Benton County official resigns

BENTONVILLE — Benton County will have a vacancy among the 15 justices of the peace on the Quorum Court for the fourth time this year.

Bill Burnett, who was appointed to serve as the District 5 justice of the peace in February, resigned last week after being made aware of a provision in Arkansas law barring owners of companies doing business with the county from serving. Burnett is a minority shareholder in the Crafton Tull engineering firm.

George Spence, county attorney, said state law, Arkansas Code Annotated 14,14-1202, governs ethics for county officers and employees and reads in part: “No officer or employee of county government shall: (A) (i) Be interested, either directly or indirectly, in any contract or transaction made, authorized, or entered into on behalf of the county.”

An exception to the law allowing contracts with county officials or employees based on “unusual circumstances” would require a vote by twothirds of the members of the Quorum Court and might not apply, Spence said.

“Absent Crafton Tull being willing to provide services at a substantial discount, I do not think the unusual circumstances provision would apply,” Spence said in an email to County Judge Barry Moehring.

Violation of the law is a misdemeanor and carries removal from office as a mandatory part of any punishment, Spence said. Spence recommended to Moehring the county honor any contracts with Crafton Tull, but not enter into any new agreements while Burnett serves on the Quorum Court “because I think since you now have knowledge, doing so would likely put you in danger of being charged under the statute.”

Burnett said he spoke with state officials, in both the governor’s office and the attorney general’s office, and representatives of the Association of Arkansas Counties and their interpretations of the law didn’t exactly follow Spence’s. Burnett said enough uncertainly remained to persuade him to resign.

“I think they were more positive,” Burnett said of the state officials. “They didn’t see a problem in their minds. They felt there was room for an exception. But if it’s not really clear cut in the law, it seems like the safest thing to do to avoid any possibility of trouble was to go ahead and resign.”

Moehring said he’s disappointed Burnett won’t be able to serve but understands his decision.

“Everybody’s motivations were in the right place on this,” Moehring said. “It’s a quirk in the law pertaining to counties, which is unfortunate. Bill was and would have been a really good member of the Quorum Court.”

Burnett’s resignation leaves the District 5 seat vacant for the second time this year.

Kevin Harrison was the District 5 incumbent and was re-elected in November. Harrison took a job with the Benton County Sheriff’s Office after the election and resigned from the Quorum Court. Burnett was appointed in February to serve out the remainder of the current term.

The District 3 seat also has been vacant twice this year. Mary Jane Comstock, citing personal reasons, declared she wouldn’t serve after being elected in November. Jay Harrison, the incumbent for District 3, agreed to serve until a replacement was sworn in and Barney Hayes of Rogers was appointed to the seat in February. Hayes resigned last month to take a seat on the Rogers City Council and James “J.D.” Hayes was appointed to fill the vacancy and was sworn in last week.

District 3 and District 5 are primarily in Rogers. The vacancies are filled by appointment by the governor, and appointees are not eligible to run for the seat in the next election.

County Clerk Tena O’Brien said the county has to advertise the resolution declaring the vacancy before it can be acted on by the Quorum Court. The earliest the resolution could come before the Quorum Court will be at the June 22 meeting, she said. Once approved by the county it will be up to the governor to appoint another justice of the peace, O’Brien said.

Kurt Moore, justice of the peace for District 13, said four appointees on the Quorum Court in one term is the most he has seen in nearly two decades. The new justices of the peace will have to work to catch up with ongoing issues, like the courts facility, Moore said.

“Hopefully they’ll select somebody who’s at least been reading the newspaper,” he said.

Burnett