Correction: The Delta Regional Authority defines a county as distressed for funding purposes if it has had an unemployment rate at least one point above the national average — this year 8.3 percent — for the past two years, or having a per-capita income of 80 percent or less of the national per-capita income. This article used an old figure provided by the authority.
WASHINGTON -- Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Saturday that it may be time to re-evaluate how the Delta Regional Authority decides which counties are "distressed."
Whether a county is considered distressed determines how much money the state receives from the federal agency for road building, health care and education projects in Delta counties. Thirty-nine Arkansas counties qualify, but Arkansas County and Prairie County were labeled as nondistressed this year.
Hutchinson joined governors from the other seven states that make up the authority at its annual meeting -- his first as governor -- held in Washington during the National Governors Association's Winter Meeting.
The Delta Regional Authority is a federal-state partnership congressionally mandated to help create jobs and build communities through economic development in the Mississippi Delta. It serves some of the poorest areas of the country.
The governors voted to use the current formula for determining whether a county is distressed for another year. The same metrics have been used for the past 15 years, but authority co-chairman Chris Masingill said he is open to changing the formula.
Of the 252 counties served by the authority, 215 are considered distressed and 37 counties are not.
"Because it does impact the amount of resources that goes to the states for their individual project investments, it's a big deal, and so we want to make sure that we are doing it right, that the formula that we do choose can withstand any scrutiny from Congress or our auditors," Masingill said.
A distressed county or parish is defined by the authority as having an unemployment rate at least one point above the national average -- this year 9.8 percent -- for the past two years, or having a per-capita income of 80 percent or less of the national per-capita income.
In Arkansas, 39 counties are considered distressed, most in the eastern half of the state. This year, Arkansas and Prairie counties moved from distressed to nondistressed, while Cleveland and Union counties became distressed.
After the meeting, Hutchinson said the formula may need to change.
"Obviously when Prairie County and Arkansas County are not on that list, you want to look at that formula," Hutchinson said. "That is something we can look at more long term to make sure that we've got the right definitions and see if we need to make any adjustments on that."
Hutchinson said other governors at the meeting mentioned similar situations where a county was unexpectedly listed as nondistressed.
"They agreed with me that that needs to be looked at; they've noticed some unusual variations over the years," he said.
Masingill said after the meeting that the authority can look at other ideas.
"I'm glad he spoke up," Masingill said. "This is the same formula that [the authority has] been using since its inception, and when I came in five years ago I asked the same question, 'why do we do it that way?' Just because we've done it that way before doesn't mean we have to keep on doing it."
Arkansas and Prairie counties' average unemployment rates and per-capita incomes over the past 24 months didn't meet the distressed criteria, authority spokesman Spencer Lucker said.
Arkansas is to receive $1.4 million from the authority in the current fiscal year, about 15.1 percent of the $9.5 million going to the eight states. That is a slight uptick from the amount allocated to the state the year before.
President Barack Obama has asked for nearly $15 million for the Delta Regional Authority in his recommended budget for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1. The agency received about $12 million last year.
Metro on 02/22/2015