JPs Move on Salary Hikes, VFD Dues Election, Overdose Response Team
As we reported earlier, Faulkner County’s Quorum Court Committees took major action at Committee meetings on September 12. In addition to routine business, JPs approved a dues election in March for the Pine Village Volunteer Fire Department and took the first step to hiking salaries for some 125 Faulkner County employees, as well as moved forward on approving a new overdose response team at the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office.
All Ordinances and Resolutions on Tuesday’s agendas except one were approved. JP Tyler Pearson (D, Dist. 11) advanced the motion to approve Personnel Resolution 23-01 but the motion died in the Personnel Committee for lack of a second.
The other five approved Personnel Committee Resolutions for County employee raises will be added into the calculations for the 2024 budget cycle, which Budget Chair JP Tyler Lachowsky (R, Dist. 6) says will begin in October.
Overdose Response Team
A new Overdose Response Team in the Sheriff’s Office — including a full-time investigator and full-time peer recovery specialist — is funded for one year by a selective grant from the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership (ARORP).
As reported at TheCabin.net:
The Personnel Committee also met Tuesday were [sic] members voted unanimously to send an ordinance to the full court that creates a full-time investigator position and a full-time peer recovery specialist position in the Faulkner County Sheriff’s Office.
These positions create an overdose response team within the FCSO as part of the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership (ARORP), of which the FCSO was selected to participate in.
The salaries of the two positions according to the ordinance are $45,976.32 for the Investigator position $30,000 for the peer recovery specialist position.
This comes from a fully-funded grant for two years for these positions and the goal of the ORT is to combat overdose and drug addictions in Faulkner County. The investigator specifically will pursue criminal charges against people who deal to overdoes [sic] victims in the county.
The item was approved to be forwarded to the Budget and Finance Committee by an unanimous vote.
Personnel Committee:
Volunteer Fire Department Dues Election
The dues election Resolution/Ordinance for the Pine Village Volunteer Fire Department — with an emergency clause — now moves to the full Quorum Court for its consideration on September 21.
TheCabin.net reported:
The Pine Village Volunteer FD said that the increase in fire dues is needed because the cost of equipment has gone up significantly over the years.
If the people vote on the item at the March election, the dues levied by the Pine Village Volunteer FD would be collected each year. The amounts being voted on are $60 per residence, $15 per parcel of unimproved land up to 40 acres; $25 per parcel of unimproved land equal to or greater than 40 acres; $45 per apartment or duplex unit per parcel; $125 per parcel for each commercial or industrial business with a structure of 5,000 square feet or fewer; and $150 per parcel for each commercial or industrial business with a structure of 5,001 square feet or more.
The Courts and Public Safety Committee voted unanimously to send the item to the full court for final approval at the next Quorum Court meeting.
The decision does not increase the dues as of now, and committee members only voted on placing the item on the ballot for the people that the fire department serves to vote on in March.
After that quick approval, the Courts & Public Safety Committee devoted the remainder of its time to informative updates on the proposed animal shelter and County Judge Allen Dodson’s plans for the long-awaited jail expansion project.
Full Courts & Public Safety Committee:
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 and events.
