LITTLE ROCK — REPUBLICAN members of the quorum court in Washington County voted not to appropriate $1.05 million tax dollars for a new animal shelter. This majority on the court refused to give their go-ahead without more due diligence anyway. How refreshing!
The more conservative justices wanted to examine, on behalf of the taxpayers, which features and costs are truly necessary before approving a million dollar purchase for a shelter to care for stray animals from across the county.
Court member Candy Clark, a Democrat, presented the ordinance that would have approved the $1.05 million directly to the full court rather than first running it through the finance committee, which is the normal route for these ordinances. She explained her reason for bypassing that committee this way: “This [ordinance] is the exception to the rule.”
The Republican members of the court are likely a bit gunshy after the court’s experience last year with building a new county coroner’s complex. One of those justices, Micah Neal, said the court voted to appropriate $350,000 to build a simple and square building, rather than accepting architectural plans for a futuristic-looking version.
But when the building was complete, the approved version had transformed into the futuristic model they’d rejected, which also cost taxpayers thousands more than they’d initially approved. These court members don’t care to see a repeat of the coroner’s new digs with this proposed shelter.
The justices did approve $150,000 to secure an architectural firm to draw up a design for the proposed shelter. Marilyn Edwards, the county judge, already has selected AFHJ Architects and Planners for that job. It’s always wise to have a plan before handing over $1 million in taxes for a county judge to allocate. We applaud the justices who voted to see and study what the architects develop before voting to appropriate a lot of public money toward any building that might seem excessive or elaborate.
Editorial, Pages 12 on 02/28/2011