Last 2021-2022 QC Meeting: Some Easy Choices, Some Not
It took JPs almost three hours to work their way through easy choices and some not-so-easy Ordinances at the last Quorum Court meeting of the 2021-2022 term on December 20.
The outgoing Court eventually passed an amended 2023 Budget, but rejected a new “ARP Administrator” position as well as a JP pay increase for 2023.
JP Tyler Lachowsky (R, Dist. 6) was absent due to a family obligation and there were no public comments.
This was the last Quorum Court meeting for outgoing Democrat County Judge Jim Baker and JPs Randy Higgins (R, Dist. 2) and John Pickett (D, Dist. 11), who did not run for the 2023-2024 term after each had spent many years serving as JPs.
For the first order of business, Baker announced the swearing-in of newly elected Republican County Judge Allen Dodson and the new/returning JPs, noting that early paperwork from the state of Arkansas prompted the somewhat informal ceremony.
County Officers’ Reports
County Treasurer Scott Sanson discussed November financials, as he had presented to the Budget & Finance Committee the week before.
He said November revenue totals are 106% of projected, and reported these totals for the “big five” revenue accounts:
County General: $4,808,942
County Road: $4,334,361
County Road Sales Tax: $3,371,651
Animal Control: $1,477,665
Criminal Justice Sales Tax: $2,633,481
CARES Act Fund: $1,038,201
ARP Funds: $23,427,814
After Sheriff Tim Ryals read his activity report, he said the 2022 pay increases had helped the Department’s turnover situation. However, he added that “Conway just had significant pay increases,” which puts wage pressure on both existing staff and the application process.
“Easy” Ordinances
The Court easily passed four Ordinances unanimously with little discussion:
Ordinance 22-54, Annual Millage Levy
Ordinance 22-58, Appropriations
Ordinance 22-61, Remove Part-Time from Health Insurance
Ordinance 22-62, Transfers for Sheriff’s Department
Ordinance 22-59, ARP Administrator
Several of the more conservative Republican JPs voiced their concerns about Ordinance 22-59, ARP Administrator, as JPs mulled the difficult topic for almost an hour before reaching a decision.
Sponsor JP Jerry Boyer (R, Dist. 12) read what appeared to be a prepared statement that characterized Ordinance 22-59 as a “request from Judge-elect Allen Dodson” for a new “budget-neutral, position-neutral” ARP Administrator to be added to the Judge’s staff beginning in 2023.
At Higgins’ request, Dodson explained his Ordinance, which was first publicly presented at last week’s Personnel Committee and fast-tracked through the Budget Committee that night to this week’s Quorum Court meeting for consideration.
Splitting the 11-person Republican majority, JPs eventually voted against the Ordinance after a few failed attempts to compromise on the idea of a new, permanent position in the County Judge’s office to administer the County’s $24 million in ARP funds. (More details here.)
Ordinance 22-60, Quorum Court Raises
As he’d told the December’s Budget Committee when discussing the proposed Quorum Court raise, Personnel Committee chair JP Tyler Pearson (D, Dist. 7) explained that he prepared the proposed $710.50/meeting figure from 2022 “numbers from the Arkansas Association of Counties.”
He said his Ordinance does not change the current per diem for committee meetings or the mileage provisions of the original Ordinance 20-02 and that Faulkner County JPs are paid at the second lowest rate of the Class 6 counties.
Repeating some of their earlier comments, several JPs expressed their hesitancy to vote for a raise for themselves, despite several appeals from Pearson about the “responsibility of this body” to set pay for the entire County.
After a short discussion and a couple of tries at compromise, JPs voted 7-5 to reject the Ordinance, with JPs John Allison (R, Dist. 3), Boyer, Matt Brown (R, Dist. 8), Higgins, and Andy Shock (R, Dist. 10) voting “no.” (More details here.)
Ordinance 22-63, 2023 Budget
JPs wrangled back and forth through several 7-5 votes before finally agreeing to implement a 4% COLA in the 2023 Budget, despite the unanimous decision by the Budget & Finance Committee to recommend 6%.
The only other change to the 2023 Budget, as submitted, was the reinstatement of funding that was cut during the budget process from the spay and neuter program, setting that total 2023 amount at $80,000.
JPs voted 10-2 to approve a motion by JP Kris Kendrick (R, Dist. 9) to reinstate that funding, with Boyer voting “present” and Higgins voting “no.”
As before, conservative JPs spoke about the “aggressive” pay hikes the Court has approved this year and, at one point, it seemed the topic was dead for the night after a few failed 7-5 votes.
But, after a few more back-and-forth votes, JPs voted to approve Allison’s motion to set the COLA at 4%, with Boyer, Higgins, Pickett, and JP Jake Moss (R, Dist. 13) voting “no” and Pearson voting “present.”
JPs immediately voted 9-2 to pass Ordinance 22-63, with Pickett and JP Sam Strain (R, Dist. 4) voting “no.” Boyer voted “present.” (More details here.)
Ordinance 22-64, ARP Funds: Lake Conway Wastewater Utility
As he did with the Infrastructure Committee, Strain outlined the ARP project, with Baker giving more information in addition to what he had said to the Infrastructure Committee.
Although the Infrastructure Committee had voted unanimously earlier in the evening to bypass the Budget Committee and fast-track Strain’s Ordinance to the Quorum Court, Boyer moved to “consider in the next Quorum Court next year,” and Higgins seconded.
County Attorney Phil Murphy said passing the Ordinance at this meeting is problematic because of the timelines governing publication of ordinances and because the Court hadn’t been able to ask Conway Corp questions about the project. He asked that Ordinance 22-64 be tabled.
After asking several questions about the wastewater situation on Lake Conway, JPs voted unanimously to postpone the Ordinance until 2023. It was unclear what steps Strain should take next, or how the approval process for the Ordinance should get started under 2023’s new County Judge and newly elected Quorum Court.
Appointment
After Baker announced the re-appointment of Jaysson Funkhouser to the Lake Conway Wastewater Board, the meeting adjourned.
Videos edited from original video on Faulkner County’s YouTube channel.)
Visit Faulkner County Reports on YouTube for more videos and video excerpts from this and other County meetings.
