AAC


of you will still be campaigning for re-election — knocking on doors, attending community events, and spreading the good news of what you have accomplished for your county. I wish all of you the best of luck. All eight county associations have continuing education meetings scheduled between the first part of June and mid- July. Tese meetings are invaluable, as we learn from one another and expand our knowledge about issues affecting the offices we hold. Tis year, each association will finalize its legislative pack- age. All the groups have been working diligently over the last six months — or even longer — to identify laws that need to be clarified, processes that need to be updated, and challenges that need to be solved. I commend you all on your dedica- tion to making county government operate more efficiently and more effectively. Several county and district officials will attend the National Association of Counties’ (NACo) 2018 Annual Conference & Exposition. Te four-day event features more than a 100 workshops, committee meetings, forums, and sessions that will explore topical issues such as the national opioid epi- demic, criminal justice and behavioral health, and disaster recovery, to name only a few. Te NACo conference gives us an opportunity not only to interact with our counterparts in other states and learn best practices, but also to help shape federal policies. Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) and Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILT) are just two federal programs Arkansas counties rely on and must ensure are preserved. Soon after the NACo conference, hundreds of us will gather in Rogers Aug. 8-10 to celebrate the Association of Arkansas Counties’ (AAC) 50th anniversary. The AAC and its staff have been a valuable resource for elected officials


S


ummer is just around the corner, and I know many of you look forward to taking much-deserved vaca- tions with friends and family. Tat time spent with loved ones is irreplaceable, so enjoy it to its fullest.


Te beginning of June marks a busy period for us all. Many


PRESIDENT’S PERSPECTIVE Summer paves way for busy 6 months


for five decades. We rely heavily on the staff’s input and the exper- tise they demonstrate at the state Capitol. I hope you can attend this year’s conference to celebrate alongside the AAC staff — and to learn from the wide array of speakers and presenters. From there, we move into our fall association meeting schedule. And, of course, many of us face oppo- nents in the November election. We’ll say a bittersweet good- bye to retiring officials, and we will welcome some new faces at the December New-Elect training hosted by the AAC. County officials who are elected or re-elected this year will


DEBBIE WISE AAC Board President;


Randolph County Circuit Clerk


serve a four-year term for the first time ever. We won that right by waging a hard-fought battle at the state Capitol in 2015. We are so appreciative to the state legislators who sup- ported and referred the four-year term initiative to the 2016 ballot. And we are grateful to the voters who overwhelmingly approved the measure. Four-year terms bring stability to our offices and allow us to accomplish much more without the distraction of waging a re-election campaign before we even get settled at our desks. In the end, it is our constituents who reap the rewards. In closing, please enjoy your summer — but also prepare


to work hard alongside your colleagues across the state during the next six months. We have much to get accomplished.


Debbie Wise Randolph County Circuit Clerk / AAC Board President Debbie Wise


We want your news


COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2018


Did an aspect of county government “make news” recently in your county? Did


any of your county officials or staff get an award, appointment or pat on the back? Please let us know about it for the next edition of County Lines magazine. You can write up a couple of paragraphs about it, or if something ran in your local paper, call and ask them to forward the story to us. We encourage you or your newspaper to attach a good quality photo, too: e-mail csmith@arcounties.org.


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