Finish this job

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — GARY WIERMAN can’t, or perhaps just doesn’t care to, explain why the final touches on his remodeling job for Benton County’s assessor and tax collector remain unfinished-after more than six months.

It’s taken that long for a contractor to finish some painting, carpeting and other relatively minor repairs on those offices-and the clock is still ticking.

Mr. Wierman, who owns Valley Homes, says he can’t really say when the work will be done. He told a reporter he had a business to run and was doing the best he can.

Aren’t we all, Mr. Wierman?

But that doesn’t excuse this delay, or Mr. Wierman’s not giving the public at least some idea of when he’ll be finished.

Yes, none of the remaining work may be all that significant. But a contract is a contract, and this job was supposed to be done by last January.

It doesn’t help that Dave Bisbee, the county judge, owned Valley Homes before transferring it to Mr. Wierman in December. Back then, Judge Bisbee already had assigned the remodeling job to Valley Homes-without taking bids. Because, he said, he thought the company could get the job done quickly. That is, by the end of the year.

Well, so much for that explanation. Like so many of Judge Bisbee’s, it didn’t pan out.

Other county officials are partly at fault for allowing these unfinished repairs to drag on. Mr. Wierman was paid in full six months ago with a check for $15,443.12.

No one, including Chris Glass, Benton County’s administrator, can explain how that happened. Isn’t it normal business practice to withhold at least part of the payment till a job is complete? So the customer will still have a little financial leverage to make sure everything is done right.

Mr. Weirman was scheduled to meet with county officials the other day and, it was to be hoped, reach an agreement on an end date for this never-ending project. Now that the spotlight of public attention is focused on the problem, maybe the public will get some idea of when the work will be done. Or maybenot.

The way this tax-paid project has been handled from the beginning has been unacceptable. Bids were skipped because, it was said, the job needed to be done quickly. It (a) hasn’t been done, and (b) certainly not quickly.