By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A newly-formed three-member committee of the St. Francis County Quorum Court has accepted the challenge of developing a final budget proposal that will be presented to the entire quorum court during a special meeting Monday.
Justices Regan Hill, Jack Crumbly and Don Cagle, were named to the committee during a called quorum court meeting Thursday. This committee, according to budget committee chairman O.J. Gandy Jr., will be given the task of determining the 2002 budget for the county.
"We're not getting anything done here tonight, so I'm going to appoint a three-man committee that can bring us figures so that this court can pass a budget. We have people that are sitting out here worried about their jobs and their salaries and they need to know something," said Gandy.
According to a report from Hill, the $170,000 appropriated last week will leave the county needing over $119,000 to cover expenses for the month of January alone with $289,171.24 in anticipated spending.
"At the bare minimum, we're looking at $289,171.24 that we would need for the month of January. We had in our records last week approximately $120,000 in revenue that we expected for the month of January, and we're looking at that same amount for February, March and April," Hill said. "We've got the $200,000 carryover which has to last us until we at least get the utility payment which should be collected by the county near the first of May. That gives us an additional $50,000 per month which is were we got the $170,000 that we know we can appropriate. That leaves us with $119,000 in expenses that we don't have the money for."
Justice Evans Seawood questioned how the county could not formulate a 2002 budget with a $200,000 carry over into 2002 when in 2001 the county only carried over $72,000, and a budget was released on time for 2001. He also questioned a bank account statement which showed over $3 million in the county's bank account in November.
St. Francis County Treasurer Ann Harbin answered the questions on the $3 million. "Over $2.3 million of that statement was the tax money that was waiting to be settled in December. The majority of that money went to the schools, the cities and the college. County general received $687,000 out of that tax settlement. By the time we paid all of the bills for the month of December and paid all of the accounts back that were owed, that left us with the $200,000 carry over. If you had not, back in July, started doing the appropriations and cutting that you did, then you wouldn't have the carryover which will help us through the next four months," Harbin said.
Crumbly suggested to members of the court that the county might have to dip into its reserve funds and certificates of deposits to get through the year.
According to a report from Harbin's office, the county currently has $560,787.68 in County CD's, with $300,000 of that money available to the county general account. The other $260,787.68 is earmarked with $150,000 for the county road equipment account; $10,000 in the Act 768 account and $100,787.68 in the NEARCO account. Close to $300,000 of the money in CD's is for CD's purchased recently after the county paid back accounts at the end of the year for funds borrowed during 2001. The county also has $147,000 left in the Trust Account.
Quorum Court members also heard from St. Francis County Sheriff Dave Parkman about possible cuts in law enforcement.
According to Parkman, the County Jail is currently running according to federal mandates which will not allow him to have any personnel cuts at the jail. Parkman told justices that he could not foresee any cuts in law enforcement. "I don't know how I can cut law enforcement. If the people of this county could stand it, then I will be for it, but I don't believe that law enforcement can be cut and give the people the service that they need and deserve. It seems that everyone wants to cut law enforcement or the jail, but if the jail is cut then we'll be out of compliance," Parkman said.
In the sheriff's three departments, he currently employs 38 people 22 at the jail, 13 deputies and three collectors.
The Monday meeting is set for 6 p.m. in the Quorum Court room.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
In a brief meeting Thursday, the Forrest City City Council heard first reading of an ordinance which would help the fire department get reimbursed for protective or "hazmat" clothing.
Fire Chief Dan Curtner requested the ordinance. If passed, it will amend the way the fire department enters into mutual aid agreements with other towns or entities.
Curtner explained that the hazmat suits are expensive, and if one is contaminated or torn, it has to be replaced. If the ordinance passes, mutual aid agreements will call for reimbursement for the suits.
On a related matter, Curtner asked to meet with the council's Fire Committee at some point, to discuss some new equipment. The Fire and Police committees are usually re-appointed at the first meeting of the new year, so the appointments were made after Curtner made his request.
The two committees rotated members. On the Fire Committee will be Aldermen Cecil Twillie, A.L. Harris, Glenn Ford and Chris Oswalt. On the Police Committee will be Roy Hancock, Richard Benson, Mary Jeffers and John Gadberry.
In other business, the council heard second reading of an ordinance to rezone property at 1455 Dawson from residential to commercial. The rezoning is being requested by Bennie Crawford. Two people spoke against the rezoning. Margie Adams reiterated that there are people in both Beech Grove and on Victor Street who oppose it. Tammy Headley also spoke, and claimed that no one really knows what Crawford plans to build, and asked what he plans to do with the remainder of his property, which is adjacent to the area he wants rezoned. Crawford has told the council he wants to build a convenience store at the site.
Third reading and a vote on the ordinance may take place at the next council meeting.
The council also heard second reading on an ordinance which would allow wrecker services who want to be on call in Forrest City to have wreckers within a certain distance of the intersection of Broadway and Washington.
On another matter, the council agreed to adopt official state holidays for the city during 2002.
Mayor Larry Bryant also told the council he needs a committee to address federally-mandated storm water issues.
"We can't put it off any longer," said Bryant. "By March, I want to have some semblance of something we can be discussing." It was the consensus of the council that Bryant should draw up some general guidelines first.
Bryant also asked the council to give consideration to paying one month's garbage collection for all businesses in town.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
Building permits in Forrest City during 2001 surpassed the 2000 figure by almost $1 million, thanks in large part to December, according to the Mayor's Office.
It was in December that a building permit for a new Forrest City Junior High School building was issued. The $6 million project was by far the largest single project for which a building permit was purchased locally in 2001. It was also the only multi-million dollar project for which a permit was purchased in 2001. It pushed the year's overall figure to $10,410,000. The figure for 2000 was $9.5 million.
Also in December, a $168,000 permit was issued for remodeling of the old library at East Arkansas Community College. In all, December's permits totaled $6,219,204.10, with the rest being made up of private home remodelings and one manufactured home.
Thanks to the junior high permit, December's figure was the highest of the year. April was the second highest, at $1,320,412. The largest April permit was $450,000, for the repair of fire damage to the St. Francis County Courthouse. The month with the smallest monetary total of permits was September, with $149,650. The largest September permit was $80,000 for a private home.
The other nine months' totals were as follows:
*January, $266,685, with the largest single permit totaling $120,000 for a private home addition.
*February, $217,823.86, with the largest permit totaling $45,000 for a private home carport.
*March, $321,468, with the largest permit totaling $100,000, for apartments at 790 S. Washington.
*May, $471,609, with the largest single permit totaling $125,000 for new apartments at 304 S. Washington.
*June, $343,210, with the largest single permit totaling $250,000 for a new private home.
*July, $309,141, with the largest single permit totaling $130,000 for the Dollar Tree at 210 Deaderick.
*August, $172,013, with the largest single permit totaling $31,000 for finish work at Alltell at 201 Deaderick.
*October, $228,750, with the largest single permit in a tie -- $53,000 each for private homes.
*November, $390,758.35, with the largest single permit totaling $350,000 for the new regional Child Support Enforcement Unit on Highway 1 South.
The 2001 figure was higher than the 2000 number, even though 2000 actually had more multi-million dollar projects, including $2.6 million to build the Chapel Ridge Apartments on Holiday Drive and $1.2 million for the construction of Grace Plaza on Deaderick.
The year 1999 was even higher, however, at $11.4 million. This was due largely to the new Mustang Arena at Forrest City High School and the Learning Resource Center at East Arkansas Community College.
However, 1999, 2000 and 2001 all showed a marked increase over 1998, when building permits totaled only $3.5 million for the year.
The Palestine-Wheatley School District has received an E-Rate grant of $15,975 to help connect its students to the Internet, U.S. Congressman Marion Berry recently announced.
The E-Rate program provides discounts of between 20 and 90 percent to schools and libraries for education technology. The discounts cover the cost of telecommunications, Internet access and internal connections needed to bring information directly into classrooms. Nationally, the program will provide $1.9 billion in discounts to thousands of schools, with the costs being covered by the Universal Service Fund.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for St. Francis County," Berry said. "With our nation's growing dependence on computers, we must be sure that no student is left behind in the Information Age. Six out of ten jobs in the next millennium will rely on high-technology skills. This E-Rate grant will help us prepare our children for the competitive global economy of the next century and give them the tools they need to learn. Many schools in the 1st Congressional District already have benefited from the E-Rate program and we must continue to give our schools access to vital technology."
This is the 11th wave of funding commitments this year. Additional information on the program and the process for notifying schools is available on the Internet at: www.slcfund.org