From the Executive Director of the Arkansas Municipal League
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GREAT CHALLENGES, GREATER CITIES!
s we slowly return to our pre-pandemic norms, I’m reminded that in many places the 17-year cicada cycle is happening. Why am I reminded? Because we are all emerging from our own cocoons after a year of working at home, not going to movies and not seeing people smile due to everpresent masks. One tidbit of trivia regarding cicadas. All that buzzing and clicking? It’s a mating call. When collectively gathered near the top of a tree, they reach nearly 100 decibels when they let loose. That’s loud! This whole process of getting together and making a lot of noise is known as “chorusing.” Having been through what is likely the most challenging year we’ll know in our lifetime and now that we’re emerging from our own proverbial shells, we need to recognize some folks that never left the workplace despite the daily dangers they faced. I speak, of course, of municipal officials and personnel — they never quit. They rolled up their sleeves, educated themselves and created solutions to the many problems they faced so that each of us could continue to rely on municipal services. City halls across the state never closed. Instead, they created drive-thru payment windows, upped their online presence, installed plexiglass and disinfecting stations, and a whole host of other measures to be sure taxpayers received full municipal services. Even council meetings were held in parking lots so that city business could move forward. If you needed a cop, you got a cop. If you needed garbage picked up, garbage got picked up. If you had a health emergency, ambulances and EMTs were there to help. If an emergency caused a need for the fire department to assist, the fire department answered the call. Municipalities of all sizes stepped up their game to meet our needs during the most bizarre and terrifying year I’ve ever known. The challenges were great. The municipal response? Greater. Hence, “Great Challenges, Greater Cities” has been the prevailing theme over the last 15 months. Within weeks of Governor Hutchinson’s emergency declaration on March 11, 2020, subsequent executive orders and directives from the Arkansas Department of Health were issued in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Public gatherings were limited to 10 people, bars and restaurants were instructed to close dining rooms and transition to curbside and delivery, indoor entertainment venues were shuttered and commercial lodging was limited to folks like health care professionals, essential workers, first responders, active military and law enforcement. In short, The Natural State completely shut down as a tourism destination, and the economic impact was felt almost immediately. Here’s a snapshot of what just a handful of cities and towns around the state faced as the coronavirus descended upon Arkansas: • Eureka Springs welcomes more than 1 million annual visitors and depends on tourism for 95 percent of its budget. To combat this revenue loss, the city not only reduced salaries, but it also faced layoffs in law enforcement and emergency services, two areas that were already short-staffed.
6 | BLOCK, STREET & BUILDING VOLUME 7 | 2021
• Former resort-retirement community Fairfield Bay also relies on tourism for revenue. With the cancellation of events due to COVID-19, the city-owned-and-operated conference center was closed and all but a couple of employees were laid off. • Welcoming more than 2 million annual visitors who enjoy its lakes, parks, historic bathhouses and horseracing and gaming, Hot Springs is one of the state’s most popular tourist destinations. It is also home to Arkansas’s largest and busiest convention center, and COVID-related closures had the city facing a revenue shortfall of more than $5 million. • Magnolia not only felt the economic impact of canceling its biggest festival — the Magnolia Blossom Festival and Steak Cook-Off, which brings an additional 10,000 people and $100,000 to the city — it was also left with the unique challenge that came with the closure of Southern Arkansas University: the loss of census dollars. When COVID-19 sent students home for the remainder of the spring semester, Magnolia lost an additional 5,000 residents who would have been counted in the 2020 census. • Although Batesville managed to avoid layoffs and furloughs, the closure of the 125,000-square-foot Batesville Community Center and its suspension of more than 8,000 monthly memberships left the city with no incoming revenue. Also a college town, Batesville struggled to get all of its residents counted in the census. Just nine months before the coronavirus pandemic began, Act 822 of the 92nd Legislative Session, which required the collection of sales and use taxes on online purchases, was enacted. I can’t call this anything other than perfect timing, because as so many local retailers had to close their doors and Arkansans increased their online buying, the sales tax collected from those purchases most certainly helped keep so many cities and towns afloat. The League championed such legislation since 2017, and I’m beyond grateful that our municipalities have been infused with these monies. Thanks to access to vaccines and hard work at every level to control this virus, we’re slowly coming back to life — life like we last knew in early 2020. Of course, we must do so with caution to protect against the variants and the virus, but as we move into summer I — like you I’m sure — am looking forward to seeing friends and family at restaurants, parties, movie theaters, ballgames ... everywhere! As we begin to get out more, please take a moment to recognize the incredible work done by municipal officials and personnel, day in and day out. In many instances the services we rely on daily are taken care of 24/7, 365 days a year. Those services didn’t stop because COVID-19 spread like wildfire. The municipal chorus was ever present, and we are all the better because of them. Say thanks if you get the chance.
Mark R. Hayes Executive Director Arkansas Municipal League
