Court Passes 7 Ordinances, 4 Resolutions in August

Faulkner County’s Quorum Court zipped through its agenda with near-unanimous votes and very little discussion on seven Ordinances and four Resolutions presented at the August 16 meeting.

With only a scattering of remarks, JPs put dues hikes for three volunteer fire departments on the November ballot and added a new spot in the 1st Division Circuit Court and approved $5,000 stipends for the Drug Task Force as well as two new School Resource Officers for Greenbrier Public Schools in addition to the monthly appropriations.

JP Jerry Boyer (R, Dist. 12) was absent for the 45-minute meeting. JPs Randy Higgins (R, Dist. 2) and Matt Brown (R, Dist. 8) were absent for the first portion of the meeting, although Brown came in later. Higgins arrived late and left the meeting early.

Treasurer Report

Jennie Felling, Chief Deputy in the County Treasurer’s office, gave revenue account totals through July, adding the County is at 66% of projected revenue for 2022.

County General $4,323,436
County Road $3,015,129
County Road Sales Tax $3,543,797
Animal Control $1,414,467
Criminal Justice Sales Tax $2,286,790
CARES Act $1,069,006
ARP $23,462,888

Sheriff’s Report

County Sheriff Tim Ryals read off the July statistics from the Sheriff’s Department, including

•   68 animals calls / 19 citations
•   145 average capacity, Unit 1 (maximum legal capacity is 118)
•   40 average Dept. of Corrections inmates “is a good number,” Ryals noted
•   2,784 calls to dispatch
•   2,161 total calls to the Sheriff’s Department

Ordinance 22-33, Monthly Appropriations

With very few remarks, the Court quickly and unanimously passed the monthly appropriations.

Ordinance 22-34, Greenbrier School Resource Officers

JP Sam Strain (R, Dist. 4) pointed out that the total cost, including benefits, is $61,678 for just August through December (remainder of this calendar year, not a full school year). He added, “I understand we’re not paying for that but it’s important … to understand the salary’s not all the cost.”

Greenbrier Schools reimburses the County for the cost of the two new Resource Officers, who are considered Sheriff’s Department employees and will be working for the Sheriff’s Department during months when school is not in session.

As he did in the Personnel Committee discussion last week, JP John Allison (R, Dist. 3) — who is a teacher in the Vilonia Public Schools — pointed out that the Arkansas School Safety Commission (on which he serves) would soon be “strongly recommending” that each school have “an armed security person, preferably an SRO” on duty.

He added

I appreciate the Greenbrier School District and the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Department working in cooperation to make this happen. I think our kids are going to be safer because of it.

When JP Tyler Lachowsky (R, Dist. 9) asked about possible arrangements with other schools in the County, Ryals explained, “We do have an SRO … that travels between Mt. Vernon, Enola, and Guy.”

Ordinance 22-35, $5,000 Stipend Prosecutor’s Office

Strain confirmed that the $5,000 stipend/Ordinance for five members of the Drug Task Force in the Prosecutor’s Office is paid by the State of Arkansas, although the County is responsible for “the retirement,” per County Judge Jim Baker — a total of $3,830 from County General for these five officers.

As Strain asked about the total cost to the County for Sheriff’s deputies, Fiscal Officer Angie Wooley confirmed that the Sheriff’s Department “will be forthcoming to the Court” for the $5,000 stipends for Sheriff’s deputies.

Ordinance 22-39, New Position in 1st Division Circuit Court

JPs unanimously passed this Ordinance with no discussion.

Resolution 22-03 (Amended), WestRock Coffee Co.

JPs passed the amended Resolution, made necessary because of an incorrect company name on the original, with no discussion.

Dues Hikes for Volunteer Fire Departments on Ballot

With brief explanatory remarks, the Court passed three sets of paired Resolutions/Ordinances that will allow patrons of local volunteer fire departments to vote on proposed dues hikes in November.

However, it was the only time at the meeting that votes were not unanimous as JP Justin Knight (R, Dist. 1) voted “no” on all six measures.

The Court passed these paired Resolutions/Ordinances:

• Resolution 22-06 & Ordinance 22-36, Highway 286 Volunteer Fire Department
• Resolution 22-07 (passed as corrected, with no public notice, from the incorrectly marked Liberty Volunteer Fire Department Resolution passed at last week’s committee meetings) & Ordinance 22-37, Cato Volunteer Fire Department
• Resolution 22-08 & Ordinance 22-38, Highway 286 Volunteer Fire Department

“Animal Rescuer” Gives Statement

Baker invited J.R. Wiley, whom he described as an “animal rescuer,” to discuss liability issues. Mentioning the 9 stray dogs/9 stray puppies Wiley is currently keeping at his home, he said,

As far as I know, these are County dogs…. What can be done with these dogs legally? Who owns these dogs? If I have them spayed or neutered … can someone come back and say ‘Hey, that was my prize beagle!’?

I just want to present the situation the County is going to be in, in the near future once the shelter is open.

Baker invited Wiley to speak to County Attorney Phil Murphy, adding, “I don’t know about the liability issue … I think you and the Counselor for the County need to get together because you have an issue you’re concerned about…. It’s a big issue and thank you for bringing it up.”

Videos edited from original video on Faulkner County’s YouTube channel.)

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