Pick up know-how for tackling diseases, pests and weeds.
Farm bill, farm marketing, agribusiness webinars, & farm policy.
Find tactics for healthy livestock and sound forages.
Scheduling and methods of irrigation.
Explore our Extension locations around the state.
Commercial row crop production in Arkansas.
Agriculture weed management resources.
Use virtual and real tools to improve critical calculations for farms and ranches.
Learn to ID forages and more.
Explore our research locations around the state.
Get the latest research results from our county agents.
Our programs include aquaculture, diagnostics, and energy conservation.
Keep our food, fiber and fuel supplies safe from disaster.
Private, Commercial & Non-commercial training and education.
Specialty crops including turfgrass, vegetables, fruits, and ornamentals.
Find educational resources and get youth engaged in agriculture.
Gaining garden smarts and sharing skills.
Timely tips for the Arkansas home gardener.
Creating beauty in and around the home.
Maintenance calendar, and best practices.
Coaxing the best produce from asparagus to zucchini.
What’s wrong with my plants? The clinic can help.
Featured trees, vines, shrubs and flowers.
Ask our experts plant, animal, or insect questions.
Enjoying the sweet fruits of your labor.
Herbs, native plants, & reference desk QA.
Growing together from youth to maturity.
Crapemyrtles, hydrangeas, hort glossary, and weed ID databases.
Get beekeeping, honey production, and class information.
Grow a pollinator-friendly garden.
Schedule these timely events on your gardening calendar.
Equipping individuals to lead organizations, communities, and regions.
Guiding communities and regions toward vibrant and sustainable futures.
Guiding entrepreneurs from concept to profit.
Position your business to compete for government contracts.
Find trends, opportunities and impacts.
Providing unbiased information to enable educated votes on critical issues.
Increase your knowledge of public issues & get involved.
Research-based connection to government and policy issues.
Support Arkansas local food initiatives.
Read about our efforts.
Preparing for and recovering from disasters.
Licensing for forestry and wildlife professionals.
Preserving water quality and quantity.
Cleaner air for healthier living.
Firewood & bioenergy resources.
Managing a complex forest ecosystem.
Read about nature across Arkansas and the U.S.
Learn to manage wildlife on your land.
Soil quality and its use here in Arkansas.
Learn to ID unwanted plant and animal visitors.
Timely updates from our specialists.
Eating right and staying healthy.
Ensuring safe meals.
Take charge of your well-being.
Cooking with Arkansas foods.
Making the most of your money.
Making sound choices for families and ourselves.
Nurturing our future.
Get tips for food, fitness, finance, and more!
Understanding aging and its effects.
Giving back to the community.
Managing safely when disaster strikes.
Listen to our latest episode!
Kristin HigginsPublic Policy CenterPhone: 501-671-2160Email: khiggins@uada.edu
by Kristin Higgins - May 21, 2021
On any given day, 10,000 people are locked up in county jails in Arkansas. They are among the 10 million people admitted every year at the roughly 3,200 local jails across the United States.
Federal statistics show that two-thirds of the people in jail are unconvicted and awaiting court, while the rest are serving short-term sentences or are in line for transfer to state prison. Different people cycle through every day, some there for technical violations while others for new crimes.
The local jail is built for short-term stays and in recent years, state inspections have dinged counties for not having enough space to adequately separate people. In addition to separating people by age and gender, standards call for different holding areas for people dealing with intoxication and mental health issues. This issue has been cited several times in fact sheets published by the Public Policy Center about local elections.
Arkansas’ jail population has increased in recent years though there have been efforts to divert people to new crisis stabilization units in four locations across Arkansas and to provide programming that hopefully could help people never come back.
Since 2015, seven counties have expanded their jails, 10 counties built new jails, and 13 more counties were working to build a new jail, according to staff at the Criminal Detention Facilities Review Office. Many of these jails were paid for by sales taxes approved by local voters.
How Do Communities Pay For Operating Jails?
County jails have existed in Arkansas as long as there has been a state. Courthouses and jails were among the first public buildings put up in county seats, sometimes incorporated in the same structure or built next to each other.
County governments are constitutionally responsible for funding public safety, which includes patrolling the community and operating jails.
The money to pay for these general services comes from a county’s general fund – essentially the county’s bank account that holds sales tax, property tax, fees and other monies that aren’t legally earmarked for another purpose.
Counties in Arkansas spent 38% of their budget on law enforcement and public safety in 2017, according to a University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture analysis of Arkansas county government spending trends between 2000 and 2017.
In recent years, sales taxes have become more popular than property taxes among county officials to pay for these community services.
At least 35 of Arkansas’ 75 counties collect a sales tax for maintaining and operating the county jail, according to 2015 data from the Association of Arkansas Counties and past fact sheets published by the Public Policy Center about local elections
Three of those counties use part of their sales tax for other public safety purposes, such as operating the sheriff’s department or maintaining their “law enforcement complex.” The sales tax rate ranges in these counties from 0.125% in Cleburne, Franklin and Prairie counties to 1% in Ouachita County.
Voters in Lonoke County will vote next month whether to adopt a sales tax specifically to maintain and operate their jail and pay for sheriff department services.
The county’s 10-year-old jail was built using money raised from a temporary sales tax that expired when the debt was repaid. Now county officials are saying they need another source of revenue to cover growing costs at the jail that now holds more people than the old jail did.
Map description: Counties listed in green in the map above have a sales tax dedicated to paying for maintenance and operations at the county jail.
The counties are: Arkansas, Ashley, Baxter, Boone, Calhoun, Cleburne, Crawford, Faulkner, Franklin, Garland, Greene, Hempstead, Howard, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lincoln, Little River, Marion, Miller, Mississippi, Nevada, Ouachita, Perry, Phillips, Poinsett, Prairie, Randolph, Sevier, Sharp, St. Francis, Washington, White, Woodruff, and Yell.