Her father, Chris Keith, grandfather, Bill Grill, and grandmother, Glenda Grill,
Kasey Keith
High School and is the daughter of Polk County Road Department Foreman Jeff Howard. Lacey will attend Rich Mountain Community College in Mena and plans on a career in nursing.
Thomas Worley
• Ashton Kimbrough – Ashton is a 2016 graduate of Bryant High School and is the daughter of Saline County Justice of the Peace John Kim- brough. She will attend the University of Arkansas at Fay- etteville as a pre-med student.
• Tomas Worley – Te son of retired Bradley County Circuit Clerk Cathy Rich- ardson, Tomas is a 2016 graduate of Harmony Grove High School in Camden. He will attend Ouachita Baptist University, where he plans to study business.
• Jared Dale Flemens –
Jared graduated from Mena High School in 2016 and is the grandson of retired Polk County Deputy Gene Hen- drix and his wife, Vicki, who is a deputy and jail adminis- trator. Jared has plans to study psychology at the University of Central Arkansas.
Kayle Bundy
• Kayle Bundy – Kayle is a 2016 graduate of Valley Springs High School and the daughter of Tammy Bundy,
30 Lacey Howard
the University of Arkansas this fall to study engineering.
• Lacey Howard – Lacey is a 2016 graduate of Mena
Ashton Kimbrough
all are employed by Crawford County. Kasey is planning to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing.
• Kaitlyn Dahlke – Kai- tlyn, the granddaughter of Hot Spring County Treasurer Mary Cansler, is a sophomore at Henderson State University. She is studying nursing. Tis
COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2016
AAC F A M I L Y & F R I E N D S STORY
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Working in Tandem
Open line of communication defines professional relationship between state Rep. Michelle Gray and Izard County Judge David Sherrell.
Story and Photos by Christy L. Smith County Lines Editor
other’s sentences if they want to. And they often do. “Since I’ve been elected, we’ve just had a lot of local issues we’ve had to work through. I’m on the EMS board for the county, and we’ve had a lot of …,” Gray began. “… difficulty,” Sherrell finished. “Difficulty. Tank you,” Gray replied.
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riendly banter punctuates the conversations between Izard County Judge David Sherrell and state Rep. Mi- chelle Gray. Te two have known each other for more than 15 years — long enough that they can finish each
Te two came together this summer a the Izard County Court- house for the sake of an Association of Arkansas Counties (AAC) job shadowing project that, in the past, has partnered county elected officials with their respective state senators and represen- tatives in an effort to give the state official a better idea of the issues county officials tackle on a daily basis. But Gray, who was born at her house and raised in the county seat of Melbourne, already has a good grasp of what Sherrell’s job looks like. In addition to EMS issues, they’ve stood side by side during a reorganization of area programs for senior citizens, they’ve gone to battle together over a stretch of highway they thought should be taken over by the state, and they’ve worked in tandem to attract economic development projects to the county. Almost from the moment Gray was elected to represent Dis-
COUNTY LINES, SUMMER 2016
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