BENTONVILLE -- Benton County's justices of the peace approved raised for themselves Thursday as they completed work on the 2015 budget.
The $25 increase in the per diem for justices of the peace will boost the rate for Quorum Court and Committee of the Whole meeting from $175 to $200. Justices of the peace also will be paid $125 rather than $100 for attending meetings of committees they are members of. The overall cost to the county is estimated at $16,425 by Brenda Guenther, comptroller.
The pay increase was approved 11-4. Voting in favor were Mike McKenzie, Rey Hernandez, Kevin Harrison, Pat Adams, Joel Jones, Shirley Sandlin, Michelle Chiocco, Steve Curry, Patrick Carr, Kurt Moore and Brent Meyers. Voting against were Jay Harrison, Tom Allen, Susan Anglin and Barry Moehring.
According to Guenther, the average pay for justices of the peace would increase from about $6,180 to about $7,275, based on the monthly meetings of the Quorum Court and Committee of the Whole and 33 other committee meetings throughout the year. Those costs are for meetings only. Mileage and other expenses are added costs. The 2015 budget for the Quorum Court, including the raises, increased from $92,700 to $109,125.
The raises had failed to gain approval from the Finance Committee during the budget process, stalling when the justices of the peace split 3-3 when it was brought to a vote Dec. 4. The issue was brought to the Committee of the Whole's Dec. 9 meeting as a discussion item and that panel recommended it be included in the budget, 9-3.
Anglin, who missed the Finance Committee and Committee of the Whole meetings, said she knew she was in a minority but still wanted to voice her opposition to the raises. She said she considered her position on the Quorum Court a matter of public service and she couldn't support the raises. Anglin also said she thought the justices of the peace agreed to limit consideration of raises so they would be approved before the filing period for office, so potential candidates for the justices of the peace would know of them, but the increases would take effect after the elections.
Jones said the question of timing for raises is an issue, but putting them in place before elections also presents potential problems.
"There's never a good time for us to give ourselves raises," Jones said. "Before the primary we don't know what the picture of the budget is going to look like for the following year."
After approving the raises the justices of the peace unanimously approved the budget.
NW News on 12/19/2014