By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
The city council will continue discussing the 2004 Forrest City budget, as well as the choice of an architect for a new multi-purpose building at the sports complex, when it meets next week.
Early in a special called meeting Tuesday, the council voted unanimously to table discussion on the architect. One of the council members, Cecil Twillie, had not received a packet which had been mailed to all the aldermen. The packet contained information on a state law concerning the selection of architects. Twillie said he would like to have time to study the law, and the rest of the council agreed.
More was accomplished during the discussion of the budget, although there was still more to be talked about when the meeting adjourned. The council did agree on some provisions of the proposed budget.
The budget includes an across-the-board pay increase of 3 percent. However, Mayor Larry Bryant has requested an increase of more than 3 percent for some positions.
In the Public Works Department, the larger increase would go to three positions -- the public works director, the street supervisor and the solid waste supervisor. Bryant said he based that partly on longevity, and partly because even with the extra increase, they will still be making less than some department heads and supervisors.
Bryant also requested a larger than 3 percent increase for the manager of the Forrest City Civic Center. He said the responsibilities of the job had increased, especially since the center was expanded. He has said he would also like for there to be a secretary at the center.
Bryant was asked that since there was a manager and soon to be a secretary at the center, if the Civic Center Commission was still necessary. Bryant said that question can be addressed "when the time comes."
There was a lengthy discussion of the Parks Department. Bryant had requested some more personnel. No one objected, but there was also a suggestion that a full-time secretary be hired for the program, and that it all be moved out to the Municipal Sports Complex.
The idea is to locate an office at the complex, either by renovating part of one of the concession stands or making an office in the maintenance building, and making that the headquarters of the Recreation Department. The department would then be permanently moved into the multi-purpose center upon its completion.
On the question of pay parity, Alderman Roger Breeding said the Arkansas Municipal League can provide comparisons of the salaries paid by cities of similar size throughout the state. Bryant said that doesn't always tell the whole story, because different cities, even of the same size, may have different levels of wealth and therefore differing tax bases.
District Court Judge Steve Routon was at the meeting at the request of the council to request that the city partner with St. Francis County for upgrades in the district court computer system. The cost is about $40,000.
There was a brief discussion of improvements at the Fire Department, including new bunks, which Chief Dan Curtner said were more than 20 years old.
Also in answer to a question, Bryant said he hoped that a new shelter for the Forrest City Area Humane Society would be built by the end of the year.
The city still has until Feb. 1 to finalize its 2004 budget. The council agreed to one more budget meeting to finish discussions, to be held at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 20, before the regular council meeting at 7 p.m.
By DAVID NICHOL
T-H Staff Writer
School consolidation is back on the table in the Arkansas Legislature, state Rep. Danny Ferguson reported from Little Rock this morning.
The House Education Committee approved HB1109, sponsored by Rep. Will Bond, D-Jackonsville, on a voice vote and passed it on to the House.
"Bond's bill would consolidate schools with enrollments lower than 350," said Ferguson.
A plan calling for consolidation of districts with less than 500 enrollment failed last week.
"The bill would also project a 'receiving school' in case of consolidation," said Ferguson, who went on to explain what he meant. "Say, a school district was just over the minimum number, and wasn't in academic distress. And say there is a very small district that is performing very poorly. If you put that school district in with the good district, it could automatically shock their system and throw them into academic distress."
Ferguson said there were also some financial incentives to encourage districts to consolidate voluntarily. He said the bill could hit the House floor on Thursday. It still faces Senate action.
The House resistance to enrollment-based consolidation began softening Tuesday as conferees struggled to keep negotiations for a proposed new school funding formula alive.
House Speaker Herschel Cleveland, D-Paris, a leading opponent of Huckabee's plan to consolidate district, said he was warming to the idea of a lower threshold in exchange for votes to raise taxes to pay for education reform.
The state Supreme Court declared the state's school funding formula inequitable and inadequate in November 2002 and gave the state until Jan. 1, 2004, to develop remedies that provide equal educational opportunities to all of Arkansas' nearly 450,000 school children.
A court's decision last week to consider a motion to block most state spending until the Legislature complies with the court order has brought a new sense of urgency to efforts to find compromise solutions.
The high court has scheduled oral arguments for Jan. 22.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Members of the Caldwell City Council adopted an amended budget for 2003 on Tuesday, reflecting the actual expenditures and revenues for the year, according to Mayor Gary Hughes.
Hughes told councilmen the move was necessary according to state guidelines. "We had a budget for 2003, and this just shows our actual expenditures and revenues. The only major changes for the year was an additional $35,000 grant for the purchase of fire department equipment along with $149,719 in expenditures for the purchase of a fire truck.
Hughes also issued a public thank you to Sen. Steve Higginbotham for his efforts to assist the city in the purchase of a fire truck.
"We haven't received the $7,500 grant funds yet, but I'm sure that we will be getting them. Sen. Higginbotham has really been a big help for this city. I didn't have to call him to ask what he could do for the city because he called me and asked where he might be able to assist us.," Hughes said.
In other business, council members voted to approve a bid of $1,470 for a new copy machine for city hall. The low bid was from Business Equipment Center in Memphis. The city received one other bid from Hunton Office Supply in Forrest City.
Hughes also told council members that a meeting of the city's planning commission may be scheduled for next week to discuss 12 to15 acres of property that is being developed. According to Hughes, Byron Ponder has plans to put mobile or manufactured homes on one-acre plots on the land, which would fall within the city's mobile home regulations.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
First Judicial District Congressman Marion Berry spent much of Tuesday afternoon in Forrest City speaking with at the weekly meeting of the Forrest City Rotary Club and then holding a session for constituents in the quorum court room at the St. Francis County Courthouse.
The focus of Berry's speech to Rotary members centered on the country's $7 trillion debt for 2003. According to Berry, the debt is a burden which could endanger the financial status of the country for the next decade.
"There is a very real issue that this country is going to have to deal with that is not getting a lot of attention inside or outside of the beltway. That problem is, for the first time ever we went over $7 trillion in debt with absolutely no plan whatsoever to pay it off. No one is talking about what we're going to do about this," Berry said.
"When I went to Washington D.C. in 1993, the primary objective of the White House was to balance the budget so that we could pay off some of that debt. Now, we're running deficits to pay the debt of the federal government in excess of $500 billion a year. This year, the deficit is expected to be around $640 billion, and by the end of the decade, our national debt is projected to be as much as our gross domestic product," he said.
Berry also told Rotarians that the deficit issues have caused a decrease in the value of the dollar world wide, which could have significant repercussions in the future.
"At some point, this is going to come home to roost. We're already seeing a drop in the value of the dollar, about a 22-percent decrease over the past year. The next thing you will see is an increase in interest rates. It wasn't long ago that investor Warren Buffett announced that he was going to start purchasing Chinese currency with U.S. dollars because of its stronger value, and just in the time since he's announced that, he's made money because of the dollar's falling value," Berry said.
Berry also spoke on the recent passage of Medicare legislation. According to Berry, the new Medicare bill is "the sorriest piece of legislation passed by the United States Congress since Congress was established."
Berry praised portions of the bill for efforts to assist rural hospitals, but he bemoaned many aspects of the bill saying, "It has some specific wording against negotiating for lower prescription prices. Why would anyone who was going to be the largest consumer of a product agree on the front end to pay whatever price the manufacturer wanted to charge. That is insane. In the Medicare law it is against the law for the government to seek better prices.
Berry also denounced the switching of Medicare from a federal program to a privately run entity.
"It may be good, but it may be bad. Medicare came into being in the first place because private industry didn't want to insure the old and the sick. Now, we're willing to just hand Medicare back over to them. The benefits of these policies have yet to be stated, and there is no regulatory mechanism in there to deal with it. There is also a specific prohibition against the purchase of the Medicare supplements which are currently available," Berry said.
Education was another issue touched on by Berry who implored parents, teachers and communities as a whole to work together to educate the next generation of students. He also asked for continued support of the families of soldiers that are currently serving in active duty around the world.
St. Francis County Assessor Craig Jones wants to remind taxpayers in SFC that they must reassess all personal and business personal property for 2004.
"In accordance with Arkansas law, every taxpayer who drives a vehicle or owns a business must assess their personal property between Jan. 1 and May 31 of each year to avoid a 10 percent late assessment penalty," said Jones. "The penalty is strictly enforced by the state, and the local assessor's office is obligated to adhere to this mandate. This penalty is enforced in every county in the state, and I encourage people who live in other counties to call their local assessor's office and assess before May 31."
According to Jones, any taxpayer that has a 2003 assessment must now have a 2004 assessment to get car tags. You can obtain the assessment by calling the assessor's office at 261-1710 or 1-800-203-0211, between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Assessments are also available by dropping by the assessor's office in the SFC Courthouse.
"If you have paid your 2002 taxes, you can go by the Forrest City or Hughes revenue office and call the assessor's phone," commented Jones. "We have one located in both places and we will fax you a copy of your assessment."
Jones then talked about a change this year in business personal forms.
"Business personal forms are a little different this year. Last year we asked businesses to list all items owned by them on the business personal form. They were encouraged to put what the item was, when they acquired the said item and what was the purchase price. After the business owner completed this task and mailed the form this year the items they listed last year appeared on the form. All they have to do this year is to look at the items listed, mark out what they got rid of, list any new item they may have acquired, sign and date the form and then mail it back to us. This has made filling out this form a lot easier and will save the business owner a lot of time," Jones said.
"If a business owner failed to do this, the form they received from us will be blank," continued Jones. "We encourage all business owners who did not give a detailed list of their personal property last year to please complete this task and mail the completed form back to us by May 31. If a business owner fails to send back anything we are required by law to put them on the tax roll using the square foot method, which usually places a higher value on items and thus costs the business owner more money. If you are a business owner, please call us for more information.
"I also encourage taxpayers whose house or mobile home is in their name and is their primary residence to take advantage of the Homestead Credit or $300 tax credit. If you already have the credit, you do not need to do anything because it carries over from one year to the next. Also, if you are over 65 years old as of Jan. 1, 2003, or are totally disabled, you will qualify for a value freeze on your primary residence, and like the Homestead Credit, if you have already done this you don't need to do it again because it carries over from year to year," Jones added.
The Forrest City Post Office lobby will close on Saturday, Jan. 17, at 4 p.m. and not re-open until Monday, Jan. 19, at 8 a.m. for repairs to the lobby floor.
According to Post Master Normal Gilchrest, the closing is necessary to allow the repairs to settle properly.
"I really don't want to have to close the building, but it's something we have to do so that we can get the floor properly finished," Gilchrest said.
While the lobby will be closed, postal customers wishing to make a deposit on Saturday afternoon can send outgoing mail using the outdoors boxes. The lobby will re-open at 8 a.m. on Monday, but the Post Office will be closed for business due to the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
A documentary filmed in September 2003 that includes residents of Palestine is set to air this week.
Downtown Community Television (DCTV) made Palestine one of its 12 stops across the country while filming a documentary about the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 and its effects on American citizens.
The first airing of the documentary will be on Thursday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m. on Link TV. Link TV is channel 375 on DirecTV and channel 9410 on the Dish Network.