By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
An amendment to the 2001 St. Francis County budget, which will limit the amount county elected officials will be allowed to spend over the next three months, was adopted by the Quorum Court Tuesday night.
The new budget will subtract the known expenses, such as payroll, federal taxes and fringes, and utilities, from the county general fund's anticipated revenue over the next three months. The balance of that account will then be divided among the six elected officials' offices at a percentage equal to the usage by each county office.
Based on figures provided by County Treasurer Ann Harbin, the county officials divide about $290,000.
"We figured the expenses that we would have from July to September, which includes the seven pay periods. That gives us a payroll of $329,000. We have a federal tax deposit of $105,000 and fringes of $140,000 which totals $574,000 in known expenses from July to September," Harbin said. "On the revenue side, we are anticipating averaging $300,000 a month coming in. That's based on tax settlements and revenue that we know will be coming in over the next three months. From that $900,000 we took the expenses and the utilities and that's how we came up with the figure of $290,000," said Harbin.
Harbin also told justices, "We took the $290,000 and multiplied it by the rates for each department and those are the appropriations for each office for the next three months."
The office that may be affected the most by the budget changes is the St. Francis County Sheriff and Collector's office. Sheriff Dave Parkman said his offices will work to stay within the budget constraints, but the costs of feeding the inmates at the St. Francis County Jail and the fluctuating costs of gas could make staying within the budget a difficult job.
"There's just not much I can say except that it's going to be a trial and see thing. The one thing that I can say is that it's a tight, tight budget. We're really going to have to tighten up to stay within this three month budget that they've given us," Parkman said.
"It's going to particularly hit us hard at the jail. Our food costs run high over there because we normally hold 100-plus inmates, and we feed those inmates three meals a day. So, we're roughly talking about close to 1,000 meals a day, and that runs into money over a 30-day period. We're going to do our best to stay within our budget though," said Parkman.
"The gas prices have also escalated, and what we budgeted for was on rates that we were seeing at the time. Those prices have gone up considerably, and we will have to deal with it. What we're going to try to do to cut back on our gas is double up officers when we can. If there's something on the other side of the county that requires two officers we want to send them in the same car if we can."
Quorum Court members also were hesitant to reach into the general fund's trust fund or a certificate of deposit. The trust fund balance on June 1 was $153,376.68. The county has a CD valued at $481,901, according to county records.
"We have no plans right now to touch any of the funds that are in the trust fund or the CD. We can't continue to dip into those accounts when we get in trouble because when we need them the money won't be there. We have been able to do some wonderful things with those funds, such as build the Municipal Courtroom and purchasing the property across the street," said Justice Regan Hill. "When someone goes to Memphis and wastes money they don't tap into their savings account to make up for it, and neither should we."
During the regular meeting of the Quorum Court, justices voted unanimously to accept the budget changes. They also passed a pair of ordinances dealing with allocating funds to the 2001 budget and paying expenses from the 2001 budget. The ordinances covered funds that have already been paid or added to the budget.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A local businessman with plans to construct a transportation mall on the Forrest City bypass received permission Tuesday morning to connect his property to existing sewer lines owned by the Forrest City Water Utility.
Water Commissioners voted unanimously during their monthly meeting to submit a letter to Ellis Bell showing their recommendation that he be allowed to tie into the city's lines due to impending annexation of his property along the Forrest City/Highway 1 Bypass project.
This project is a different one than the one being proposed by County Judge Carl Cisco on the eastern side of Crowley's Ridge.
Bell asked commissioners earlier this year for permission to connect to the sewer lines, and the commission had been awaiting word on possible annexation of the property before making a decision.
In other business, commissioners approved a pair of bids for additional equipment.
Commissioners accepted a bid from Ditch Witch on a trencher. FCWU manager Jim Beazley said the new trencher was purchased at a lower cost than the utility was expecting to pay because of a change in the specifications due to the availability of a trencher that Ditch Witch could provide. The new trencher will cost the utility $31,112.
"Ditch Witch was the only company that sent us a bid so that narrowed our choices down somewhat. We actually saved some money on this one because we had shown you the prices on another model trencher that Ditch Witch has which we were interested in purchasing, but that model would have been special ordered," Beazley said. "We assessed the situation and agreed that the next level trencher would be able to do the job so we had them send us a bid on that product, and it was actually about $4,000 lower. So, we're getting a good deal," said Beazley.
The commission also agreed to accept a bid from Machen Ford for the purchase of two 2001 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup trucks for the utility. In a separate move, the group also agreed to accept a color change to solid white vehicles. The cost of the trucks is $16,970 each.
"We've been purchasing trucks that are close to a brown or tan color, but from year to year automobile manufacturers make slight color changes in their colors. If we want uniformity, then the color to go with would be white. We've used white trucks in the past, and I think that going back to them wouldn't be a bad idea," said Beazley.
By CRYSTAL HOLLIS
T-H Staff Writer
Programs designed for senior citizens were discussed during a meeting Tuesday involving the state director of the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
Maria Diaz, the new state director of the AARP, along with Ed Doman, director of the East Arkansas Area Agency on Aging, visited with senior citizens at the senior center located in Grobmyer Circle.
"We want to make contact with seniors about projects for them," said Diaz.
Doman said his agency needs input about seniors. "We want input from people active with seniors so we can see what people know about the programs, if they are eligible for them, and we need to know if people know where to inquire about them," he said.
Diaz said the local AARP chapter of AARP and the EAAAA could work together to bring seniors the most of what the government is trying to offer.
The local AARP has over 30 active members, according to president Claude Berry. "We are a focus point in organizing activities," he said. "We also are doing a good job in the community."
AARP member Carreather Perry talked about some of the activities the local chapter provides. "We have guest speakers on health, diet and investments at some of our meetings, and we take trips out of town to Wynne, Memphis, Parkin and the like. We also raise money for charities. This year we raised $1,100 for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life in May," said Perry.
Berry said those who are interested in joining the local chapter, or would like more information, may call him at 630-1482 or Perry at 633-1498.
Mosquito spraying in Forrest City should begin this week or next, Mayor Larry Bryant said Tuesday night.
Speaking at the city council meeting, Bryant said the mosquito program consists of more than just spraying, and said work has already been under way to control the pests.
"We have been doing work on mosquito control for the last two months," said Bryant. "You don't see the truck running, but we have been doing the leg work, like cutting the ditches and putting those pellets in the ditches that kill the larvae before they hatch."
He said as a result Forrest City residents may have seen mosquitoes, but not at the level they are outside of town.
"If you went down the road three miles, five miles, you could get eaten up by mosquitoes," Bryant said. "In Forrest City, they've just started biting a bit. But we're ready to get everything hooked up and we're going to start spraying."
J.C. Rice, the city's pest control officer, said that once the spraying starts, the hours will probably be from 7 or 8 p.m. until around 1 a.m. He said he wasn't sure how many nights a week spraying would occur. Last year it was three nights a week.
"It puts out a really fine mist," said Rice, referring to the equipment used in the spraying. "It's mixed with mineral oil and kind of floats in the wind."
The chemical being used for spraying is called Scourge. Rice said Scourge is much better than Malathion, which was used several years ago.
"It (Scourge) is one of the better ones on the market, pretty well the best," he said. "Malathion messes up the machinery and is outdated. And, it's more dangerous to people. Scourge is, environmentally speaking, a whole lot more safe."
He said the pest control program has a new truck, and work is underway to get it ready.
"We'll get started here pretty soon."