In a 9-2 vote Monday, the Columbia County Quorum Court approved the 2016 budget. This budget allowed for a 10 percent increase in slot adjustment salaries for deputies and the jail administrator at the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office, a total of 17 county employees.
The 2016 budget did not allow for a pay raise for other county employees or elected officials.
Voting against the budget were Justices of the Peace Billy Wayne Taylor and Oliver Thomas. Voting for the budget were JP’s Annette Pate, Terry Williams, Carolyn Terry, Marjie Blair, Robert Nash, Steve Lee, David Graham, Penny Cook, and James Drake.
Sheriff Mike Loe had appeared before the Quorum Court Finance Committee during previous meetings and asked for pay increases for deputies, as the job was becoming more difficult and dangerous, and he was having difficulty keeping personnel.
After the meeting, the sheriff expressed appreciation to the Quorum Court for their support. “I’m very pleased tonight and I’m going to have a lot of deputies who will be very pleased,” he said. “We have a problem in law enforcement. It’s a nationwide problem; it’s a local problem. The Quorum Court realized that and they all sat down and we all worked together and got it done. It took a lot of help from a lot of Quorum Court members to get it done and I’m very appreciative.”
JP’s approved a resolution choosing the voting system to be used in Columbia County’s 2016 elections. County Clerk Sherry Bell explained that the county was receiving this updated equipment at no cost from the Secretary of State’s office.
“We have been a very fortunate county because we have had such good results, and we were proactive in the Help America Vote Act,” she said. “We were chosen one of four counties as a pilot county with no cost to our county at all, to do this updated election equipment and software.” Bell said the equipment is at the courthouse, and work is expected to begin next week on connecting and testing, with training to begin in December.
In other business, the Quorum Court:
•Approved an appropriation ordinance transferring within various funds. This transferred $7,500 in the library fund from the capital outlay line item to the general supplies/parts/labor line item. It also transferred $50,000 in the solid waste fund from the gravel/dirt/sand line item to the contract labor line item.
Blair asked was this money being moved in the solid waste budget to cover expected attorney’s fees incurred in the current lawsuit with the city over solid waste tax funds. County Judge Larry Atkinson said this was for land currently being cleared at the landfill, but added “there is going to be substantial amount added to the budget for attorney’s fees.”
•Approved an appropriation ordinance supplementing the tax collector’s budget for $8,000 to cover the cost of advertising parcels that are delinquent for the 2014 tax year. These funds are from unappropriated funds from the original 2015 budget. Tax Collector Cindy Walker had submitted a request for the additional funds to be added to the advertising/publication line item, citing “there is no way to know from year to year what parcels will not get paid.”
•Approved a resolution authorizing County Judge Larry Atkinson to enter into a contract of obligation with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. Atkinson said this was something that was done each year.
•Approved two Rural Community Grant applications. The Village Community Center received $5,000 for repair and upkeep of the ice maker and air conditioner. The Bussey Sharman Rural Fire Department received $5,000 to go toward an additional 40x60-ft. building to connect with the existing building.
•Approved an ordinance approving the rate of millage levy for the taxing districts in Columbia County for 2015, to be collected in 2016. This includes county general, 4.0 real, 4.0 personal; county road, 3.0 real, 3.0 personal; county library, 1.0 real, 1.0 personal; Lafayette County School District, 32.8 real, 32.8 personal; Union County (Smackover-Norphlet School District), 41.0 real, 41.0 personal; Magnolia School District, 29.6 real, 29.6 personal; Emerson-Taylor-Bradley School District, 37.4 real, 37.4 personal; City of Magnolia, 2.0 real, 2.0 personal; City of McNeil, 3.0 real, 3.0 personal; City of Waldo, 5.0 real, 5.0 personal; City of Emerson, 5.0 real, 5.0 personal; and City of Taylor, 6.0 real, 6.0 personal.
•Atkinson reported that WCA will be changing up some routes for trash collection. He referred to an advertisement in the Banner-News on Monday, explaining the change. Persons needing more information about their trash collection should contact WCA at 1-800-982-6722.
•The December Quorum Court meeting will be Tuesday, Dec. 15.