2 items focus of meeting for JPs

Two agenda items took up the bulk of the regularly scheduled Jefferson County Quorum Court meeting held via zoom at 5:30 p.m. Monday. Those items included a vote to increase the current monthly fee for Jefferson County Sanitation and a vote on an appropriation ordinance to allow the tax collector to raise the chief deputy’s salary.

Before the meeting began, County Judge Gerald Robinson announced that he had to shut down the tire recycling center because of covid-19 cases and employee quarantines.

Justice of the Peace Alfred Carroll was vocal about both agenda items during the discussion in what became a nearly two-hour meeting. He said he did not feel an increase in fees on the residents was the right thing to do considering there would already be an increase through the city’s Waste Management contract.

In Robinson’s reply, he explained that the increase had nothing to do with the fees discussed at the Pine Bluff City Council meeting.

“The county signed a sanitation contract, which, until 2024, there will be a gradual increase, and the county is asking for an increase in the current monthly fee,” said Robinson. In years past, the county has come up short more than $100,000, accord

ing to Robinson, causing the county to have to pay more in the disposal of the sanitation. “It leaves us with Jefferson County coming out with the short end of the stick having to pay,” he said.

The requested ordinance would raise the rate from $18.12 per customer to $26.72 to offset the deficiency, effective Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024. Robinson said asking for the increase now will keep the county out of the negative with Waste Management.

“We are short each year when it comes to sanitation because of the fact we are not charging enough to offset those charges,” said Robinson. “If we leave it the way it is, we are going to have to pay Waste Management more money the way we are doing it now. We are passing the overages to the consumer that is using it so the county won’t be out of money. “

Carroll said he still felt the amount was a lot to put on the residents for the next four years, a move that Robinson said should have been done from the very beginning.

“If we had already done this, then we wouldn’t be talking about this today,” said Robinson. “This is correcting some of the deficiencies that we have had in the past when we did not ask for enough money.”

The measure was approved, with Carroll and Justice of the Peace Brenda Gaddy voting no.

Carroll also said he had reservations about providing a large lump sum of money to the deputy chief of $14,000 a year, a request made by Tax Collector Tony Washington to allow equal pay for his chief deputy.

Carroll said he felt that the sizable increases did not demonstrate financial responsibility. “I’m sorry, but the individual knew what that position paid when she came,” said Carroll. “How can we look at our people in the face who are making seven or eight dollars and others are making 15 and this lady is going to get an increase of $14,000 annually?”

Justice of the Peace Ted Harden said the $36,000 salary of Washington’s chief deputy, who was never referred to by name during the meeting, would increase to $50,000 from the recorder’s fund. “He is moving $28,000 from an automated fund to county general, giving a net of $8,000 for the county,” said Harden. “It reduces what we were paying out of county general.”

This would be a permanent move, according to Harden. Carroll said the matter should be discussed in the upcoming budget meeting next month and disagreed with the raise.

Harden said the tax collector hired her and wanted to make these adjustments. Robinson added that under the previous tax collector, the chief deputy was only making a certain amount of money and it was up to that elected official to look at the salaries and make adjustments, but she didn’t do it.

“This man was elected, did a study looking at the other chief deputies and their responsibilities and looked at the disparity of pay between his chief deputy and others and now is asking the Quorum Court to raise his chief deputy’s position up to what everybody is making,” said Robinson. “I don’t think any other chief deputies are going to have any issues with what the tax collector does in his office in trying to get his chief up to where the others are. It is saving money in county general. He has the ability to utilize that money how he pleases.”

Robinson said Quorum Court members should not try to run Washington’s department because he knows better than anybody what the responsibilities are.

“It’s our responsibility to make sound fiscal decisions, and based on the fact that it would come out of the recorders cost fund as opposed to county general, which is our bread and butter, our foundation, that is what is hurting, and we have to get that in line,” said Robinson. “Every penny that we can save out of county general, that is what we need to be trying to do.”

The measure was approved, with Carroll casting the lone no vote.