Benton County Judge To Set Time For Ambulance Vote

— Benton County’ justices of the peace were split Tuesday on when to hold a election on a rural ambulance fee, leaving County Judge Bob Clinard to make the call.

The Quorum Court’s Committee of the Whole rejected holding a vote in November 2014 on the proposed emergency medical services district and an $85 yearly fee on rural households.

The panel defeated that motion with five justices of the peace — Mike McKenzie, Susan Anglin, Michelle Chiocco, Kurt Moore and Brent Meyers — voting in favor and eight — Jay Harrison, Tom Allen, Kevin Harrison, Pat Adams, Joel Jones, Shirley Sandlin, Steve Curry and Barry Moehring — voting against it. The committee took no further action on the question.

“I will sleep on it and let you know tomorrow,” Clinard told the committee after the vote.

At A Glance

County Action

Benton County’s Committee of the Whole on Tuesday approved:

Spending $18,220 to repair lightning damage to gates and lighting at the county jail.

Transferring $800,000 from the general fund to the road fund.

Transferring $10,000 in the Road Department budget for right of way easement on Windmill Road.

Adopting the revised planning and development regulations, a revised fee schedule for planning review and exempting agricultural land from planning review and fees.

Source: Staff Report

Clinard asked the group Tuesday to give him some indication of whether they supported a February election on the proposal to get the fee collected next year, which would save nearly $1 million, or leave the matter until a vote in November, as requested on the petition forcing the election.

The Quorum Court approved in September creating the district and fee. The fee would be included on property tax statements for residents of the district.

Theresa Pockrus, a Fayetteville attorney and former Benton County collector, helped organize a petition drive calling for a vote on the fee and district.

George Spence, county attorney, told Clinard in a memo given to the justices of the peace he believes the county can schedule an election early in 2014 and have the fee placed on the tax statements if the measure withstands the challenge. If the tax goes into effect after the deadline for placing the information on the statements as it would with a November vote, Spence said, the county won’t collect the fee until 2015.

The justices of the peace were also set to discuss the 2014 budget, endorsed last week by the county’s Finance Committee. That discussion was continuing at press time.

Sarah Daniels, comptroller, said the most current projection shows the county with $48,204,012 in revenue for 2014. The budget calls for expenditures of $48,292,778. Daniels said the $88,766 difference will be made up from reserve. That amount will be added to another $155,000 in revenue to make payments for the rural ambulance service for the first three months of 2014 while the county awaits the outcome of the election.

The county expects to have about $1 million returned from 2013’s budget at the end of March, Daniels said. The justices of the peace plan to replace the $88,766 used from the reserve for ambulance costs out of the turnback, leaving about $919,000, Allen.

The items remaining on the capital equipment request total $632,723, and the remaining personnel requests — wage adjustments in the Sheriff’s Office and County Jail costing $62,972 and $57,342 for a proposed safety coordinator position — could be paid for from the returned money or money could be set aside for the rural ambulance service costs, Daniels said.

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