Saline County postpones vote on sheriff

BENTON — The Saline County Quorum Court will make clear that county credit cards can’t be used for personal purchases after learning Sheriff Bruce Pennington used his work credit card to pay for hotel rooms and meals, Quorum Court members agreed Saturday.

And in response to Pennington’s recent conviction on two alcohol-related charges, the Quorum Court plans to pass an ordinance that would prohibit anyone convicted of drug- or alcohol-related offenses — within seven years before his county employment or during it — from driving a county vehicle.

Justices of the peace originally planned to pass a resolution accepting Pennington’s retirement date and declaring the sheriff’s position vacant at a specially called meeting Saturday afternoon but weren’t able to legally declare the vacancy because the resolution hadn’t been published in a newspaper before the meeting.

So, instead, they called another special meeting for 7 p.m. Monday at the county courthouse in Benton to take place after already scheduled finance and public works committee meetings.

By that time the vacancy notice will have been published in a newspaper and the Quorum Court can decide on the ordinances restricting use of a county vehicle and establishing the proper uses of a county credit card. The latter was suggested by Justice of the Peace Mark Kizer, who is also the Bryant chief of police.

“I think it’s very sad we have to have a policy for that. … I think it’s really sad and it needs to be fixed,” Kizer said after Saturday’s meeting.

He was referring to Pennington’s admission to reporters on Thursday that he uses his county credit card for personal purchases and then pays it off with checks from his campaign account. He said the money in his campaign account consists of personal funds he deposited after his 2012 campaign because he began using the account as a personal bank account.

The ordinance excluding county officials who have been recently convicted of drug or alcohol charges from operating a county vehicle was originally meant to put pressure on Pennington to resign after he refused to do so when the Quorum Court sought his resignation Tuesday.

It still could affect Pennington’s last few weeks in office if it is passed before his latest retirement date — Oct. 1. He originally gave notice a week ago that he would retire on Oct. 1, but since then had changed his mind twice and decided he wouldn’t retire at all and would seek re-election.

But on Friday — the same day a judge in Saline County Circuit Court appointed a special prosecutor to look into the possibility of removing Pennington from office under a seldom-used portion of the Arkansas Constitution — Pennington submitted his resignation again, this time with his retirement papers filled out.

Pennington hasn’t returned multiple voice mails from a reporter left for him on his cellphone over the weekend. He could still renege on his latest retirement submission since the Quorum Court has yet to officially accept it, though Saline County Judge Lanny Fite said the sheriff has indicated that this is his final decision.

The three-term sheriff has faced public scrutiny after being arrested in June and then convicted of resisting arrest and public intoxication in August, when a judged ordered him to pay $3,000 and serve a year of unsupervised probation.

Special Prosecutor Cody Hiland of Conway has also been asked to decide whether an Arkansas State Police investigation of the sheriff’s office is warranted after a patrol car disappeared from there four months ago. The office never announced to the public that the car was missing.

Justice of the Peace James Zahnd asked the Quorum Court to go on the record via a resolution asking Hiland to seek the investigation.

“I’d like to keep [the resolution] on the table for means of ensuring the special prosecutor does this or comes to us to explain why he doesn’t. I’d like to make him accountable for the investigation in this form and I think this will do it,” Zahnd said.

Hiland has indicated he could have an announcement on whether he will petition the Saline County Circuit Court to remove Pennington under the law or request the state police investigation as early as the end of this week. If Pennington’s retirement notice is accepted Monday and a vacancy is declared, the point would be moot since it is unlikely the court process of removing Pennington would be completed before his Oct. 1 retirement date.

After a vacancy is declared, the county will take applications for interim sheriff from Tuesday until Friday. Quorum Court members will then interview the applicants and make a decision on who would become interim sheriff at the court’s regularly scheduled meeting Sept. 24.

Kizer suggested going into executive session to decide the interim sheriff, who will finish out Pennington’s term ending Jan. 1, 2015, and could run for election.

Resident Linda Ives began to ask the Quorum Court on Saturday to not appoint anyone who already works within the Saline County sheriff’s office and specifically not appoint Lt. Daniel Dodson, the official over the office’s vehicle division when a fully decked-out patrol car disappeared in April. But Fite cut Ives off and requested public comments be limited to the vacancy issue.

Yet Fite allowed Benton Alderman Brad Moore to state his opinion on whom to appoint interim sheriff.

“I would like to express my desire that you seek an interim who is not affiliated with Saline County [law enforcement agencies] but would be willing to come and fill in as a leadership role. … I would hope it would be somebody who is independent who can come with a clear objective, who can come right the wrong that is in our Sheriff’s Department,” Moore said.

Applicants must reside in Saline County.

Dodson attended Saturday’s meeting but declined to comment on whether he will submit an application for the interim sheriff position.