Ten of the 11 justices of the peace attended Monday’s quorum court meeting in person, held in the garage at the Road Department to allow for social distancing.
The agenda included some changes to the healthcare policies at the Detention Center. The quorum court passed an ordinance in April to contract with an outside provider for medical care at the jail, and on Monday they revisited that ordinance, changing some of the rates charged to inmates for visits with doctors or nurses.
An inmate requesting a visit with a nurse will face a $20 co-pay and seeing a doctor will incur a $30 co-pay. The ordinance notes that inmates without funds in their commissary accounts will not be denied medical services, although any unpaid medical fees may later be added to an inmate’s fines and restitution.
Sheriff Jim Ross explained that Turnkey, the company providing medical services at the jail, suggested the details of the ordinance. He said one reason for hiring Turnkey was their ability to recover funds from Medicare and other sources. Generating more funds from inmates is part of the goal of keeping medical costs as low as possible.
Ross also received approval to restructure some staff. When he took office two years ago, he asked to replace a road deputy with an administrative deputy. With the department running more smoothly, Ross will spread those administrative duties among other staff, and will be able to hire another road deputy. Ross said he has interviewed applicants, but he could not hire someone without the quorum court approval.
In other business:
- JPs authorized $3,000 to pay for repairing the roof of the Eastern District courthouse in Berryville. The flat roof has been a recurring expense. “It’s been a problem as long as I can remember,” JP Larry Swofford, who has served 27 years on the quorum court, said. He noted that the air-conditioning units on the roof vibrate and eventually sink into the roof. Another $3,000 will cover the difference between the estimated cost and the final cost of a metal stairway at the Eureka Springs courthouse. The ordinance also included $210 to replace a wood window with a plastic shield at the Public Defender’s office.
- The Carroll County Airport will receive $20,000 under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. This money comes through the Federal Aviation Administration, to replace revenue lost at small airports. JPs voted to allow the county judge to sign the grant application.
- With two members of the Western Carroll County Ambulance District completing their terms, Angie Tennille Shaw and Richard September were named to three-year terms on the board, expiring in April 2023.
- Tamara Johnson has retired from the Prosecuting Attorney’s office. An ordinance will allow her to continue working there as contract labor until a suitable replacement can be found.