Despite efforts by state lawmakers to help Jefferson County government find a solution to its budget impasses, the Quorum Court on Tuesday night once again failed to pass a spending measure for 2025.
Two of those lawmakers, state Reps. Glenn Barnes and Ken Ferguson, attended Tuesday night’s Quorum Court meeting, but their presence did not seem to matter as the meeting once again devolved into a heated debate between certain justices of the peace and County Judge Gerald Robinson.
HB1331 has been introduced in the Arkansas House of Representatives by Barnes, Ferguson, and Rep. Mike Holcomb and referred to the Committee on City, County & Local Affairs. The primary goal of HB1331 is to provide a safety net for county governments in situations where the annual budget process is delayed or stalled.
The bill would allow counties in such a predicament to automatically revert to the previous year’s budget, preventing potential shutdowns of essential services, ensure continuity of operations and allow county employees to continue to be paid. Jefferson County employees have not been paid since December because of the budget impasse. Tuesday night was the fifth attempt by the Quorum Court to pass a budget.
From the outset, it was clear that there were deep divisions over the budget. Two proposed budgets, Robinson’s and one put forth by the majority of the quorum court members, were on the agenda, with the budget presented by the majority voted down during a committee meeting.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Justice of the Peace Reginald Adams expressed frustration with the repeated failures of the Quorum Court to thoroughly examine and pass the budget. He questioned the justifications for the proposed budget cuts and raises, stating, “I want to know where all of these illegal raises are that I keep hearing about.”
“I can’t seem to find them, but we won’t talk about it,” he said.
Tempers flared as accusations of “illegal raises” and procedural violations were exchanged. Robinson attempted to maintain order, but the meeting continued to spin out of control.
Public comments further fueled the controversy. Former JP Lloyd Franklin II, who identified himself as a private citizen, questioned the legality of a Human Resources meeting, claiming that it was held without proper notice to the public. He also raised concerns about the lack of an agenda and the failure to follow proper procedures.
“The majority of the Quorum Court members were not notified of the Human Resource meeting and there was no notice of the Human Resources meeting,” he said.
“I’m sure that everyone was aware…even though it came from the county clerk’s office, it still went out,” replied Robinson who told Franklin he was the main problem.
Tempers flared again as the meeting progressed, with JPs and members of the public interrupting and talking over each other. Robinson accused the majority of attempting to manipulate the budget process, stating, “You sit there and say the same budget when I’ve made concessions.”
The concessions Robinson was willing to make were:
- Reducing the raise for chief of staff and setting that person’s pay at $70,000
- Setting the juvenile administrator’s salary at $75,000
- Eliminating “known nepotism” in the County Assessor’s office
- Removing all new slot positions for the County Clerk’s office, including the legislative liaison position
- Reducing the office manager’s salary to $65,000
- Restoring jail slots to their previous levels
These concessions were offered in an attempt to reach a compromise and pass the budget.
The meeting reached a boiling point when JP Reginald Johnson attempted to introduce a motion to replace the proposed budget with the 2024 budget and its amendments. This move was met with resistance from other JPs and Robinson, who argued that the 2024 budget was not on the agenda and that the focus should be on getting the current budget passed to ensure county operations and employee pay.
“I’d like to bring a motion that we replace the budget that you’re proposing with the budget from 2024, with all amendments in total,” said Johnson.
The JPs continued to argue over the proposed budget and amendments, with Robinson emphasizing the need to “get these people paid,” while others raised concerns about specific line items and the overall budget process.
County Attorney Terry Wynne was called on to address legal questions surrounding the budget process, particularly in light of the pending state bill that could potentially revert the county back to the 2024 budget if the Quorum Court failed to adopt a new budget. The attorney cautioned that the implications of the bill were unclear, as the Quorum Court had not officially approved a budget in recent years.
As the chaotic meeting continued, Robinson called for a vote on the proposed budget, which failed. Voting “no” were Adams, Alfred Carroll, Melanie Dumas, Brenda Bishop Gaddy, Cedric Jackson, Johnson and Margarette Williams. JPs Roy Agee, Dr. Conley Byrd, Jimmy Fisher, Ted Harden and Patricia Royal Johnson voted “yes.”
In an attempt to hold a second meeting, which failed due to the lack of members, Carroll made a final plea for cooperation, urging the minority quorum court members to “take up the budget that the majority of the quorum court members support.”
“I don’t want us to be the first county that that statute has to be used on so I am asking those minority quorum court members to take up the budget that the majority of the quorum court members support along with the employees of Jefferson County and pass that budget,” said Carroll. “We don’t want that law with us to be a news.”