BENTONVILLE -- Benton County officials have mixed feelings about when to ask voters to pay for a proposed new courts building.
A new building would house the circuit courts and related offices now scattered among space in the historic county courthouse, a pair of other buildings in downtown Bentonville and the Juvenile Justice Center.
Voter turnout
Benton County voters may be asked to support a funding plan for a new county courts building next year. The 2016 primary election is set for March 1 and the general election is scheduled for Nov. 8. In 2012, the last presidential election year, there were 26,656 votes cast in the primary election, which was 24.97 percent of the county’s registered voters. At the 2012 general election there were 79,713 votes cast, which was 70.32 percent of the county’s registered voters. In a 2014 special election on a proposal to fund rural ambulance service there were 3,494 votes cast, which was 16.88 percent of the number of eligible registered voters.
Source: Benton County clerk
The county is working on plans to keep the courts downtown on a site on Second Street, just north of the old courthouse and adjacent to the court annex that houses Circuit Judge Brad Karren's court.
While design work is ongoing, the county's justices of the peace have begun to explore funding options, with the Finance Committee leading the discussion. Talk has centered around a property tax increase or a temporary sales tax. Both would require voter approval.
Tom Allen, chairman of the Finance Committee, thinks the election question deserves more attention.
"We have had some discussion, but I agree it's not been enough," Allen said. "We did get a response from our county attorney indicating that in order for us to put something on the March primary election we have to have it all zipped up and ready to go by Dec. 21. I'd like to have some comfort zone by backing it up by a couple of weeks to some time around the first of the month. So that's four months, 120 days. We've still got a lot of decisions that are pretty significant that have to be made."
Allen's preference is the county work toward getting a ballot issue ready for the March 1 primary.
"It's pretty obvious that putting this on the March ballot is not going to be easy," he said. "At this point, I think we probably should see if we can do that. I'm open on it, but the problem I see with moving it to the general election in November is that it really delays the project. That's a long time to delay getting work done on something the county really needs. Plus, interest rates are going up. I don't know what interest rates will be in November but you could cost yourself some money by waiting."
County Judge Bob Clinard isn't certain the county can make enough progress with design work to be able to move to a vote in March.
"It's still to be determined what plan and location we're going to move forward with," Clinard said. "I expect to have a bracketed budget at the next Finance Committee and I think when they get the numbers it's going to be an eye opener."
The county won't have a "credible budget" until an architect has been hired and given time to work on more detailed design drawings, Clinard said. What has been done so far are conceptual drawings. Getting the architectural design work done could take three or four months, Clinard said. The county won't have hard cost figures until the project is put out for bids, so a vote would be based on those architectural plans and estimates. The county also needs to have time to educate and inform voters about the proposal, which may not be possible with a March 1 vote, Clinard said.
"I know it's hard to get those town halls and other events put together," he said. "From the time we have an architect to get to a credible budget is four or five months. To have time to inform the voters, I think it would take it out to about eight months. To get to March 1, that's cutting it pretty close. Could it be done? Probably, but it would take some quick action by the Quorum Court."
Barry Moehring, justice of the peace for District 15, is skeptical the county can be ready for a March 1 vote. He also said he doesn't think the county should be in any hurry on a project of this size and importance.
"I think it's highly improbable we'll be able to do it in March, and I don't think we should rush it to try to make that deadline," Moehring said. "I think the public is going to want us to get it right before we get it fast."
Joel Jones, justice of the peace for District 7 and chairman of the Public Safety Committee, thinks the timing of the vote will rest on work done by the Finance Committee.
"The terms, the length and the amount we want to raise is more a finance question," Jones said.
Jones said his view is the November general election is the most likely time for a vote. Jones would oppose having the county's plan voted on in a special election.
"If we can't get it done in time for the March election I would like to delay it to November even though that delays our collecting anything until the second quarter of 2017," he said. "I'm personally not a fan of special elections."
Allen agreed the county should not aim for a special election.
"I don't like the idea of having a special election because fewer people vote in those," he said. "I think we want as many people to vote on this as possible."
NW News on 07/20/2015