LITTLE ROCK— On Thursday, Jan. 30, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law
HB1137, an act to separate the offices of sheriff and tax collector in Searcy County.
Under state law, counties can combine or separate offices by ordinance and general election and the state legislature can combine or separate offices by passing a bill. Nearly a third of the state’s 75 counties have consolidated offices for Sheriff and Collector with officials saying it will be more effective and efficient to separate the offices.
Throughout English and early American history, sheriffs held a dual role of law enforcement and tax collector. Following that tradition, the Arkansas Constitution of 1874 puts the responsibility of collecting property taxes under the sheriff’s umbrella.
Larger, more populated or prosperous counties split the two responsibilities into separate elected positions as the roles of the Sheriff and Collector have changed in contemporary society. Sheriffs now concentrate on intricate law enforcement and public safety challenges, while collectors face increasingly complex financial and accounting responsibilities to their county residents. In 2023, 24 out of Arkansas's 75 counties combined Sheriff and Collector offices under a single elected official.
Effective Jan. 1, 2027, the offices of sheriff and tax collector in Searcy County, shall be separate offices.
At the 2026 general election, the electors of Searcy County shall elect both a sheriff and a tax collector, and each officer so elected shall take office on Jan. 1, 2027.
The sheriff and the tax collector in Searcy County shall each give bond for the faithful performance of their respective duties as provided by law.
The sheriff and the tax collector of Searcy County shall each receive compensation that shall be determined by the Searcy County Quorum Court within the minimum and maximum compensation range prescribed by the General Assembly and shall hire deputies and have other allowances as prescribed by the Searcy County Quorum Court, the law says.
Continuing education for county officials
Huckabee also signed into law, SB53, an act to make an appropriation for maintaining and operating a continuing education program for the county clerks, circuit clerks, county treasurers, county collectors and county coroners in the state for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026.
The appropriation goes to the Auditor of State with funds coming from the respective offices' continuing education funds. The amounts for each office are: County clerks. $75,000; circuit clerks, $75,000; county treasurers, $75,000; county collectors, $75,000 and county coroners, $125,000.
The legislation includes provisions ensuring that fund disbursements will comply with state procurement, accounting, and budgetary laws, and emphasizes that the funds should be used strictly for their intended purpose as outlined in budget documentation. An emergency clause is included to ensure the appropriations can take effect on July 1, 2025, recognizing the critical nature of these educational programs for local government officials and the potential disruption if funding is delayed.
A continuing education board of directors for the Arkansas Coroners Association launched its effort to begin a continuing education program for all Arkansas coroners with. Act 551 of 2013. It allowed the coroners association to pursue a continuing education curriculum for its members and provided funding for such a program. The Division of Law Enforcement Standards and Training, in coordination with the Department of Health, established a training curriculum for medicolegal death investigators, coroners, and deputy coroners in Arkansas that consists of no less than 16 hours nor more than 40 hours of instruction, including without limitation courses on: Medicolegal death investigation leading to certification as a medicolegal death investigator, scene investigation, body recovery, safety, statutes and rules, documentation and reporting, communication and interviewing and proper completion of a death certificate and assignment of cause of death.
