BENTONVILLE -- Benton County's justices of the peace on Tuesday endorsed a range of personnel requests for the 2019 budget.
The Personnel Committee agreed to send the requests on to the Budget Committee when that panel begins its work on next year's budget.
Many of the requests were for changes in job titles, grades and duties.
Sheriff Shawn Holloway asked the position of chief deputy be changed from a graded position to one considered a professional position. Holloway said the change will allow the chief deputy to be paid according to his responsibilities.
"He basically has all the responsibilities I have, except one," Holloway said. "He's not responsible for me."
Holloway also asked for approval of a part-time program to ease problems with overtime and compensatory time for full-time deputies. He said the aim is to hire certified officers from other departments, many of whom are already working second jobs. He said the part-time deputies can supplement the lake patrol, be used to target specific crime areas, and assist in large operations like search and rescue or manhunts. He said the program will also provide the Sheriff's Office with a ready pool of candidates for open positions.
Pat Adams, justice of the peace for District 6, is a former part-time deputy with the Sheriff's Office.
"Back in the day we maintained a roster of about 40 throughout the 1990s," Adams said. "About 20 of those were officers who were level one who could go out and do the job. They're invaluable."
County Judge Barry Moehring presented proposed changes in several departments under his supervision. Moehring said his proposals were targeted to increase efficiency and generate some savings. He said overall the number of employees will drop. He said some of the savings are being directed to other employees. Moehring said a recent salary study indicated Benton County lags behind other entities in Northwest Arkansas.
"Some of our folks are dramatically underpaid," Moehring said.
Prosecutor Nathan Smith is asking the Quorum Court to approve an additional deputy prosecutor position for his office.
Betsy Harrell, who will take office as Benton County Clerk in January, presented a number of job and title changes in that office. Harrell said some of the changes are meant to provide more expertise in dealing with elections, with both the elections administrator and election coordinator being increased in grade and having other positions designated as deputies for both those employees.
"I believe in 2020 we will be under unprecedented scrutiny, with people just itching to find something wrong," Harrell said. "These two people are the line between us and a lawsuit."
NW News on 09/19/2018