Don't be the Boiling Frog
By Chris Villines
AAC Executive Director
It’s an apologue we all have heard. If you put a frog in boiling water, it will immediately jump out. But if you put a frog in a pot of lukewarm water and slowly heat it up, the frog will slowly adjust to the heat and will unfortunately reach his demise, boiling to death as he obliviously adjusts to the rising heat.
I wouldn’t test this theory at home, but unfortunately, we are living it in the real world in so many ways. As I read through this issue of County Lines, I made a mental note of several things we are doing in county government that are examples of this theory.
First and foremost, it may be a long read but newly minted AAC Attorney Taylor Handford’s report on the prison system in Arkansas is a prime example of becoming accustomed to a bad situation. Blame can be shared all around but suffice it to say that incarceration and the noble process of rehabilitation of prisoners in Arkansas is boiling over. County jails are the proverbial frogs, and we’ve let this water warm over the last 20 years.
Additional prison space is long overdue, and the backup into county jails has wrecked Arkansas’ misdemeanor justice. Along the way this impacts rehabilitative efforts and drives up recidivism as one-time offenders become hardened career criminals.
We should all be proud of state and local efforts, albeit expensive ones, pushing to a system that focuses on reformed offenders. Who knows? Maybe we can eventually become one of those states with the right number of prison beds because our citizens steer inmates towards doing what is right. Thank you to AAC staff that has been championing these efforts.
Not written in this issue of County Lines, but a major focus over the last few years also has been an AAC-driven effort to fight for those with mental health issues who find themselves in the custody of our jails. Mental health tends to be a taboo subject. It’s demoralizing to families that deal with it, hopeless to the person who suffers, dangerous and scary to the innocent victims, and messy to government. This frog is way beyond boiled.
If we as a society really care about mental health, we must take action by providing assets that give sufficient treatment to help the patients. Crisis Stabilization Units, which have been championed at the AAC, have sprung up and are gaining traction post covid, but this is only one of a myriad of needed weapons.
We need additional bedspace with competent psychological and medical help that rightly expects to treat over time, not in three days. You will see more on this front as we add focus and efforts in this area.
Finally (and I’ll be finished with frogs) is the creeping normality of uncivil discussion. Just last week a local party meeting made national news when discussion turned to anger, and anger to punches thrown. I guess one thing I’d like to say is none of the parties involved was an elected county or district official. I’ve written about it before to some extent, but how have we gotten used to this type of uncivil and polarizing discourse?
Elected officials are held to a higher standard, as they should be, for their actions and words. They do not have the luxury of being able to “say what they want” with no ramifications. Treating others with gentleness and reverence is not just an aspiration, it’s biblical. That this type of behavior is connected in any way to the political discourse in this country, state and now local levels is a disappointment that we must not grow accustomed to.
On to my point: Thank you for continuing to act respectfully to each other and the citizens in your counties. Relationships cannot be minimized when it comes to public service … in fact they are the cornerstone. Any gathering that casts a pall on you and your office must be distanced from, and thankfully this county’s officials did just that.
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As we move forward and look to Autumn, I think the pumpkin spice coffee this year will be extremely rewarding. This year’s annual conference was a huge success, judging not only on the events in the conference but more so by watching the interaction between county officials across our state.
I’m so thankful for the staff here at the AAC for working hard to make the 2024 conference the best I’ve been a part of. Speakers and breakouts were great, but watching individual discussions in the hallways and at vendor booths was extremely satisfying.
It can be disconcerting when you consider the number of new officials that were sworn in after the last election cycle. Somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of the county officials are new to their position. But you are anything but lost. Learning from others, exchanging ideas and developing friendships across county lines ensure success for all of us.
I want to offer some heartfelt thanks to your association leaderships. You are committed to learning and putting forth a great product to bring your offices together. It shows at our annual conference and, when combined with the fantastic planners here at the AAC, things work well.
As an exclamation point to the conference, I was proud to announce that plans are being developed for the property next door to the AAC. We desperately need some more space, and the options for development will soon be presented to the AAC Board of Directors. Hopefully we will have more details for you later this year when the Fall County Lines is produced.
In the meanwhile, enjoy something pumpkin spice, turn off the boiling water and think good thoughts of your friends here at the AAC
