The Jefferson County Quorum Court on Monday will be asked to approve a proposed ordinance requiring the County Clerk’s Office to revise, amend, restate, codify and compile “certain existing general ordinances and resolutions.”
The Jefferson County Clerk’s Office however says that they are already doing most of the things the ordinance is proposing.
On Wednesday, the day after the proposed ordinance was discussed in committees, a reporter visited the clerk’s office where Clerk-elect Shawndra Taggart, who will take office Jan. 1, showed the reporter a book containing all the ordinances and resolutions adopted by the county’s legislative body this year, as well as indexes from not only this year but previous years. She also pointed out a number of file cabinets containing copies of ordinances and resolutions dating back to 1976, and said earlier years are in storage in the basement.
While the reporter watched, a deputy clerk, using an office computer, typed in the word Coroner into an existing program which pulled up the ordinance or resolution number of anything dealing with the Coroner’s Office. There is a public computer terminal in the office for the same purpose.
Contacted on Thursday, Byrd said he would prefer that all those ordinances and resolutions be on line where members of the Quorum Court and citizens could view them without having to go to the courthouse.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The problem with Byrd’s idea however is that the county does not currently have a website where that information could be accessed.
Daniel Marks, the legislative assistant to County Judge Dutch King said there have been discussions about a county website but so far, but there has been nothing beyond the discussion stage in terms of who would manage the site and how it would be paid for.
Marks said that at one time, Connect Arkansas furnished the county a free website under a two-year agreement but it had very limited content and the agreement between the company and county ran out because the county did not have the funds to pay the monthly service costs.
A check of the county website showed that the last activity on it was in 2014.
“I think it’s a great idea but there needs to be some dialog about how much it’s going to cost and who is going to do it,” Taggart said.
In other business, the justices of the peace will vote on an ordinance that would extend the 2016 fiscal year budget through the first quarter of 2017 to allow incoming County Judge Henry “Hank” Wilkins IV and the new Quorum Court to have input into it. Wilkins also takes office Jan. 1 and has set budget hearings for county offices and departments Tuesday beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Other items on the agenda Monday include:
* A resolution reappointing Ann Talbot and Linda Johnson Banks to the Pine Bluff/Jefferson County Library Board.
* A resolution reappointing Pam McFall and Ruby Poteet and appointing Rev. David Morgan to the Pine Bluff-Jefferson County Historical Museum Commission.
* An appropriation ordinance of $17,000 for Jefferson County Drug Court for activities, supplies and training. The funds would come from fees from drug court participants and grants.
* An appropriation ordinance of $12,100 to the FINS and Truancy Fund for training and education, teen court and miscellaneous expenses. The funds would come from the Circuit Court Juvenile Division Fund.
* An appropriation ordinance of $8,458.92 for the County Clerk’s Office for part-time salaries, supplies and computer services. The funds would come from the County Clerk Cost Fund.