Arkansas counties can stay afloat in coming years if tax cuts are balanced with the needs of the government and its people, Gov. Mike Beebe told Association of Arkansas Counties conference attendees Thursday morning.

Beebe, who received multiple standing ovations from the crowd, touted actions in his nearly eight years as governor in gradually cutting taxes, increasing state turnback funds to cities and counties, and expanding Medicaid through the private option under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

He said all three things would help keep counties -- which he called the toughest divisions of government, with the most requirements and smallest tax bases -- viable in future years.

"Hopefully we have set an example for future governors," he said.

Governor candidates Asa Hutchinson and Mike Ross have both announced plans to cut income taxes, if elected. Hutchinson, a Republican, and Ross, a Democrat, will participate in a forum at the conference today.

Beebe warned of a projected budget shortfall of about $140 million or more for fiscal 2016 under the current tax cut plan that he said wasn't originally supposed to exceed $100 million. Although he will not be governor next year, Beebe will prepare a budget for fiscal 2016 and urge legislators to stop or delay a tax cut set to go into effect July 1.

"Make sure that you can afford to cut that revenue before you cut it," he advised.

A sufficient budget will be key for affording a new prison necessitated by stricter parole policies instituted last summer and the subsequent flooding of county jails with state prison inmates, he said.

Representatives from several counties Thursday said their jails were overcrowded and remarked that they believed that was the case for many counties statewide.

Twice so far this year, the Pulaski County jail has closed its pods to most nonviolent, nonfelony offenders because of the influx of state inmates normally held after the policy changes.

"We have for years stuck state prisoners on the backs of counties," Beebe said.

If the state wants a new prison to unburden county jails of state inmates, "We better figure out how we're going to pay for it," he said.

Even so, the state is in a much better financial position than others, he said.

"Somebody said to me the other day they're going to close down Kansas," he joked, to audience laughter. Kansas has faced large deficits after recent tax cuts.

After the speech, Benton County Judge Bob Clinard echoed the governor in an interview, noting his support for Beebe's sales tax cut on groceries.

He said, however, that he agreed that tax cuts needed to be done carefully, with revenue and needs in mind.

"It always comes back to money," he said. "The taxpayers ... they just assume the government's got all the money. It's not true."

In Clinard's populous Northwest Arkansas county, seven cities compete with the county for their tax bases, and the county has more people to serve than most counties.

"We don't have enough tax base to provide for all the things we want to provide for our citizens," he said. But he noted the biggest change he wants to see is more cooperation with the cities.

The Association of Arkansas Counties conference wraps up today.

Metro on 08/22/2014