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A monthslong budget stalemate in Jefferson County has resulted in delayed employee paychecks and now an attempt by state legislators to intervene.
The Quorum Court and County Judge Gerald Robinson have been at odds over the 2025 budget, with Robinson refusing to significantly amend his proposed budget and the justices of the peace unable to pass their own.
The impasse prompted Pine Bluff-based Reps. Glenn Barnes Jr., Democrat; Mike Holcomb, Republican; and Ken Ferguson, Democrat, to establish a temporary budget for counties in such predicaments. Several justices of the peace expressed gratitude for the state’s intervention and frustration with Robinson’s handling of the budget process.
Introduced on Thursday during the Arkansas General Assembly, House Bill 1331 would mandate that counties continue to operate under the previous year’s annual appropriation ordinance if a new one is not adopted in time.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
House Bill 1331 amends Arkansas Code § 14-14-904(b)(1)(A)(ii) by adding a crucial provision: If a county quorum court fails to pass a new annual appropriation ordinance, the county is required to continue its operations based on the previous year’s ordinance. This includes the payment of salaries to county employees, ensuring that there is no interruption in their compensation.
The bill has been read twice in the House and has now been referred to the City, County and Local Affairs Committee.
The Jefferson County Quorum Court has split 7-to-6 — and now 7-to-5 after one justice of the peace resigned — over Robinson’s budget with the majority opposed to it, but not a large enough majority to pass one of their own. Consequently, county workers have not been paid in 2025.
The bill also includes an emergency clause, highlighting the urgency of the situation. The General Assembly found that the inability to pass an annual appropriation ordinance could severely impact the county’s ability to provide basic services and pay its employees. This, in turn, threatens the public peace, health and safety of county residents.
Justices of the Peace Brenda Bishop Gaddy and Melanie Dumas thanked the state legislators and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders for their help during this “critical time,” emphasizing the governor’s concern for county employees.
“I am so grateful to Rep. Barnes, Rep. Holcomb, and Rep. Ferguson for putting forth this bill to try and assist Jefferson County while we continue to work on this budget,” said Dumas. “We have been trying to work with the county judge and other justices to try to pass a budget that would make sure the county employees get paid.”
Justice of the Peace Reginald Johnson expressed his appreciation for the state legislators’ efforts and his commitment to preventing similar situations in the future.
“This bill will be pivotal in addressing situations where county governments face procedural delays due to impasses,” he said. “I remain committed to working tirelessly to ensure we prevent this from happening again in the future.”
Justice of the Peace Cedric Jackson expressed his appreciation as well for the state representatives and governor over their involvement in resolving the situation.
“It’s a shame where he (Robinson) states that he supports the bill and he was the first to deny multiple motions in reference to this bill,” said Jackson. “I made a motion in two consecutive meetings and I received a second to my motion and the judge denied the motion along with the county attorney saying that we couldn’t pass that type of motion in reference to the ’24 budget. I’m glad and it’s an honor for the state representatives and the governor to get involved with this situation because we have so many families, businesses and just the entire county that have been affected by this shutdown.”
Jackson acknowledged the hardships faced by county workers, some of whom lost their jobs due to the shutdown. He extended an apology to the entire Jefferson County community and businesses for the difficulties they endured. Jackson called for unity within Jefferson County, emphasizing the importance of working together and staying strong. He also expressed his faith and belief that God will continue to provide for the community.
Justice of the Peace Alfred Carroll, who has been very vocal during this battle, had only one act of expression, which was to give thanks.
“I say thank the Lord, my fellow JPs, county employees and the entire Pine Bluff-Jefferson County community,” said Carroll. “I thank all those who have chipped in to lessen the need and stress of county employees and I especially thank our state legislative team.”
Carroll said he hopes the proposed legislation has an automatic Jan. 1 effective date and a 30- to 60-day window for use.
Justice of the Peace Reginald Adams, typically reserved and quiet during meetings, has become more vocal in recent meetings. While he welcomed the assistance, he criticized Robinson for “blocking the Quorum Court from exercising its legislative duty.”
“For the past month, we have been trying to pass a fair budget, or at the very least, adopt the 2024 budget as a temporary solution as I offered in the Jan. 20 Quorum Court meeting several times,” said Adams. “If Judge Robinson intended to amend it, we could have done so long ago. However, he and six other justices refused to sit down and discuss necessary changes — it was always ‘his budget or no budget.'”
Justice of the Peace Margarette Williams also blamed Robinson for the situation, stating that his refusal to collaborate with the Quorum Court had delayed employee paychecks.
“Several of us openly supported the idea to continue with the 2024 county budget for the time until an adequate budget could be considered by the justices,” she said. “Judge Robinson refused to entertain any attempts to amend his budget plans. … He has 13 Justices, our collective leadership on the proposal at hand would have had people paid weeks ago.”
Currently, there are 12 justice of the peace, following the resignation of Danny Holcomb, who said he had gotten threats and thought it best to step down for the safety of his family. That position has not been filled.
According to the justices of the peace, in January, the Quorum Court proposed a 2025 temporary budget based on the 2024 budget, introduced by Holcomb and Reginald Adams on Jan. 20 but it was not considered.
Holcomb was one of three justices of the peace who abstained from voting on a proposed budget by Robinson on Jan. 20, the other two being Adams and Jackson. Five justices voted yes to the budget, and five others voted no.
A secondary vote, as Holcomb described it in a previous interview, on a proposal from seven of the justices failed as well. Two-thirds of the Quorum Court, or nine of the 13 justices of the peace, are needed to approve a budget.
“A lot of things (were) in there that didn’t need to be there,” Holcomb said of the secondary proposal. “A lot of extra money and certain departments. I was of the opinion if we had that much money, we needed to give it back and take care of constituents and fix roads and other services.”
Holcomb also explained why he abstained from voting on Robinson’s proposal. He added he moved to continue the 2024 budget to have county employees paid, a motion that drew a second but ultimately failed.
“There were some things that weren’t in there that needed to be there such as grant funding and salary issues and personnel, county issues,” he said. “I was kind of under the feeling the budget revenues were going to increase. I really didn’t see a reason why people had to lose their jobs. If our revenues will be up, I don’t want to see people lose their jobs. At least we should maintain.”
Holcomb, Roy Agee, Dr. Conley Byrd, Jimmy Fisher, Ted Harden and Patricia Royal Johnson have drawn criticism from those who oppose them on several county issues, suggesting the group of six would agree with Robinson no matter the issue. Robinson has said the minority group stands firm in the law in their decisions.
Former Justice of the Peace Lloyd Franklin Jr. accused Robinson of exploiting workers’ livelihoods to push a “corrupt budget.” As Franklin’s tenure began on the Quorum Court two years ago, so did the tension between Quorum Court members and the county judge.
The other justices of the peace were awakened by Franklin’s presence on the Quorum Court and they no longer allow themselves to be taken advantage of by Robinson, he stated in a prior interview.
“This new bill will end Judge Robinson’s authoritarian grip over the Quorum Court, addressing key county issues while allowing proper budget discussions hopefully without interference,” said Franklin. “The continued lack of pay for county employees and the absence of key officials during Quorum Court meetings make it clear that some are exploiting workers’ livelihoods to push a corrupt budget that serves Judge Robinson’s personal agenda.”
Robinson has stated that he supports the state’s intervention and has input in structuring the temporary budget legislation. However, some justices of the peace remain skeptical of his motives and commitment to collaboration.
Robinson, however, shared his reason to be skeptical. He said that the budget should not be held up to enrich friends, something he has claimed during the negotiations, with Robinson saying that those against his budget proposal are trying to protect people within county government who got large raises in 2024. He emphasized that everyone is being affected by the lack of a budget and that the focus should be on passing a 2025 budget to support county operations and employees.
Robinson said he has made compromises to the budget, and more than 300 county employees and elected officials are being affected by the budget impasse.
Fisher, who was not available for comment, has also expressed his concerns over the ongoing impasse within the court. Fisher said he believes that the court should revisit the issues that have caused the current deadlock.
“I believe the solution is to go back to where it generated from, which was two years ago when all of this began,” he said.
He expressed his support for the motion to return to the original starting point and work through the issues from there. He also said he supported the attorney general’s opinion to operate out of last year’s budget, which is now the bill introduced by Barnes.
Amidst a protracted budget standoff, Justice of the Peace and Finance Chair Ted Harden expressed his willingness to find a “middle ground” with other justices of the peace to resolve the impasse.
Harden indicated his openness to reviewing both budgets, acknowledging the necessity of compromise.
“I wouldn’t mind sitting down (with the other justices of the peace) if they’re all listening too. … We could try to find some middle ground. I’d love to find a middle ground,” he said.
However, Harden also highlighted concerns about discrepancies in the proposed budgets, including what he perceived as “inflated salaries” and unnecessary new hires.
“They got to be aware of the fact that the budget that they have has been ruled illegal by the circuit judge,” said Harden. “And they’ve got stuff in there in their budget like a new hire in the county clerk’s office at $50,000, the last I saw for a legislative assistant, or a legislative clerk and things like that.”
He emphasized the importance of reconciling these differences to reach a consensus.
While Harden expressed optimism about the possibility of a compromise, he also underscored the need for a clear agenda and a willingness from all parties to engage in constructive dialogue.
The absence of five justices of the peace, whose presence was necessary for a budget vote, has drawn strong criticism from those present who accused the missing justices of the peace of neglecting their duties and disregarding the needs of county employees. Those justices of the peace included Johnson, Harden, Agee, Byrd and Fisher.
The full Quorum Court and committee meeting will be held on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The agenda includes both budgets.