‘Tis the season to be jolly as the Jefferson County Quorum Court unanimously passed an ordinance to levy the 2023 taxes to be collected in 2024 on Wednesday night during the Jefferson County Quorum Court meeting.
Approximately 75% of the collected taxes go to the school districts. Jefferson County receives 10% and the Road Department receives approximately 8%. The ordinance had to be passed by Dec. 31 or all government operations would have been shut down for 2024 except emergency services, according to county officials.
Identical agendas were released from both the county judge’s office and the county clerk’s office earlier this week and all 13 justices were in attendance in the short and sweet meeting inside a standing-room-only quorum chamber filled with concerned citizens.
Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson said Tuesday night he was positive that the Quorum Court would pass its 2023 tax rate to approve a budget for 2024 and avoid a local government shutdown.
Justice of the Peace Lloyd Franklin Jr., who has been the most vocal member of the Quorum Court, told The Commercial on Tuesday that all the eight justices, who in the past have not supported Robinson’s agenda at the advice of their attorney due to a lawsuit against them filed by Robinson, were in agreement to pass the ordinance. The disagreement between the two sides has stalled much of the county’s business for the better part of 2023.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“Moving forward, the resolve of the Quorum Court is to work collaboratively with Judge Robinson and other supportive justices for the betterment of Jefferson County,” said Franklin, who added that their focus remains on the people’s agenda.
“All of the justices unanimously voted for this,” said Robinson, adding this move showed that they all could come together. “I think that deserves a round of applause.”
As the applause echoed through the courtroom, Robinson thanked the justices of the peace for coming together to pass the ordinance.
“This was a grave concern to the public and those concerned municipalities and school districts and the county at large,” said Robinson. “It’s a sigh of relief for the assessor’s office.”
Robinson is hoping he and the Quorum Court can now come together to approve the county’s budget, which will be considered at a meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 27.