Justice delayed being something akin to justice denied is an oft-heard warning about any court system that allows cases to languish without resolution.
The same, however, isn't necessarily true of public works projects, where speed is often the enemy of better planning.
Benton County leaders should not let an early primary in 2016 rush them in their efforts to gain voter approval for a new courts facility.
Benton County officials have made planning for construction of a new courts facility a priority in 2015, and now there's talk of trying to get a tax increase proposal ready in time for the March 1 primaries.
Many Benton County residents -- dare we say most -- have little to no direct interaction with the county's court system. Let's call that a blessing. All residents, however, have a vested interest in it. These days we hear so much about overcrowded prisons and jails -- the governor just committed another $7.4 million to open up 200 new prison beds in the state -- but justice begins with courts. If they do not function well, we're shortchanging the efforts to get tough on criminals who need a strong hand and to find alternative means for lawbreakers who can be dealt with in ways less burdensome to the state and her taxpayers.
Benton County has a functioning court system. As the population has grown, the demands on the judicial system have as well. County leaders have found ways to stitch together a collection of courts that get the job done, but not as efficiently and effectively as a growing community of towns and rural areas should want. The courts are currently spread around three downtown buildings, including outdated facilities in the 1928 Benton County Courthouse.
These circumstances have led to the 2015 discussions of how to build a single courts facility that can restore efficiency, improve the capacity to use modern technology and provide adequate space for jurors, attorneys, families and the public. Benton County, quite simply, has outgrown the facilities it has dedicated to the courts.
But such a determination is just a first step. Most county decision-makers have favored building a new facility in the downtown area although County Judge Bob Clinard prefers a facility near the county jail off Arkansas 102. So far, cost estimates on either facility have floated around the $25 million mark, but those are quite preliminary.
The latest question has been about timing. Any project will require a vote of the people because any project will require new taxation. At a recent meeting of the Quorum Court, justices of the peace bounced around the idea of putting the question to voters by the March 1 primaries. Clinard, however, said it will take months of additional architectural work and planning to get ready to inform the public about what the county is asking them to support.
Justice of the Peace Tom Allen and others said they opposed a special election on the matter.
"I don't like the idea of having a special election because fewer people vote in those," Allen said. "I think we want as many people to vote on this as possible."
We can respect the sentiment. So it's March 1 or, as others suggest, potentially waiting until the general election in November 2016. The perfect timing would probably fall somewhere in between. If only Arkansas' primaries in 2016 fell just a few months later in the calendar, that election might prove to be perfect timing. Perhaps, just to pull a month out of thin air, a May election would have been entirely within a reasonable time line.
Oh, wait. Arkansas' primaries used to be in May, but state lawmakers -- primarily pushed by the GOP -- moved them to March in a scheme to (1) get a little more attention from presidential candidates (unlikely) and (2) to create a better 2016 fund-raising opportunity for whoever the GOP nominee happens to be. With 16 GOP candidates in the field as of Tuesday, the eventual nominee will probably need the extra time.
But if Benton County doesn't like special elections, it shouldn't rush on this project to meet the March 1 election deadlines that's more about presidential politics than it will ever be about local needs. The county can ill afford a rush to vote that ends up with a rejection.
The court system in Benton County needs help, but the situation is not so urgent that county leaders need to panic over the election calendar. Make a plan, work the plan and ensure enough time to help the public fully understand the plan.
Get too eager and a judicial building rushed may become a judicial building denied.
Commentary on 07/29/2015