Washington County Quorum Court says 'no' to combining budgets

FAYETTEVILLE -- Justices of the peace turned down Tuesday a proposal to combine two budgets of a department that already had one department head to save money, County Judge Marilyn Edwards said.

The move to combine the comptroller and purchasing budgets would have saved $7,334 next year, according to documents passed out at a special budget meeting Tuesday.

The county faces a massive shortfall of revenue versus spending needs next year.

The county judge combined the comptroller and purchasing departments last year. Duties overseeing employees at what was two offices went to Comptroller Cheryl Bolinger.

The move for one budget would allow Bolinger to pay out of one budget instead of two, she said.

"Nothing has really changed," Bolinger said. "The only thing (combining departments) changed is having everything come from our office."

The county judge has the power to combine the two offices, said Steve Zega, county attorney. The Quorum Court has control of the budgets, he said.

The issue was confusing and a surprise to some justices of the peace, said Justice of the Peace Joel Maxwell, R-Siloam Springs.

"This was a curve ball," Maxwell said.

Several justices of the peace said they understood the issue but worried having one budget would remove safeguards.

Justice of the Peace Eva Madison, D-Fayetteville, said she voted against combining the budgets because duties of purchasing and accounting shouldn't be under one department. Duties should be segregated to prevent fraud and theft, Madison said.

Bolinger said safeguards have increased since the departments became one. The proposal also met the approval of state auditors, she said.

Justice of the Peace Ann Harbison, D-West Fork, said the Quorum Court's decision to fail creating one budget may have cost the county more money.

"We are here to use taxpayer money as effectively as we can," Harbison said. "I don't understand why it didn't pass."

During the same meeting, justices of the peace approved spending hundreds of thousands for new law enforcement vehicles and new personnel for various departments.

The measure failed because some justices of the peace are against proposals coming from the county judge's office, Edwards said. The proposal to save the county money by combining the budgets failed "out of spite," she said.

Edwards said her next move will be to place someone as a purchasing director and ask the county for more money to fill a position most justices of the peace seem to want.

"We'll separate the offices if you want," Edwards said.

NW News on 10/07/2015

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