By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The ward boundaries in Forrest City will change some but not much, council members learned Monday. However, they are awaiting an attorney general's opinion on whether the prison population should be counted.
The districts are being redrawn because of population shifts in the 2000 census.
Although quorum court districts have been reconfigured without using the inmates at the Federal Correctional Institution-Forrest City, Mayor Larry Bryant said Monday he had not gotten a definitive answer on whether they should be counted.
It was the consensus of the city council members who attended Monday's meeting that the prisoners should not be counted, since they cannot vote, and counting them would drastically affect ward boundaries.
"Basically, if the prison population was included, you'll have a ward with 2,200 people who won't be able to vote," said Bryant, who added that the optimum ward population in Forrest City is only 3,122 (It can go as low as 2,960 or as high as 3,278 and still be within the law). "We don't feel (the prisoners) should be part of the town (for voting purposes), but we're awaiting an attorney general's opinion to clarify it."
Without counting the prison population, Bryant said, the council members don't seem to have a problem with the minor changes which will take place in ward boundaries.
"Nobody's ward is going to be changed more than a block -- two blocks at most in one ward," he said.
Bryant said he felt reasonably sure that the prisoners would not be counted, but he wanted to make sure everything was done right, because he didn't want the city to be involved in any possible lawsuits over districting.
The council will meet in another special session at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, to discuss the ward boundaries again. The council will meet in a rescheduled regular session immediately afterwards at 7 p.m.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Money problems dominated St. Francis County business during 2001, and the story may continue this year, according to County Judge Carl Cisco.
But one thing upon which he insists -- there will be no tax increase without a popular vote.
"The only way I would raise taxes is for the public to vote on it," Cisco said. "We have some options, but only if the people vote on it."
According to Cisco, the county will have a $200,000 carryover from 2001 to 2002. That's up from a carryover of only $72,000 from 2000 to 2001.
"The problem we're going to be facing is, we're looking at about a $600,000 revenue loss from state government, taxes and so forth. So we're going to continue to have to cut and tighten up."
Cisco said the county was also able to pay back money it had borrowed from trust funds, such as Nearco's.
Still, cuts from the state have hurt, particularly recently, when the state said it couldn't reimburse counties for housing state prisoners.
"The law says the state will, and the state is saying they're just not going to. And the Association of Arkansas Counties told us not to look for any new money until the state's new fiscal year, which begins in July."
The quorum court recently voted to join in any class action lawsuits filed against the state Department of Corrections over prisoner reimbursement.
Cisco said the money problems had begun before the Sept. 11 attacks. As early as last spring, he said, the Association of Counties had warned that there would be shortfalls by autumn. Cisco said the 9-11 attacks may have made the situation worse.
He said the attempts to save money before Sept. 11 helped the county.
"That's the reason we have a $200,000 carryover and were able to pay back the trust funds," Cisco said. "The problem is, if we tap the reserves and lose that money, we will have a serious problem on our hands if the money doesn't start coming in again. And it looks like it may be about a year before it does."
He also said a half-cent sales tax, which was supposed to cover a property tax refund, isn't doing it.
"Maybe, eventually, it will catch up, just like maybe, eventually, they may pay us for the prisoners in the jail. But you still have to pay for all this today."
He said creditors want their money now, and that goes for money the county government may owe to people. He admitted that the quorum court is saddled with a monumental task, which may account for why the court still hasn't passed a budget. Members have been waiting for final figures.
The coming year will be a challenge, Cisco said.
"Finances will be tight, we will continue to do as much as we can out in the countryside with our road department, and we will be working on grants, and hoping the state will get some of their problems worked out," he said. "The county budget is broken down into three categories -- the general budget, the road budget and solid waste. And our shortfall has been in general."
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
The St. Francis County Assessor's office saw many changes in 2001, and according to County Assessor Craig Jones, there are several more changes on the horizon in 2002.
The new Homestead Act, which allows taxpayers to take a $300 tax credit on their primary residence, was the biggest change for the Assessor's office, according to Jones. In 2001, over 8,500 homestead exemption letters were sent from Jones' office to homeowners with over 5,400 of those homeowners receiving their full credit. According to Jones only 230 of those homeowners may see changes in 2002.
"We threw everything on at one time when we submitted these, so we had to go back in there and clean it up this month. We're probably going to see about 230 that won't receive their full credit when they get their tax bill. We're asking that when a homeowner notices that he didn't receive the full credit that they contact us so that we can answer any questions they might have," Jones said.
According to Jones, homeowners who received their exemption in 2001 will not have to refile in 2002 because the information will be logged with the state and the exemption will be figured into their tax statement.
Jones also said that the assessor's office will be going online next year, and will offer some printable records from home or office computers.
"You will be able look up reports, just as if you were in the assessor's office, from your personal computer and there will be some reports, not all of them, that you will be able to access and print without ever coming into the office," Jones said.
Another change for his office will be the use of a verification letter which will be filled out at closing on property that is purchased. According to Jones, the letter will be a comprehensive questionnaire that will be presented to homeowners either at closing on the property or over the telephone or in person by a member of Jones' staff.
"This is important to every homeowner, but especially to new homeowners because without this verification letter they will not be able to get their homestead credit," Jones said.
People ages 65 or older will now have to bring proof of their age on Jan. 1, 2001, so that their property taxes on their primary residence could be frozen. According to Jones the current reappraisal, which will be completed in June, could change many people's property value, but those 65 and older will not see their property taxes increase.
"We'll be sending out letters later this month to those people who were 65 or older on Jan. 1, 2001, so that they can bring in their driver's license or some verification of their age that we can use so that their taxes can be frozen. This will keep their taxes from increasing with the reappraisal. If their value goes down they will have the option of paying their current amount or taking a lower figure," Jones said.
According to Jones, one change he doesn't want to see next year is a change in the number of staff members he has in his office.
"Last year we did over 11,000 personal property assessments for vehicles, over 1,000 business personal forms which is business inventory and the like, and we worked over 600 deeds. We saved the city, the schools and the county approximately $20,000 last year because we did all of that with one less employee. All in all, we did a pretty good job last year, and I just hope that I'm not asked to cut anyone else from my staff because I really can't afford to lose another position," Jones said.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Members of Arkansas Army National Guard 2nd Battalion, 153rd Infantry, 39th Infantry Brigade, Company Charlie in Forrest City left Tuesday night headed back to Fort Carson, Colo., to make final preparations before leaving for active duty in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
According to Maj. Cary Shillcutt, public affairs officer for the Arkansas Army National Guard and former commander of C Company, some unit members may be leaving for Egypt as soon as next week.
"The company is headed back to Fort Carson so that they can get their final training and paperwork done, and we're expecting the first units to start leaving late next week. They will be leaving on separate days, but within the next two weeks we're expecting everyone to be in Egypt," Shillcutt said.
Guardsmen will be serving in Egypt as a part of the Multinational Force and Observers, which is an outgrowth of the 1979 Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt. U.S. forces have been in Sinai since 1982 after Israel withdrew forces from Egypt under terms of the treaty. Arkansas units will serve along with infantry battalions from Colombia and Fiji as well as a patrol unit from Italy, French aviators, Hungarian military police and contingents from Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Norway and Uruguay.
In addition to Forrest City, the 2nd Battalion, which is headquartered in Searcy, is comprised of Detachment 1, Headquarters Company at Wynne; Company A at Walnut Ridge; Detachment 1, Company A at Harrisburg; Company B at Batesville; Detachment 1, Company B at Augusta; Company C; Detachment 1, Company C at Brinkley and Company D at Newport.
To help fill the unit's mobilization positions, personnel have been selected from the 39th Military Police Platoon in Little Rock and 39th's 239th Engineers Detachment 1 at Booneville; 3rd Battalion, 153rd Company C at Dumas and Detachment at McGhee and 3rd Battalion, 153rd Headquarters at Warren and Detachment at Monticello.
A man was taken to the Med in Memphis for surgery after being stabbed early in the morning Tuesday.
Eric Jimerson, 26, of 365 Grobmyer Circle in Forrest City, reported he and his girlfriend were at an apartment on Barrow Hill Road, when she got "upset with him," according to the report by the St. Francis County Sheriff's office.
She allegedly stabbed him with a butcher knife, causing a cut six to eight inches long through his biceps and exposing the bone. He was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital and then to the Med for surgery on his arm.
He reported that he did not want to press charges against his girlfriend.
It was an unusual holiday for Troop D of the Arkansas State Police in Forrest City, which investigated only six accidents, none of them serious, during the official holiday period which began at midnight Sunday and continued through midnight Tuesday.
Along with the lack of serious accidents, there were only six DWI arrests in the entire troop, which takes in Crittenden, Phillips, Lee, St. Francis, Cross, Woodruff, Monroe and Prairie counties.
Sgt. Jackie Clark of Troop D said publicity campaigns concerning drinking and driving may account for the lack of DWI's.
"A lot of people make arrangements on New Year's Eve," said Clark. "It's so publicized, they make arrangements to have a designated driver. It seems like the publicity helps. Last New Year's Eve we had some ice and that kept things down, but I think the publicity helps. The next big day will be Super Bowl Sunday."
In addition to accidents and DWI arrests, officers in Troop D gave out 77 speeding tickets, 21 citations for seatbelt violations and two for child restraint violations.
There were five other hazardous arrests, which could include reckless driving, and 21 non-hazardous arrests. There were 23 criminal arrests.
In addition, officers issued 96 speeding warnings, 13 seatbelt warnings and 48 other warnings. Officers also gave assistance to 23 motorists.
Area students will return to classes over the next few days.
Children in both the Forrest City and Palestine-Wheatley School Districts will return to school on Thursday with Hughes School District students returning Monday.
Students at East Arkansas Community College and Crowley's Ridge Technical Institute returned this morning.
The St. Francis County Quorum Court will meet Thursday night to continue discussing the 2002 budget.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in the Quorum Court room at the St. Francis County Courthouse.