Legislation fixes, for now, dual-seat counties' woes

Map showing Arkansas Counties with split judicial districts
Map showing Arkansas Counties with split judicial districts

JONESBORO -- Officials in the handful of Arkansas counties with two judicial districts returned to their courthouses last week relieved.

Rep. Sarah Capp's House Bill 1743 quietly sailed through the Legislature and, for now, resolved a politically-charged issue that leaders in dual-district counties long feared would surface.

The counties, which for nearly a century have operated as if they had two county seats, had not been following the law, and the Arkansas Supreme Court last month took notice.

Presented with a case related to the construction of a new county courthouse in Blytheville, the high court noted in its opinion a section from a 1901 law that split Mississippi County into two districts. The section mandated that revenue from one district "shall be used for the exclusive benefit" of that district.

Revenue wasn't being separated in Mississippi County, as called for by the 1901 law, nor in the nine other split counties, most of which were divided by identical legislation.

The ruling threatened to upend operations in those counties -- a concern that local politicians for years have voiced privately.

"[The Arkansas Supreme Court's] ruling really put it on the map for me," Capp, R-Ozark, said in a phone interview Sunday. Her bill, now Act 751, repeals sections of century-old pieces of legislation that required divided counties to keep money separated by district.

The ruling underscores the hurdles dual-district counties can face. Perhaps it was feasible to separate finances when the horse and buggy were the main mode of transportation, but it's nearly impossible in a world where multimillion-dollar bond issues routinely finance infrastructure projects, according to leaders in these counties.

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In Arkansas, the 10 counties split about a century ago. Rivers, swamps and mountains made it difficult for many residents to reach their county courthouses to pay taxes, obtain marriage licenses or attend court. So officials resolved the issue by building additional courthouses closer to isolated areas.

In Carroll County, for example, the Kings River isolated Eureka Springs from Berryville, the county seat. Lawmakers authorized the construction of an additional courthouse in Eureka Springs in 1883.

Of the 3,066 U.S. counties outside Arkansas, only 18 are divided by district, according to the National Association of Counties.

Officials in those counties believe that automobiles and computers have eliminated the need for split districts. But those with the power to do away with the quirky setup are elected, and to take that position publicly would alienate whichever half of the county stood to lose its courthouse.

Residents in the mostly small towns see any action against split districts as an affront to their venerable courthouses. They dread losing the centerpieces of their town squares and the convenience of handling their affairs close to home.

Mississippi County Judge Randy Carney is one of the few to consider consolidating a two-district county. In 2015, he and several justices of the peace floated the idea of closing the county courthouses in Blytheville and Osceola to build a new one in Blytheville or a more central location.

Both courthouses are nearly 100 years old, and repair costs were expected to exceed $300,000.

"It's no longer feasible to have two courthouses," Carney said at the time. "The business part is a no-brainer."

Mississippi County's efforts led to last month's court ruling, which affirmed a lower court's injunction to stop a special election that would have asked voters to approve the construction of a new courthouse, a bond issue to finance it and the extension of an existing sales tax to pay for it.

The state Supreme Court ruled that it would be illegal for Mississippi County to use tax revenue from the Osceola District to pay for a courthouse in Blytheville, quoting the section of the statute that Capp's bill repealed. The court issued the opinion just weeks before Capp's bill passed.

Just south of Mississippi County, Craighead County officials watched intently. County Judge Ed Hill's assistant, Tony Thomas, called Capp's bill "vital."

"The Supreme Court ruling would have significantly changed the way we did business on a daily basis," Thomas said. In Craighead, like most divided counties, one district -- Lake City -- is significantly smaller than the other -- Jonesboro.

If revenue was separated between the districts, would that harm the Eastern District of Craighead County?

"It's tough to say because we've never segregated revenues and expenditures," Thomas said.

Nothing appeared on last week's Quorum Court agenda, but Craighead County officials arrived ready for a fight anyway.

Such have been most meetings for the past year-and-a-half in the northeast Arkansas county, which has struggled through an identity crisis being a split county in a smartphone world.

Justices of the peace have grandstanded, the county's constitutional officers have bickered and state lawmakers have intervened -- one requested an opinion from the attorney general and another introduced legislation to dissolve the Eastern District of Craighead County.

The bill failed in a House committee, the attorney general's opinion didn't solve the issues and some county officials are still at odds.

At one point during the March 27 meeting, several justices even disagreed about whether they had argued over the matter in the past.

The chatter around the conference table in the county judge's office quieted after one Quorum Court member boomed over the rest, pleading with the elected officials to solve disputes about the courthouse in Lake City in-house.

"Please get together and figure this thing out, so I don't have to spend time talking about Lake City every time I walk into this courthouse," Justice of the Peace Richard Rogers said.

Craighead County is unique, even for this small collection of counties, but it shows the problems that can arise in a split county.

Its current problem started with a 2015 budget dispute. Circuit Clerk Candace Edwards noticed in the century-old law that split Craighead County that she was supposed to maintain an office in Lake City. Edwards, who was in her first term, wanted control of her office's budget in Lake City, which had traditionally fallen under the county judge's office.

County officials have argued over the old legislation for the past two years, and as they've feuded, more issues have come up. Most recently, they realized that the district dividing line may not actually be where officials have thought all along.

State Sen. John Cooper, R-Jonesboro, filed a bill last month to dissolve the Eastern District of Craighead County. It passed the Senate but died in the House Judiciary Committee under staunch opposition from Craighead County's eastern residents, who argued it was a local issue.

Craighead County Justice of the Peace Terry Couch represents most of the county's eastern half, and he said most people there are offended by Cooper's bill.

"What are they wanting to do to us and why?" Couch said. "Why would we not want to serve these people in the east?"

Craighead County officials have signed memorandums of understanding in hopes of solving some of the issues, but Cooper isn't optimistic.

"This is already too complicated of a situation," he said.

A Section on 04/03/2017

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