Washington County Revenue Trends Up

Friday, January 17, 2014

The 2013 revenue sustaining Washington County’s general, jail and road funds was up from the year before, the county treasurer said Thursday evening.

Roger Haney, the treasurer, reported last year’s figures during the monthly Quorum Court meeting. Justices of the peace also discussed and approved several routine actions in a straightforward agenda.

Haney said the county’s 1-cent sales tax, which is split between roads and the general fund, and the quarter-cent sales tax, which goes to the jail, were both up about 4 percent over 2012, totalling more than $14 million together.

Several bills from the tail end of December still have to go through, said justice of the peace Candy Clark, but overall the county’s 2013 budgets look healthy.

After the financial report, the court voted to take $851,000 in state and federal grants that have already been awarded to the county and inject them in this coming year’s budget. That includes $350,000 for the Washington and Madison County Drug Court, for example.

The justices also voted to contract with the Association of Arkansas Counties.

Both are routine, annual actions, but both also prompted discussion and some argument before being approved.

“I would just like to see us be self-sufficient,” said Ron Aman, who initially opposed accepting the grant money. “I think if we manage our money well, we don’t need it.”

The other justices eventually won him over, arguing the grants were taxpayer money the county deserves and would otherwise just go to another county.