FAYETTEVILLE -- Justices of the peace failed Monday to restart a Finance Committee dissolved last year over conflict between some justices of the peace and County Judge Marilyn Edwards.
"I think we've been down this road," said Justice of the Peace Ann Harbison. "To develop consensus (and) to work on this budget, we just need to do what we did last year. Maybe we will be able to (have the committee) with the new county judge."
Harbison is a Democrat representing south-southwestern Washington County.
A new county judge will take over in January because Edwards didn't run for re-election.
The move to restart the committee comes just before budgeting starts in earnest this year. A Finance Committee would give justices of the peace a chance to look at budget items in-depth before they come to the Quorum Court for approval, said Justice of the Peace Bill Ussery, a Republican representing Springdale east of U.S. 71B and north of U.S. 412.
"The one thing is that -- when we discuss in committee -- we have time to digest and think about it," Ussery said.
Ussery is the chairman of the Ordinance Review Committee, which considered adding the Finance Committee to a list of established committees during its Monday night meeting. The move would have restarted the committee, but likely would create conflict, justices of the peace said.
Justice of the Peace Butch Pond said he supported having a committee but it would cause "discord." Pond is a Republican representing western Washington County. He abstained from a vote to dissolve the original Finance Committee last year.
Justices of the peace dissolved the committee in July 2015, after Edwards wouldn't appoint all justices of the peace to the committee. The move was meant to give each justice of the peace a direct vote on spending, they said at the time.
The Quorum Court took the place of the committee, and all justices of the peace now are involved in handling the $63 million budget.
Justices of the peace have the power to start a committee, but Edwards has the power to make appointments, County Attorney Steve Zega said. Edwards is unlikely to appoint all justices of the peace to a Finance Committee, Zega said. That's likely to continue controversy surrounding the committee, Harbison said.
Justices of the peace who aren't appointed to the committee won't have adequate say on the budget process, said Justice of the Peace Sharon Lloyd, a republican who represents Springdale west of U.S. 71B. Lloyd said she couldn't support a committee that didn't have all justices of the peace on it.
Budgeting is the most important duty of justices of the peace, justices of the peace said.
"If you are not on the committee, you don't always get your voice heard," Lloyd said.
NW News on 08/16/2016