AAC
DIRECTOR’S DESK
generally love their county officials, have fought back against restrictions put upon local government. We have one such example brewing in our state right now, and I want all of you to be aware. Te Tax Reform Task Force recently put forward a list of ideas involving income and sales taxes in our state, but they largely left property taxes alone. Among this list of items would be a local sales taxing author- ity cap at 3 percent for county government. While it might sound good on the surface, consider a few things. First of all, many “county” sales taxes are split between the county and municipalities located within the county. Secondly, each of these sales taxes was passed by a local election … the majority of people in your county saw a need and were willing to tax themselves to fix a problem. Often these taxes were passed for the purposes of public health or safety, such as keeping a jail open or creating a local hospital. Tirdly, the most recent iterations of this bill would lump all sales taxes together to reach that cap, including Advertising and Promo- tion sales taxes, which might only be collected on alcohol or restaurant purchases. Many of your local residents understand that a 1 percent tax collected on food eaten at local restaurants only represents a small fraction of their annual spending and in reality equals far less than 1 percent in their annual budget. Local control is what this is all about. Te ability for you as a county or district official to make wise decisions locally. And not the final decisions, at that. It’s about what you refer to the people who vote for or against sales taxes, ultimately taking away your constituents’ rights to decide their future. Collectively, you know the pulse of the people in your
county. You know the county’s needs. And you know that the most powerful demonstration of democracy exists when people get the chance to go to the polls to decide their own fate. Gene Terry is spot-on in his column. Your constituents in your county are not sheep. Tey are smart people who make
sound decisions. After all, they voted for you. So I encourage you to watch for any other pre-emption measures that might erode your work at the best level of government — because you know your people don’t want to be shut out of making their own decisions. To close, I’d like to give a hearty congratulations to those county-wide officials who are embarking on the first four- year terms in Arkansas counties. I think the implications for this are great, but I approach it from a slightly different angle. When I was elected in 1998 alongside a new county judge in Saline County, I watched closely to see how Judge Lanny Fite would operate. Judge (now state representative) Fite never treated his job like it might be over in two years. He began making long- term plans in the hope that he would be around long enough to see them through. A new airport was on the long list of items that took perseverance and stamina, and his planning ultimately saw its completion. He has been effective as a county judge and again as a representative. Te point is this, that a short-term mindset eliminates vi- sion. And two-year terms helped foster a short-term mindset. Tis is meant not just for you newly elected county officials, but for those returning to office as well — you have been given a golden opportunity to strategically plan for your next four years and beyond. Take advantage of this and spend some energy now reflecting on how your office can be made better over time. Warren Buffett once said, “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” You need to preserve the ability to plant those seeds without state government intervention, and you need the vision for where those trees need to be. Welcome to the fertile soil of county government my friends, and to Gene Terry, enjoy your retire- ment ride into the sunset.
Tell us your good news Here at the AAC we love the opportunity to visit the counties. We want to
know about your celebrations, ground breakings, grand openings and more. Give us a shout, and we’ll do our best to be there.
Also, let us know if an aspect of county government “made news” recently
in your county. Or if your county officials or staff get an award, appointment or pat on the back. We want the whole state to know about your successes and accomplishments. We encourage you to email
csmith@arcounties.org.
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COUNTY LINES, FALL 2018
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