In This IssueFALL 2016
Former sheriff carries on the good work of the state Sheriffs’ Association.
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Features Legislative Leadership ................................................................................................30
Summary of AAC legislative package ......................................................................37 Ballot measures approved by Arkansas voters ......................................................41
Inside Look Johnson County observes Go Pink Day ....................................................................11
AAC offers a preview of the 2017 Legislative Session.
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Mental Health Summit draws more than 120 .......................................................19 AAC hosts reception for 91st General Assembly ...................................................42 AAC director named to National Council of County Executives board ..............43 Crawford County opens new justice center .............................................................48 Jackson County cuts ribbon on new 125-bed jail ..................................................49 Assessors meet in Pulaski County............................................................................50 Circuit Clerks honor grant recipients, retirees ........................................................51 Judges discuss roads, jails, crisis intervention .......................................................52 Roundtable talks, retirement party on agenda for treasurers ............................53 Clerks hold fall meeting in Columbia County .........................................................54 AAC staff profiles: Sarah Giammo and Samantha Moore ...................................56
County judge is addressing accessibility in his courthouse.
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Departments From the Director’s Desk ..............................................................................................7
President’s Perspective ................................................................................................9 From the Governor .......................................................................................................11 Attorney General Opinions .........................................................................................12 Behind the Lines ..........................................................................................................13 Research Corner ..........................................................................................................15 Governmental Affairs ..................................................................................................20 Legal Corner ..................................................................................................................21 Seems to Me .................................................................................................................22 Savings Times 2 ...........................................................................................................24 NACo News Updates ....................................................................................................57
Cover Notes: Legislative Overview, 2017
tate lawmakers will convene Jan. 9, 2017, for Arkansas’ 91st General As- sembly. In anticipation of this event, we planned an issue of County Lines magazine that would preview the session for readers. Inside this issue, readers will find columns regarding important issues facing counties — is- sues possibly to be addressed by the legislature. Readers also will find opinion pieces focusing on the upcoming session that were submitted by senate and house leaders, summaries of the AAC legislative package and ballot issues approved by voters in the November 2016 election, and an introduction to AAC’s legislative team. Our team invites county officials to join us as we enter the hallways of the Capitol to advocate on the counties’ behalf. After all, county officials know best their challenges and, therefore, are poised to be their own best advocates.
S Turn to page 29 to begin reading our legislative preview. COUNTY LINES, FALL 2016 5 “ (Photo by Christy L. Smith)
We always hear about the rights of democracy, but the major responsibility of it is participation.
— Wynton Marsalis ”
AAC F A M I L Y & F R I E N D S
Carrying on the
good work Former Polk County Sheriff Mike Godfrey named director of Sheriffs’ Association.
By JENNIFER BARNETT REED For County Lines
tion services so that people with mental illnesses get the help they need instead of revolving through county jails and local hospitals. It’ll be a tough sell, no question. But Godfrey, formerly the sheriff of Polk County, has plenty of experience in making his case on other issues — both to legislators and directly to the peo- ple of his home county. And even though he’s heard “no” before from both groups, he’s determined to keep trying. In a way, adjusting to a “no” answer — from himself — is how
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Godfrey, 51, wound up in law enforcement to begin with. A na- tive of Bismarck, Godfrey headed to Henderson State University in 1983 with a plan to major in business education and become a teacher. He accomplished the first goal, but a stint as a student teacher made it clear that he would not — actually, did not want to — accomplish the second one. “I knew that teaching was not my gift, not what was in my
heart, not what I wanted to do,” Godfrey said. But the summers he’d spent working for Arkansas State Parks had planted a different seed. After graduation, Godfrey completed police academy training and took a full-time job as a park ranger. “Tat was my introduction to law enforcement,” he said. Over the next few years Godfrey worked at several different
parks around the state, landing at Queen Wilhelmina State Park in 1995. Te park’s location brought him into frequent contact with Polk County sheriff’s deputies. “Our park was on a state highway, and we had lots of wrecks up there,” he said. “I was usually closer to them, so I would respond
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s the start of the 2017 legislative session draws closer, new Arkansas Sheriffs’ Association Director Mike Godfrey has his work cut out for him: He’ll be trying to convince lawmakers to invest in crisis interven-
to wrecks, and then they would come. Tat was my introduction to the sheriff’s office.” Eventually, Godfrey started riding along with deputies when they needed an extra hand. He liked what he saw, and in 2000 went to work for the Polk County Sheriff’s Office full time. “Tey were just such a good agency and so professional,” he said.
“I knew that I wanted to go to work for them, and specifically for Sheriff Mike Oglesby. He was just one of those guys that expected the best and got the best out of you and gave you the same.” Even though he’d already been helping out here and there, the transition from park ranger to sheriff’s deputy was eye opening, Godfrey said. “I was probably one of the best-trained officers in the county because the state parks are so big on training, but we were so lim- ited in our contacts with offenders,” Godfrey said. “I really didn’t get to put a lot of that training to use. When I went to work for the sheriff’s office, it was like a whole new world. I got to see what real law enforcement was like.” Oglesby promoted Godfrey to chief deputy in 2007, and when
Oglesby left three years later, Godfrey ran for the top job. “I believed that it was just a fantastic sheriff’s office, and I want- ed to continue that way,” he said. “I felt I needed to step up and make sure we continued on the path he’d created.” Te reality wasn’t quite that straightforward. As sheriff, Godfrey
confronted an issue that was familiar to many of his counterparts across the state: A county jail that was chronically overcrowded and didn’t meet state standards. With the state threatening to shut the jail down, Godfrey helped develop a plan for a new,
COUNTY LINES, FALL 2016
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Association of Arkansas Counties Legislative
Preview 2017
rkansas’ 91st General Assembly will convene in early January, and the hallways of the state Capitol will soon house frenzied legislative activity. As this edition of County Lines was planned, it was decided to request opinion columns from leg- islative leadership to give readers a preliminary perspective from senate and house leadership. AAC reached out to Senate Pro Tempore Jonathan Dis- mang, Speaker of the House Jeremy Gillam, Senate
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and House Majority Leaders Sen. Jim Hendren and Rep. Matthew Pitsch, and Senate and House Minority Leaders Sen. Keith Ingram and Rep. Mi- chael John Gray. A special thanks goes to these six leaders for making the time to share their unique insight into the ensuing session. Also included in this Legislative Overview are summaries of legislation AAC plans to present dur- ing the session, as well as a look at the four ballot issues Arkansas voters approved in November.
AAC F A M I L Y & F R I E N D S
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Addressing accessibility
Little River County receives grant for chair lift, new doors and more at courthouse.
Story by Mark Christ s Photos by Holly Hope Arkansas Historic Preservation Program
money,” he said. To that end, Cranford is working with the Arkansas Historic
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Preservation Program’s (AHPP) County Courthouse Restoration Grant program to ensure that the building will comply with the 1990 federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and provide
COUNTY LINES, FALL 2016
ittle River County Judge Mike Cranford is realistic about the realities of working in his majestic 1907 classically-inspired courthouse in Ashdown. “Tese old buildings need love, and sometimes love costs
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