At Monday night’s meeting, Carroll County Quorum Court rejected a proposed resolution regarding the $18 trash fee. Some justices of the peace suggested that the resolution would do no more than register the county’s disapproval of the fee. Others said they could not vote for the resolution because of its language.
The resolution almost failed to make it to the table. Several JPs had declined requests to sponsor the item on the agenda, but JP John Howerton said he agreed to sponsor the resolution for purposes of discussion.
JP Lamont Richie offered a brief history of a failed landfill, and the cost to pay off bonds and clean up the site. A circuit judge decided last year that each business and residential parcel in the six counties who jointly purchased the landfill would pay an $18 fee for 25 to 30 years.
Richie said no one likes the decision, but he referred to “inflammatory comments” by those who presented the resolution. He explained the difference between a fee and a tax, and pointed out that a 1989 Arkansas statute covers repayment of the bond. In response to the description of the bonds as “junk bonds,” because they were not secured by a tax, Richie said any municipality or state retirement system could invest in bonds like these.
“This is a legislative, not a judicial, agency,” he said. “This resolution calls on us to exercise authority we don’t have.” Since a circuit judge imposed the fee, only a lawsuit by those affected could change the situation.
Several in the audience spoke in favor of the resolution, and said quorum courts in the other affected counties have passed similar resolutions. JP Noreen Watson said, “It’s not an accurate statement.”
JPs voted to table the resolution, with the possibility of considering an amended version in the future.
The rest of the meeting
Except for discussion of the trash fee, the quorum court had a light agenda. JPs approved the third reading of an ordinance stating that the county has no objection to expanding the liquor license at T&A Saloon in Busch, a restaurant that applied to add liquor by the drink to its other offerings. Richie reminded everyone that this ordinance does not grant the permit, merely confirms that the county has no objection.
Vonda Moore introduced herself as the new administrator and director of nursing at Mercy Hospital. She offered an update on the hospital, and said she expects to appear before the quorum court at least twice a year, and more often if needed. Several JPs welcomed this suggestion, saying that previous administrators had not communicated adequately.
Moore said Ronnie Whiteley and Greg Thurman are completing their terms on the hospital board, and she will nominate Deretha Walker and Richard Harp to succeed them to three-year terms. She said a new family-practice doctor would arrive this summer, with another one scheduled for next year. Moore also outlined the hospital’s change in affiliation from the Mercy system in Springfield, Mo., to the Mercy system in Rogers. She described the coming changes as primarily internal, and said the public will not notice any difference.
In comments at the end of the meeting, JP Watson said a revised employee handbook would be available for the quorum court to adopt. She also reported on attending the recent meeting of the Arkansas Association of Quorum Courts. The AAQC discussed imposing sales tax on Internet purchases. All Arkansas counties have joined in a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. Watson called the suit “a first of its kind,” involving the entire state.