LITTLE ROCK — After considering a budget that would have given sheriff ’s workers bigger raises than other employees, the Pulaski County Quorum Court agreed on a 4 percent across-the-board increase to the chagrin of some who said the county is spending too much money and could easily cut its staff to save more.
A focus of the discussion was a proposal in the $58 million budget to give sworn sheriff’s employees 5 percent raises while the remaining employees and elected officials got 4 percent raises. Sheriff Doc Holladay requested the 5 percent raises to help him better compete with other law enforcement agencies for employees.
Justice of the Peace Bob Johnson, chairman of the committee that reviewed and recommended the budget for a vote, made a substitute motion to give everyone 5 percent raises. That motion was co-sponsored by Justice of the Peace Jeff Rollins who was absent.
Justice of the Peace Phil Stowers then made another substitute motion to give everyone 4 percent raises. This measure, which will cost about $1.5 million, passed in a 10-1 vote with Justice of the Peace Doug Reed voting against it.
A motion made by Reed to exclude elected officials from getting raises failed in a 10-2vote, with Reed and Stowers voting in favor of the measure. The idea of giving elected officials raises drew criticism from some, including the Tea Party affiliate Secure Arkansas, some of whose members were in attendance Tuesday.
Another motion made by Reed to table the budget in response to some of his constituents’ eleventh-hour questions about road and bridge projects, died without a second.
Holladay said he was a bit disappointed with the decision but encouraged. The 4 percent raise moves the starting salary in the sheriff’s office to $29,952 from $28,800. A 5 percent raise would put the starting salary at $30,240. Next year, hiring deputies in one grade above would start them at $31,149, compared with the current starter salary of $29,952. Essentially, the lowest pay grade is deleted, and everyone will start at the second-lowest pay grade.
“I’ve always said we need to get beyond that $30,000 level to be more attractive,” Holladay said. “Certainly, my position is, at this point, we’re the lowest-paid law-enforcement agency and corrections agency in Pulaski County. Based on the job that we ask our people to do and require our people to do, they need to be paid more in line with the other law enforcement agencies in Pulaski County.”
Holladay notes that starting salaries in other law enforcement agencies are $38,000 for the Little Rock Police Department, $34,827 for North Little Rock police, $33,000 for the Jacksonville department, $31,766 for the Sherwood Police Department, $30,334 for the Maumelle department and $30,000 for Arkansas Department of Correction.
The county is entering 2011 on the best financial footing it’s seen in years with more than $14 million in reserves, which includes a $3 million public-safety reserve that could one day be used to build a new jail if needed and $6 million in unappropriated general reserve.
Still, Jeannie Burlsworth, chairman of Secure Arkansas, very forcefully told the Quorum Court on behalf of “65 to 70 percent of the people” that it is spending too much.
“This court has conducted themselves in the eyes of the people appallingly,” she said. “Practically everything you proposed tonight is dangerous to our county and to the city of Little Rock. Sheriff needs to be separated, in my opinion, from all the rest of the public employees and elected officials. ... We the taxpayer expect you to act like public servants, and this is not your money.”
Justice of the Peace Dawne Vandiver asked Burlsworth, “How in the world would our city and county operate without county employees?”
“I got to tell you what, they need to be reduced. We could probably cut half of them right now,” Burlsworth responded to audible scoffs from county employees in the Quorum Court chamber.
In contrast, Angie Martin, a distribution manager in the county treasurer’s office stood to thank the Quorum Court.
“I have been with the county for almost 10 years. I just want to thank you for the job that you do. Without good leadership, and it starts at the top, we would not be in the good, financial sound place that we’re at today,” Martin said.
“We’ve had several really hard years where the employees did not get a raise, and we banded together as a team and we took the bad years with the good years, and I just want to thank you,” she said.
Other county employees in attendance applauded her remarks.
Reed said he was not responsible for the two dozen or so people who showed up to protest public-works expenditures in the 2011 budget, but noted that they are constituents.
The items questioned include planned work on projects at Pinnacle Trail Park, MacArthur Park, Two Rivers Park and the Clinton Presidential Park Bridge.
Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines tried to explain that the money for the projects would come from the road and bridge fund reserve and can only be used for public works related capital expenditures. He finally invited the group to meet with him next week and also noted that the Budget Committee has been meeting for the past six months.
Reed had complained about the public-works budget, which shows a $6 million increase over 2010. He said other Quorum Court members did not ask enough questions during the Budget Committee process. He noted that he couldn’t attend most committee meetings because they were held during the day while he teaches.
County Comptroller Mike Hutchens said the jump in the public-works budget reflects an increase in funds set aside to match federal dollars.
“It’s usually an 80/20 split, and a lot of the time the federal government says, ‘Hey, we’re ready to do this, who has the matching money?’ Well, we’ll have the money,” he said. “A lot of places miss out because they don’t have the money to match.”
At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, he noted that he didn’t immediately realize that the money for the projects would be coming from the road and bridge reserve fund and not the general reserve fund.
Several of those who spoke Tuesday were also against the county accepting any federal grant money.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 11/24/2010