By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
St. Francis County employees and elected officials will see a 3 percent across-the-board pay raise beginning in April after members of the Quorum Court voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the measure.
The pay increase was approved after the court failed to approve the second reading of an ordinance which would have given each full-time employee a $30 pay raise and each part-time worker an additional $15.
The decision on the raise came after much discussion over which proposal should be agreed upon.
Justice Regan Hill, who proposed the flat-rate raise during last week's budget committee meeting commented that he just wants to ensure that the employees get a raise. "I proposed the ordinance that's before us, and I'll be honest, I don't know what's the right way of giving out this raise. I just want to make sure that the employees are taken care of," Hill said.
Later in the meeting Hill said that he would support both versions of the pay raise.
For Justice Evans Seawood, seniority played a role in his decision to vote for the 3-percent raise over the flat pay increase. "I've been working at Sanyo for 30 years, and I'm in the union. I think in 90 percent of the cases that I've seen, seniority is rewarded. I just cannot see a one-year employee getting the same amount of money (pay raise) as a 20-year employee. I just think that the 3 percent raise is the fairest way of giving the raise," Seawood said.
Justice Jack Crumbly agreed. "I think that this is the fairest raise we can give. A person that's making $8 per hour won't receive the same dollars as someone who's receiving $16 per hour, but they are getting the same percentage and that's fair. If we're paying an employee $16, then they certainly have worked their way up to that salary or have some knowledge or experience required to hold that position."
Justice Donald Cagle, who fought for the flat-rate raise, said that he felt the percentage raise would be unfair to some employees. "If we have someone making $16 per hour and someone making $8 per hour, then we're going to have people who are getting a raise that is twice as much as another employee and that's not right. Not all of the people who are on the $8 end of the scale are people who have just started. We've got people who've been out here for years who still have salaries in that range, and this won't be fair to them," Cagle said.
The introduction of the second pay raise proposal prompted some questions from justices in an informal meeting prior to the scheduled meeting, which is a direct violation of the Freedom of Information Laws. During this gathering, Cagle questioned why the ordinance based on a percentage should be discussed at all if the county's budget committee was planning to recommend a different proposal.
"I don't understand why we even have this second ordinance on the table if it's not what the budget committee recommended. We made a recommendation, and that's all that should be discussed," said Cagle.
"I'm for the underdogs, and I think that's who we should be looking out for on this. And I'll tell you another thing, I think a ceiling should be put on this money, especially for the chief deputies' salaries," Cagle said.
The 3 percent raise was amended to include all elected officials, including quorum court members, before justices cast the first vote The ordinance originally included the six courthouse elected officials but did not include justices. The six officials at one point agreed to waive their raises if that's what the quorum court approved.
"I don't know how this will take hold of everyone, but I think that it was a noble move for the elected officials to offer to give up their pay raises. Over the past few years, we've worked to keep this county solvent and gotten ourselves into a pretty good position. I think that we shouldn't exclude anyone including the justices," said Crumbly.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A request for a contract labor employee from St. Francis County Sheriff Dave Parkman was put on hold until County Attorney Fletcher Long could review the legalities of the request.
The questions at Tuesday's meeting of the Quorum Court centered around the proposal to allow a contract labor employee to supplement his income from the county through vehicle repair work for citizens. Parkman's proposal was for a $150 per week salary over a six-month period to be allocated for contract labor. The move would allow him to use an inmate who has been working on sheriff's department vehicles after the subject is released from the Arkansas Department of Corrections. The inmate in question is currently housed at the St. Francis County Jail as part of the ADC's 309 program.
"I've got a guy who has been working on our vehicles for awhile now, and what I'm proposing is to pay him $150 a week and then allow him to use the shop to work on other vehicles to supplement his pay with all county vehicles having top priority. This will save the county a considerable amount because every time we put a car in the shop it costs us an arm and a leg to get it fixed," Parkman said.
Long told justices that the questions would primarily center around the allowed use of a county facility for work other than for the county.
"The first problem is what happens when the wage-an-hour people come along and say, 'if he's an employee then why is he being allowed to use the county facility to make money for himself?'" Long said.
Long also cited issues of liability along with whether all county employees would be allowed to use county facilities to make a profit outside of their employment.
In other business, justices approved an ordinance appropriating $5,500 to the Collector's automation fund for the 2004 budget. The measure originally called for a $10,000 appropriation, but was cut after it was discovered that the account already held $4,500. Justices also approved a $17,000 appropriation for the public defender fund. According to St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco, the funds were scheduled to be included in the 2004 budget but were withheld until matters concerning the office could be settled.
Justices also approved a pair of catch-up ordinances acknowledging additional revenues and appropriating additional sums to the 2002 budget and reallocating appropriations with the budget. St. Francis County Clerk Elizabeth Smith said the ordinances were necessary to bring the county into compliance for the 2002 legislative audit.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The Forrest City City Council on Tuesday accepted a report from a committee appointed to study "parity" between the pay received by local city employees and employees at cities of similar size.
Alderman Cecil Twillie, who chaired the committee, introduced the report, a copy of which was made available to each council member. It gave a line-by-line salary adjustment.
"I've worked on lots of groups," Twillie said. "I want you to know this group really put a lot of time on this. . .to arrive at what we think is parity."
Twillie said the committee's recommendation would be for the city council to accept the report of the committee, "that all the city employees receive at least a 3 percent raise" and for certain others to receive more than 3 percent to bring the salaries into parity with similar jobs in other cities. According to the original plan, no one's salary is to be decreased.
City Attorney Alan Cline said he thought the best thing to do would be to take the figures recommended by the committee, plug it into an over all budget. Then an ordinance could be proposed to amend the budget.
The recommendations will be figured into the budget and it all will be voted on in an upcoming meeting. The city recently adopted the figures from the 2003 budget in order to meet the Feb. 1 deadline.
In an earlier meeting, it was stated that the pay increases would be made retroactive to Jan. 1.
On another matter, the city received two bids for firefighters' turnout gear -- 23 units in all. NAFCO of Decatur, Ala., bid $23,552, and Ferrara of Holden, La. bid $23,230. On a related matter, SICO America of Denver, Colo., entered several bids on a bunk system for firefighters. All the bids will be studied.
The council also passed a "clean up" end of year ordinance for the 2003 budget.
On another subject, Alderman Steve Hollowell made some recommendations concerning the catering contract at the Civic Center and the fate of the Civic Center Commission.
"I've been attending Civic Center Commission meetings for the last few months," he said. "They've been trying to work on the contract (for the caterer). And it doesn't look like they're moving forward at this time, and they haven't come up with a contract yet. I think the (current) contract (with Jim Hitchcock) expires May 31.
"So I think we might ought to look at extending the present contract to the end of this year or some period, until we can come up with a contract that we want to bid out," he continued. "As far as the Civic Center Commission, we might want to look at abolishing that, because I don't see much coming out of it. They talk about the same thing every month, and it seems that nothing's happening. So I think we might ought to look at that, maybe, at the next meeting. . .if you all feel like we need to."
No action was taken Tuesday.
It was also announced that at the next meeting, there will be an ordinance amending the fees charged by the Forrest City Fire Department for responding to out-of-town fires.
St. Francis County Sheriff Dave Parkman today announces his democratic bid for re-election to a 10th term as St. Francis County Sheriff and Collector.
A veteran law enforcement officer, Parkman has more than 30 years experience in the field. He is retired from the Forrest City Police Department where he advanced from patrolman to chief of police. He also served five years as a criminal investigator with the Cross County Sheriff's Department.
Parkman is a lifelong resident of St. Francis and Cross counties. He has attended numerous law enforcement training schools and seminars, including a special course offered by the University of Arkansas. He served 18 months in the military, including one year in Korea. He is a member of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. He is also a 32nd Degree Mason and a Shriner.
Parkman first took office in January 1987, and is currently serving his ninth term as sheriff and collector. "Before taking over the office, I promised to restore public trust in the sheriff's office, to have fair, impartial and efficient law enforcement, and to work in harmony with other law enforcement agencies. We have accomplished all of the above in a low-keyed manner," he said.
"Under my administration, many things have been accomplished including the addition of a new detention facility and the updating of the old jail to meet state and federal guidelines," Parkman said.
The sheriff's office was also instrumental in the installation of a toll-free telephone system for the benefit of the citizens who must call long distance to contact the sheriff's office. Parkman has also worked with Southwestern Bell Telephone to install an inmate telephone system in the cells. The county receives the revenue generated through this telephone system, according to a press release.
In addition, Parkman has worked with the East Arkansas Area Agency on Aging to install the "Are You Okay" system at the jail. This system telephones the elderly and handicapped residents daily to make sure these citizens are cared for. If the elderly or handicapped person fails to answer the telephone, a deputy is dispatched to that person's residence.
Parkman has also organized an auxiliary deputy and search and rescue units under his administration. Both of these groups assist the department in various sways and were instrumental in establishing the county's disaster plans. These units are trained to assist in any disaster or emergency situation.
"My greatest personal satisfaction is being able to serve the citizens of our county and to assist those in need," Parkman said. "With your continued support and vote of confidence, I will continue to serve all citizens in an efficient, fair and impartial manner to the best of my ability.
"I do not plan to make any major changes in the day-to-day operation of the sheriff's office. My objective is to give the citizens the best service possible," he added.
Parkman was married to the late Irene Jones Parkman, and they have three daughters, Martie Parkman Ramsey, Susie Parkman Jones and Christy Parkman Gross. He also has six grandchildren.
Gary Hughes today announced his plans to seek the Justice of the Peace District 6 seat on the St. Francis County Quorum Court.
Hughes has served as mayor of Caldwell for the past 17 years, administrator of Baptist Home Care and Hospice & Medical Technology for 24 years and as a local business owner for the past 20 years.
He has been married to Terri Casey Hughes since 1984. They have three children, Casey, 16, Adam, 15 and Amber, 13. The family attends the First Baptist Church in Caldwell where Hughes serves as a deacon, music director and Awana commander.
Hughes said his lifelong residency in District 6, along with his many years of leadership and passion for public service, encouraged him to seek this post. "I am excited about the potential for St. Francis County, and I believe we can reverse the growing trend of some moving away from St. Francis County with more positive and aggressive leadership.
"I believe we are a county with great resources and possibilities," Hughes added. "We need to work harder to encourage job growth and industrial recruitment. In addition, we need to maintain and upgrade our county roads for the growing populations in the rural areas of our county. We also need continued leadership by our quorum court representatives to assure we provide quality government services to the St. Francis County residents in a cost-effective way.
"I look forward to getting out in the district and meeting all the constituents in District 6 over the next few months," Hughes said. "I am a firm believer that every voice should be heard and respected, and I will strive to earn the constituents' support and vote of confidence on May 18 to represent our District 6 on the St. Francis County Quorum Court."
The Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) Established and Industry Committee will now highlight area industries for their work.
According to Tiffany Billingsley with ACE, the Established and Industry Committee will now select one area business as business of the month.
"As a part of the ACE process we came to the realization that not only do we need to pursue new industry for the area, but we also need to recognize the established industry that we already have here. This is just a way of giving our industry some recognition," Billingsley said.
The Forrest City Water Commission on Tuesday accepted a bid for a mini backhoe and also agreed to purchase a used sewer cleaning machine.
The commission received only one bid on the mini backhoe, also called a "Termite." The bid was from Rebel Equipment and Supply, Inc. of Memphis, for $18,989. Even though it was the only bid, it came in lower than an earlier estimate had been.
On the matter of the sewer cleaning machine, Henard Supply has a used "Jet Vac" it is offering for $28,000. A new machine would cost in the neighborhood of $150,000.
During discussion, it was revealed that Henard Supply was going to look over the machine and make necessary repairs, which would be added to the cost. It was decided that even if a few thousand dollars were added to the cost, it would still be less than $150,000, if the city got a functioning machine.
In other action, the commission agreed unanimously to amend the water department's personnel policy handbook to agree with the city's policy on workman's compensation.