Quorum Court Committees Name Chairs & Begin Work
Three of Faulkner County Quorum Court’s new working committees met for the first time on February 14 to select their chairs and begin the work of the 2023-2024 term.
In less than 90 minutes, the Budget Committee also moved on several Ordinances and the Courts & Public Safety Committee approved one Resolution; the Budget and Personnel Committees reviewed operational details.
Budget & Finance Committee
After voting to retain County Judge Allen Dodson’s nominee JP Tyler Lachowsky (R, Dist. 6) as Budget Committee Chair, the Committee unanimously approved routine appropriations Ordinance 23-04 (2022 Budget cleanup) and Ordinance 23-05 (monthly transfers) as well as Ordinance 23-06 for the County’s portion of a stipend awarded to the Sheriff’s Department.
Lachowsky also led a discussion about the Budget Committee’s duties and responsibilities. He will also set up a public meeting for a “training session” on Faulkner County budgeting with County Treasurer Scott Sanson, who provided the Budget Committee with several informational details during this first meeting of the 2023-2024 term.
Ordinance 23-07, ARP Funds: Lake Conway Wastewater
After a lengthy discussion and remarks from Jaysson Funkhouser of the Lake Conway Community Wastewater Utility Board, the Budget Committee (after noting the typo in the Ordinance title) voted unanimously to forward Ordinance 23-07, ARP Funds: Lake Conway Wastewater to the full Quorum Court for approval.
The Ordinance would appropriate $800,000 of the County’s ARP funds to pay half the total $1.6 million project costs to shut down the existing Lake Conway water treatment plant and consolidate those operations within Conway Corp. Remaining funding, including funds to pay off the still remaining $300,000 loan balance from the original construction, will come from a grant from the State of Arkansas.
Personnel Chooses Kendrick as Chair
Following the Budget Committee’s lead, the Personnel Committee quickly voted unanimously to retain Dodson’s nominee JP Kris Kendrick (R, Dist. 6) for Chair.
Kendrick briefly outlined the role of the Personnel Committee, and asked Murphy to review with JPs how sensitive personnel issues are handled in a legal “executive session.”
As Lachowsky had done, Kendrick also requested that agenda items be e-mailed to him by Thursdays before the regular Tuesday meeting and copied to Quorum Court Secretariat Margaret Darter and County Attorney Phil Murphy.
Citing transparency, he said his committee would seek comment on agenda items from not only Personnel Committee members, but also from other JPs and elected officials and then also from the public.
Kendrick distributed information on “Personnel Committee helpful resources,” including the Quorum Court’s organizational Ordinance 23-01, the County’s Personnel manual, and various publications from the Association of Arkansas Counties.
A New Chair
In a surprise move, former Sheriff and Quorum Court veteran JP Andy Shock (R, Dist. 10), Dodson’s nominee for Committee Chair, cited his “busy schedule” and asked for a replacement. JPs quickly nominated and unanimously approved JP Maree Coats (R, Dist. 2) to run the Committee.
After OEM Director Shelia Bellot discussed the reasons for the Resolution, the Committee voice voted unanimously to pass Resolution 23-02, OEM Mutual Aid, and that 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.
