Committee Talks Animal Shelter Project & OKs Radio Money from ARP Funds
The Courts & Public Safety Committee discussed the animal shelter project and spay and neuter program, while also approving the Sheriff’s Reserve Unit’s funding request for radios and a Resolution supporting a tax break for law enforcement officers at its November 9 meeting.
All Committee members were present except JP Andy Shock (R, Dist. 10). JPs Sam Strain (R, Dist. 4), Jerry Boyer (R, Dist. 12), and Tyler Pearson (D, Dist. 7) were in the audience.
Animal Shelter Project
Referring to the “agenda and the packet before you,” Chair JP Randy Higgins (R, Dist. 2) began the meeting with a “short update on the animal … Community Animal Shelter Development Committee.”
Higgins said the Committee has been meeting with Rick Sowell, the architect, as well as the County Judge and Sheriff about “priorities for the shelter.”
He added that they had looked at the “flow” at the Washington County Animal Shelter: “the way you intake animals and the way it goes … you process animals and then it comes out at the other end with an animal that is ready to be adopted.”
Public Safety Comes First
Audience member Peggy Gregory pointed out
I know what the animal people want that have come so often… I think that the public, who were not as present when this came up, would like you all to know that our most important thing is the safety of the people in our community.
That goes to what the Sheriff’s Department has to deal with when they have calls about dogs that are problems…. I would hope that is considered in the animal shelter whole program. That’s the most important thing to take care of….
Higgins responded that the Committee had spoken with Sheriff Tim Ryals about public safety “at the second meeting we held.”
Grants Yet?
When Scotty Keller asked from the audience whether the volunteer groups have applied for “those grants they talked about… once they had an address, they could apply for all kinds of grant money,” Higgins said
I can tell you we have received a $30,000 donation already that was not solicited, so yes, that’s part of … the Committee’s charter….
He added that he would be updating the Court as the Committee’s work progresses.
Roof Repaired
JP Matt Brown (R, Dist. 8) — not a Committee member — asked about repairs to the roof of the proposed shelter building, and Higgins reported
One of the weak points of it was that the roof probably needed to be refinished. I think the Judge contracted with somebody … to coat the roof. I’m not an expert on roofs … when the next rain came it was noted from the owner that there was still a small leak on that….
I talked to the Judge … he said he was looking into it…. The coating that they put on there, I think it’s like $2,500, something like that.
Higgins added that “it’s looking a lot better; they’re getting prepared for the February 1st date when we can start working on the rest.”
Spay and Neuter Program
Higgins, referring to the quarterly report on the Spay and Neuter Program from last month, gave year-to-date totals of 994 rabies vaccinations plus 1,436 total animals spayed/neutered:
Female dogs: 448
Male dogs: 347
Female cats: 390
Male cats 251
“Suspend” Spay & Neuter?
Higgins reported that
the consensus is, it’s a good program. But one thing we have to take into consideration is that we are developing a new shelter, and money is an issue….We’ve appropriated $70,000 for spay and neuter and … this year we brought in [from the voluntary tax] $136,886.
Half the money that we have coming in .. is going to spay and neuter…
We’ve had discussion about, potentially, during when we get to the point where we have a plan, we’re ready to go, maybe suspending the spay and neuter program for financial purposes until we get this sorted out. All I’m saying is, it has been discussed at this point.
After several more minutes’ discussion about the costs and effectiveness of the program, Higgins suggested that the shelter could take over the operation and then concluded, “I’m not sure we’re there yet but … we want to look at a cost-effective way (while) still being … compassionate….”
Ordinance 21-39, Sheriff’s Reserve Unit Funding
Moving to the second item on the agenda, Higgins reminded JPs that “this Committee has already talked about this issue with some funding” to outfit the Sheriff’s Reserve Unit with necessary equipment. He later said that the grant opportunity the Reserves Unit had mentioned in September has now expired, and that the Unit is seeking other grants to help with funding.
JP Tyler Lachowsky (R, Dist. 6) reviewed the request for funding for radios, body armor, and body cameras, adding that funding for the body cameras were handled “in conjunction with the Sheriff’s Office.”
He said, “The body armor is an issue that is being worked out, to find alternative funding … the possibility that our Emergency Squad can issue grants to other County agencies.”
Later Lachowsky added that the Ordinance creates a new budget item, Department 0407 Sheriff Reserve Unit, that’s an “extension of the Sheriff’s Office” because the organization “derives its law enforcement authority from the Sheriff.”
Higgins, as Chair, placed both Ordinances on the table for discussion, and Lachowsky pointed out that the Committee is considering two identical draft ordinances that specify funding sources for the $136,265 needed for radios: the American Rescue Plan (ARP) and the CARES Act fund.
Lachowsky explained that appropriating ARP funds means that any unused funds must “remain for that purpose (communications)” but if CARES Act funds were used and the Reserve Unit didn’t spend all the money, the Reserve Unit could spend that money on other needs.
Roland: Use ARP Funds
Roland commented that she favors using ARP funds, once she confirmed that the Quorum Court could change the funding source at a later date, should the need arise. She said there are “things in the County” that are better funded from the CARES Act, adding
I don’t want to see the CARES Act nibbled at to the point that we go, ‘Oh my goodness, as a County we really should have saved that money to use for this’ because we really need that as a County.
She mentioned the changing ARP guidelines, and Higgins confirmed we’re still operating under “interim guidelines,” adding “there is a bill in Washington that would give leniency up to $10 million, and all of that is tied up with the infrastructure bill and the politics involved in that….”
Higgins: Doesn’t Fit Current ARP Guidelines
Higgins added, “I want the guys to know I’m 100% supportive of finding funds for this,” but said the radios didn’t “fit the guidelines” for ARP funding, “whereas, if we get to that point where $10 million of it is more free, that takes the gloves off completely.”
Later he added,
We probably don’t need to be too afraid to spend CARES Act money. I mean, I get it. Because it doesn’t have any strings that is a lot of opportunity for a lot of different areas, including this one. So I think it’s worth debate, and if we could get it out of the ARP, that really would be best.
Radios are Failing Daily
Sheriff Reserve Brian Tyner reminded JPs that
Our radios are on a very short timeline where they’re not going to work anymore, to the point where they’re failing daily and we can’t get them fixed… Once this group doesn’t have any radios, we will be unable to support the Sheriff’s Office….
I would love to see and urge this Committee to get this in front of the Quorum Court as soon as possible. Once we order, we have a timeline on getting this stuff in, getting a program going, getting our officers trained and getting them into their hands. And we are out of time. We are getting to the point where they are failing faster than we can deal with….
I understand there’s a process, that it’s got to go to the Committee, the Quorum Court… But we need it as fast as possible.
Roland moved to take the funds from the American Rescue Plan, and Lachowsky provided the second and she later amended the motion to send the Ordinance to the Budget & Finance Committee, rather than the full Court.
Murphy: ARP Funding is a “Tenuous Sell”
Lachowsky asked County Attorney Phil Murphy to repeat the allowed uses for ARP funds under the current draft guidelines but then Higgins asked Murphy to give the County’s “comfort level.”
Murphy reiterated the “four main areas that the American Rescue Plan covers,” adding, “this is a much more tenuous sell,” and ruminated on “the damages you may have long-term that the County may have to pay back with interest” if the federal government doesn’t agree with the County’s funding “I don’t feel comfortable saying that it’s not eligible, but I can’t tell you that it’s not eligible,” he said.
Proponents of using ARP funds said the Reserve Unit had “supported the Sheriff’s Office” during COVID and so the proposed use would fit the government requirements, while proponents of using CARES Act money focused on a more strict interpretation of the current draft guidelines for using ARP federal COVID relief money.
County General Has $166,697 Unappropriated
At one point, Darter reported that “County General also has $166,697.88 that’s not been appropriated, that’s available.”
Pearson Why Not From Sheriff’s Fund?
When Pearson asked about funding the radios from the Sheriff’s Office budget, Higgins reminded him that the Reserve Unit is a “non-profit C-4” organization that works for donations and is self-funded, taking no funding from the County’s Criminal Justice sales tax.
Pearson asked
I’m not saying I’m against the money coming from these revenue streams but why shouldn’t it come from the Sheriff’s Office and his communications fund, that he has sole discretion over, to buy communications equipment just like this?…
My point is, if the Sheriff thought it was really, really important, he could write a check without our approval tomorrow and I would just have, for me personally… before I would vote to support something from these funds I would just need to know why that’s not being done.
Ryals responded
…This is some of the issues I’ve been crying over for five years. This is why we’re so far behind… We have a radio fund that is there, but that’s in case of an emergency.
When our radios go down, we’re out of business, and so you see how … we’re barely maintaining what we have. I’m telling you we still need radios, too.
After reviewing the details of the last purchase of radios from the Communication Facility and Equipment Fund, Wooley added
We have an upgrade to our current software system that we’re awaiting the invoice for, and that’s going to be anywhere from … $80,000 to $100,000 and that’s where we plan to pay for that upgrade out of.
It’s a total revamp of our records management system and so we’re safeguarding that amount of money to pay for it and not have to come to the Court to ask for that appropriation.
Pearson pressed on, asking for the fund balance, and Wooley reported “we are at $282,000 and change, and we have had expenses of $170,000 and change already.”
Reserve Unit Commander Monty Harper, saying “You weren’t here the last time…,” reported to Pearson, “in the last 24 to 18 months we’ve saved the County over a $1,000,000, so asking for $140-$130,000 for radios? That’s cheap … a million dollars in manpower that would have come from ya’ll’s budget, or our citizens would have lacked services….
Saying she “really feels confident that there’s going to be some [federal guidelines] that are relaxed,” Roland moved to fund the Reserve Unit’s funding request for radios using the American Rescue Plan, and Lachowsky seconded.
The Committee voice voted unanimously to send Ordinance 21-39 to the Budget & Finance Committee.
Resolution 21-06, Tax Break for LEOs
Ryals reported that the Sheriffs’ Association is advocating for all 75 counties to pass a Resolution in support of a state income tax credit for full-time law enforcement officers.
Higgins said the Association of Arkansas Counties also supports the tax credit proposal in the Arkansas Legislature, and asked the Committee to pass Resolution 21-06 to the full Court.
Lachowsky made the formal motion, which Roland seconded. With very little discussion, JPs quickly voice voted unanimously to pass Resolution 21-06, and the meeting adjourned.
Videos edited from original video on Faulkner County’s YouTube channel.)
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