Police Chief Brian Young spoke at the Oct. 11 city council meeting about volunteer police, explaining that volunteer was another word for auxiliary officers, and their hiring process was exactly the same as other full-time officers.
The contrasts Young highlighted between auxiliary and full-time officers include training differences. While full time officers go to the Police Academy within six months of hiring, auxiliary officers receive certification through the state. Auxiliary officers on duty have the authority of a full-time officer.
Auxiliary officer candidates must spend two months in training for 110 hours on their own time. Once they pass that test the department can choose to hire them as an auxiliary. They must donate 16 hours a month to be on duty and a one-year probation period. An auxiliary can only work while another full-time officer is on duty as well. Young assured council that none of the auxiliary officers on staff now works alone and all have ten years’ experience.
Alderman Harry Meyer questioned if auxiliary officers receive local Police & Fire Retirement and Young said they do, but not the same as full-time officers. Meyer asked if that applied to Building Inspector Bobbie Ray and Young said it did.
This prompted Meyer to question if Ray was paid as part-time. Young said that he was not paid through the police department, and explained that Ray is authorized to enforce state-statutes with the same training as auxiliary officers as part of his code-enforcement work. Meyer took exception to that, saying that he had opinion from the Municipal League that code enforcement did not require such authority.
City Attorney Tim Weaver clarified that violation of some Eureka Springs adopted codes are classified as misdemeanors, and Ray needs that authority to write up those violations.
Alderman Bill Ott asked if Young felt a need for those officers, and Young said that auxiliary officers take some of the load off for calls, and help with more people on the streets during major weekends. He also said that it helps with having a hiring pool. He said Eureka Springs is different from other towns and hiring a full-time officer from the auxiliary is an easier transition. Young said there is a need and would like to have more auxiliary officers on staff.
Transit fleet up to date
Director of ES Transit System Ken Smith covered finances of the department moving into 2022 in a public hearing at the start of the meeting.
Smith said the CARES Act had given 100 percent reimbursement for administration and operation expenses as well as for capital expenses through December 2021. The Act had also provided $116,058.18 to the transit department in revenue lost during the Covid pandemic.
Smith said in 2021 that transit had been awarded $277,922 that was not part of the CARES Act and would be subject to an 80/20 match. With that money transit had purchased a new trolley for $234,000. With this trolley and two buses and two vans ordered with the CARES Act capital expenses coverage, Smith said the fleet would be fully up to date. He did tell council that ARDOT, in March, had told him the two buses and two vans would be arriving in six months to a year but that recently they could not give him an ETA.
Looking toward 2022, Smith said that he was expecting the federal government to go to an 80/20 match on administration costs and 50/50 match on operating expenses. Administration costs are at $351,610 with a match obligation of $70,322 while operating expenses are budgeted at $751,500. Subtracting an estimated fare revenue of $233,600 leaves that amount at $517,900 with transit expected to match $258,950.
This leaves a total match obligation for 2022 at $384,856, with $167,600 of that paid through the Public Transit Trust Fund provided by the State of Arkansas toward match obligations, with the remaining $217,256 for Transit to pay. Smith said transit will pay through parking lot revenue, tram tours and ad sales in the brochure and inside trolley banners.
Other Items
- Resolution #806 to allow surplus Parks equipment to be included in city auction passed.
- 2311 and 2312, Prohibiting new tourist lodgings and removing members from city commissions, both passed their third and final reading.
- Aldermen intend to begin looking at the 2022 budget earlier to give more time for themselves and the public to go over it before passage.