Scott County Quorum Court Meets, Discusses Outstanding Fees and Fines

The members of the Scott County Quorum Court met in a regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, June 17. All members of the court were present for the meeting. After approving the minutes of the May meeting, the court moved on to new items of business.

In the first item on the agenda, public comments, a representative from the Boles Community Center was present to speak about improvements and additions to the park. “We are looking at the possibility of putting in a playground, and then revamping some of the facilities that are already there like the basketball court.”

The judge’s report followed, as well as reports from the treasurer, sheriff and assessor.

Sheriff Randy Shores reported the following monthly activity report:

23 felony warrants
11 misdemeanor warrants
2 warrants from other jurisdictions
36 civil papers
9 traffic citations
20 criminal citations
3 DWI
2 juvenile citations
8 accident reports
35 offense and arrest reports
4 incident reports
Prisoner transport miles (not USMS) 2144
Prisoner transport hours (not USMS) 76

Shores added that during the month of May, 113 people were held in the county jail, 31 of which were women. Also that 90 detainees were held for the Scott County Sheriff’s Department for a total of 809 days. Thirty one detainees were held for the Waldron Police Department for a total of 58 days, four detainees were held for the Marshal’s Service for a total of 120 days, two Arkansas Department of Corrections inmates were held for a total of 29 days, one inmate was sentenced to the Arkansas Department of Corrections, one inmate was sentenced to Arkansas Community Corrections and three was sentenced for a total of 90 days probation and parole.

The County Corner, Dana Anderson was also present and reported that the office’s coolers should arrive within two weeks. Also that the coroner’s office is completely set up and that they are fully staffed. “We’ve had approximately 21 deaths since I took office,” she added. “Everything is going pretty smoothly for the norm. We’ve had some issues with some local agencies, just communication issues. I want to set up a meeting and get things squared away there, but other than that, we’re doing good. The morgue is functional and we won’t have to rely on Sebastian County. They’ve been wonderful.”

Judge Forbes added that the only thing that is lacking in the corner’s facility is some things for the office area. Those include an electrical outlet and a vent hole. “We should have that done either this week or early next week,” added Forbes.

In other items of business, Forbes asked the court to amend the agenda to add a revision to a previously passed ordinance.

Next, the court voted to pass resolution number two, which read:

Whereas, Scott County, Arkansas recognizes the need to provide public recreation facilities for its local citizens and visitors; and Whereas, the county wishes to apply for FUN Park grant funds through the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism to develop a public park at the following park or location: Boles Community Center; and Whereas, the county judge and the quorum court understands that if granted funds for park development, they must provide land, by lease or ownership, to develop park facilities on; and Whereas, Scott County, Arkansas will sign a contract agreeing to provide the necessary resources to maintain this park and facilities for a period of 25 years; Now, therefore, be it resolved the quorum court of Scott County, Arkansas hereby authorizes the county judge to submit an application for grant funding to the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism to develop a public park.

The next item of business was the discussion and ultimate passage of appropriation ordinance 2019-16 of unanticipated revenue for 2019, appropriation ordinance 2019-17, the 2019 budget line item transfer for the sheriff’s department and appropriation ordinance 2019-18 to amend ordinance 2019-14.

Judge Forbes shared with the court the issues of collecting fines and fees. “We’ve got to come up with a solution to collect fines and fees.” A proposal was presented to the court on collecting those fines and fees. “I reached out to the clerk in Clark County, and there is a probation program we can sign up for and it is totally free…it’s a good idea, and cost efficient,” added DesiRae Hall, a clerk with the Scott County Court. Sheriff Randy Shores said he didn’t have an opinion on how the court should proceed in recouping the outstanding $678,630.25 in district court fees and fines. With additional court automation charges, the total come to more than 1.6 million dollars.

Ultimately, the court decided community service was an option to look at. A JP pointed out that this money is not funds lost, but rather, funds not yet collected, and if the court employs someone to collect the funds, then there is a potential for loss. Justice of the Peace, Bob Hattabaugh asked that the clerk look into the proposed firm and find out what procedures they take to recover fines and fees.

With no other items of business, the meeting of the Scott County Quorum Court was adjourned.