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An old publisher once said, “don’t mess with people’s pay.” He actually used more colorful language, but the point always stuck: no matter what people are paid, a manager needs to move earth and sky to make sure they get their money, all of their money, on time. That is the bargain you made with them when you hired them to come to work.
Those in charge of Jefferson County government would do well to consider and follow that sound rule of life. And yet, they have let themselves get into a bind, created in part by their own hubris, to the extent that they have allowed hundreds of people in the county’s employ to go payday-less for the entire month of January. We wouldn’t be surprised if they all have this hung around their necks come election time — deservedly.
If you have watched any of the proceedings, you have watched all of them, because they follow the same script. If it were a movie, you’d change the channel because you’d know how it ends. We’re surprised they stay on the same page long enough to say the pledge of allegiance. And the prayer beforehand has become a joke in that the asking of God to guide the proceedings by a pastor is sincere, but no sooner is he done than the bickering starts.
Several stories in The Commercial have highlighted the friction points. We won’t re-enumerate those here, because this political dust-up has been going on for two years now. We thought things would simmer down in 2025 with the defeat of Lloyd Franklin II on the Quorum Court, he being the chief instigator in causing headaches, but now he stands nearby smiling like a proud father as the anxiety continues in his absence at the table.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Another meeting is scheduled for Tuesday. Hope springs eternal, but it would not appear that either side will wake up, slap themselves upside the head and realize they should stay in their seats on Tuesday evening until a budget is passed and county employees’ pay is restored.
That leaves the only white horse on the horizon being the one ridden by three local lawmakers. State Rep. Glenn Barnes has sponsored a piece of legislation — House Bill 1331 — with Reps. Ken Ferguson and Mike Holcomb co-sponsoring it. The bill, which has been read twice and is now with a House committee for consideration, would require a quorum court to continue to operate on last year’s budget if a new budget was not passed in time. It’s not fancy, but it goes to the heart of Jefferson County’s government woes.
And oddly — because the two sides of the Quorum Court rarely see eye-to-eye on anything — the opposing sides all seem to appreciate the lawmakers’ efforts to help with the problem. Is this the way out of the morass?
Even sped up, state legislation has to run its course, which can take time. People are hurting now. It would be better if the meeting on Tuesday ended with a solution. But if that get-together ends like so many others, with a frustrated county judge gaveling the meeting to a close, at least there is a glimmer of hope out of Little Rock that a solution could be at hand. Thank you Reps. Barnes, Ferguson and Holcomb for — maybe — coming to the rescue.