Busy year ahead for Arkansas Land Commissioner

Arkansas' Commissioner of State Lands, Charlie Daniels, faces a tremendous work load for the next several months.

During 1997, the State Land Office anticipates receiving certifications of tax forfeited lands for two years (1993 and 1994) from each of Arkansas' 75 counties.

"As a result of Act 660 of 1995, we are seeing drastic increases in collections," Daniels said. The 1995 legislation decreased the time counties hold a delinquent parcel of land from two years to one year. Property continues to be held at the State Land Office for two years.

Currently, the office already has received certifications from 27 of Arkansas' 75 counties. And the total number of parcels is a 225 percent increase over the annual average. According to reports from the Arkansas office, more than 7,000 parcels of the 1993 and 1994 tax years already have been received. In fact, the total collections for 1997 are averaging 25 percent higher than they did for 1996.

"Our collections during the 1996 calendar year reflected a 15 percent increase over 1995. And we should see another dramatic increase in collections this year," Daniels said.

The increased number of parcels, coupled with the task of entering them into the computer and generating notices to be sent by certified mail, has caused a proportionate increase in the number of petitions to redeem and redemption deeds requested, as well as the amount of research to be done prior to sale.

When the Arkansas Legislature was made aware of these changes, they were very responsive in the level of funding for the next biennium. The office was also able to secure an additional appropriation to expend cash funds which have accumulated through the collection of fees and penalty assessments. These dollars will enable the State Land Office to have all the original plat maps scanned onto compact disks for retrieval rather than the current microfilm files.

This new technology will enhance the readability of the copies of these maps, which are requested daily by Arkansas residents. In addition, the accompanying field notes will be transferred to CD-ROM -- minimizing wear and tear of the documents, which are currently bound. The State Land Office's current scanning equipment also will be upgraded to interface with the new PC network, allowing them to view simultaneously all the varied documents that go with each individual forfeiture.