HIV Money Slashed In Budget

BENTON COUNTY HALVES SPENDING FOR NEIGHBORING CLINIC

By Tabatha Hunter

Posted: November 6, 2009 at 8:30 a.m.

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BENTONVILLE — The Benton County Finance Committee finalized a draft of the county’s 2010 budget Tuesday.

The bare-bones budget will include no salary increases for elected officials or nonelected county employees and just $17,000 for the Washington County HIV Clinic.

Some justices of the peace voiced frustration with a request for money from the Washington County HIV Clinic. In 2008, Benton County officials agreed to pay $34,000 to the clinic to be paid in 2009. At that time, officials agreed the expenditure was one time only, Justice Bobby Hubbard said.

“We gave this a good e◊ort last year, and it sounds like they got the ball rolling (toward becoming a selfsustaining nonprofi t organization),” Hubbard said. “But I am against giving them the money. We have too many things to spend money on.”

Paul Smith, a member of the Washington County HIV Task Force, assured justices of the peace the clinic would have its nonprofit status by the end of the year and members of the task force were busy seeking funding.

As of Tuesday, the Washington County HIV Clinic was responsible for treating 262 HIV patients from Benton County, 18 of which were new to the clinic in 2009, Smith said.

Justice of the Peace Marge Wolf reminded Smith the Quorum Court agreed to fund the clinic last year, itdid so with the stipulation the clinic become a nonprofi t organization and self-sustaining before asking for any additional money.

“Was the agreement completed?” Wolf asked. “No, it was not.”

“If anybody has failed, it was me,” Beverly Williams, former justice of the peace and HIV Task Force member said, noting the work is being done, albiet slowly.

When put to a vote, the Finance Committee agreed to give $17,000 to the clinic in 2010.

“This will be the last $17,000 that I will vote for,” Wolf said with fellow justices of the peace Kurt Moore and Robert Stephenson agreeingwith her sentiments.

Benton County’s 2010 operating budget also includes $330,000 to purchase two new fire trucks for area volunteer fire departments and $360,000 to purchase 200 electronic voting machines for the Election Commission.

Justices of the peace voted to include the monies to purchase the voting machines after learning the new machines will save the county $95,616 each year on printing paper ballots, Richard McComas, county comptroller, said.

The 2010 budget also allows for just one new position, a sta◊assistant in the election commission’s o◊ce. The position will cost the county an additional $28,000 per year and will become the commission’s first full-time employee, said Bill Williams, chairman of the election commission.

News, Pages 1 on 11/06/2009

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