BENTONVILLE -- Benton County's Quorum Court will have six new members in January who will have to deal with some familiar issues.
The final seat on the 15-member body was set after Tuesday's general election when Josh Bryant defeated Rey Hernandez for the District 2 seat. Five other seats were filled in the March 1 primary.
Quorum Court changes
Benton County’s Quorum Court will have six new justices of the peace beginning in January. Since 2000, the Quorum Court has had five new justices of the peace on four occasions, including 2013 when the body expanded from 13 members to 15 as a result of the 2010 census.
Source: Benton County Clerk’s Office
The other new members are: Mike McKenzie, District 1; Mary Jane Comstock, District 3; Bob Bland, District 11; Adriane Carr, District 12; and Joel Edwards, District 15. McKenzie previously served one term on the Quorum Court, losing his bid for re-election in 2014 to Ron Easley, who subsequently moved out of the district.
The newcomers will face a learning curve, which Quorum Court veterans said can last from a few months to a year or more. The current justices of the peace have had to learn the details of the proposed courts building and the rural ambulance service. The Road Department is a source of constituent questions and complaints, and the budget process is an annual event. In addition to those ongoing issues, work to the War Eagle Bridge will add to the learning process.
"The good thing is that there's 15 of us so nothing really shuts down when there's turnover," said Tom Allen, justice if the peace for District 4.
Allen, who has served on the Quorum Court for more than a decade and is chairman of the Finance Committee, said the justices of the peace with more experience are usually the committee chairmen and can shepherd newcomers through the learning process.
"You have to make sure they understand the differences between how businesses operate and how county government operates," Allen said. "If you aren't familiar with government, it can be a long process. My advice is to listen and to ask questions. Their questions are probably going to be logical, and it's generally true there's no such thing as a bad question."
The newcomers' familiarity with county government varies. Some have past government experience. Some have served on the boards of community agencies. Other are complete newcomers. Bland has no prior experience as an elected official and decided to immerse himself in Benton County government well in advance of taking office on Jan. 1.
"I've been attending meetings pretty regularly since last July." Bland said. "I know the wheels of government move pretty slow, so there's not much you could do to catch up in a short time. I wanted to be as up to speed as I could be."
Bland has attended Quorum Court and committee meetings. He's sat through the budget process in 2015 and 2016 and has been a regular at meetings and workshops where the county's courts building project has been discussed. He said the time spent has been beneficial.
"I don't pretend to know everything that's going on," he said. "But I do have a grasp of where things are with the justice center and this is my second time through the budget."
Bland said everyone learns differently and will have to prepare themselves as best they can.
"I knew what it was going to take for me to understand it," he said. "That's why I made it a point of attending as many of the meetings as I could."
Susan Anglin is completing her second term as justice of the peace for District 9. Anglin said the initial learning curve for her lasted for most of her first term, although she said she still is learning the details of county government. Anglin said some of the learning can't be done until a person sits in their seat on the Quorum Court and makes decisions.
"Even though I had gone to meetings and listened to the discussion, I knew there were a lot of thing I didn't understand," she said. "There are lots of things I'm still working on -- the budget and some of the things about the way the money is handled. There are so many details."
Carr has some indirect experience with county government since her husband, Patrick Carr, served two terms on the Quorum Court before giving up his seat. When Tom Leadabrand decided not to seek re-election, Carr said she thought the timing was right for her to explore her own interests in serving in local government.
"When Patrick was on the Quorum Court I kept pretty much up to speed," Carr said. "I attended several meetings with him and listened to what was being discussed. I've always loved Siloam Springs and being involved in the community, and when this seat came open I mentioned to Patrick I might be interested."
Carr said she has been involved with a number of volunteer boards and nonprofit entities, including serving on the finance committee of a local hospital. She said since their daughter has graduated from college and moved to another state, she has more time available.
"This opportunity came up and I decided I would give it a shot," she said.
Carr said she's familiar enough with the job to view it as something she is interested in doing for some time.
"I'm going in there thinking this is something I want to do," she said. "I hope I can do the job well, to the point where my district will say 'She's doing a good job, let's keep her.'"
Pat Adams is in his second term as justice of the peace for District 6. Adams said the most important thing for new justices of the peace to is work hard and don't be afraid to speak your mind.
"It actually took me my first two years to figure out how it all works," Adams said. "I expressed myself and probably made some silly statements during that time. I would suggest any new JPs make as many of the committee meetings as they can between now and January. I know it's time consuming, but they ran for the position."
NW News on 11/13/2016