PINE BLUFF -- The Jefferson County Quorum Court unanimously approved a measure Friday afternoon that will temporarily shore up the county's struggling budget.
The vote came after weeks of debate about how to fix a budget crisis that nearly left the county without funds to pay many of its workers.
"Hallelujah!" Jefferson County Judge Dutch King exclaimed after banging his gavel to end the meeting.
But the jubilation will be short-lived. King and several justices of the peace have warned that layoffs will likely be needed to balance a new budget for next year.
The county has its elected officials to thank for coming up with more than $323,000 from their collective budgets to add to its waning county general fund. Salaries for nearly 160 county workers, including elected officials, come from that fund.
Elected officials met earlier this week to iron out how they could shave their already razor-thin budgets to contribute to the county general fund.
Jefferson County Sheriff Gerald Robinson, for example, shifted how several deputies are paid. Instead of receiving a check from the county general fund, those employees will now temporarily be paid out of the public safety tax fund.
Transfers into the county general fund included more than $37,000 from the juvenile court division's fund, more than $22,000 from the Jefferson County assessor's office and more than $8,800 from the county's recycling fund.
Jefferson County's budget problems started with population losses that caused its tax base to dwindle, King has said. Property and sales taxes make up the bulk of a county's budget.
Since 2000, Jefferson County has lost more than 11,000 residents, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The county's current population is 73,191, according to a 2013 census estimate.
Additionally, spending has outpaced revenue over the past several years, resulting in budget shortfalls, Treasurer Elizabeth Rinchuso said.
For example, Jefferson County began 2008 with more than $3.4 million in its county general fund. To start 2015, the county general fund held just $1.1 million, Rinchuso said, adding that county offices and departments are spending more money than they were allotted.
Rinchuso also said there has been about $250,000 less than expected in fines and fees collected from the Jefferson County sheriff 's office and the circuit and county clerks' offices because judges have been allowing residents to perform community service instead of paying fines.
Justice of the Peace Bruce Lockett thanked the elected officials for "coming up with a solution to this problem. We all worked together and made it happen. I am so pleased."
The county will be better off financially once tax collections begin in October and November, but between now and then "will be difficult," King said.
In all, the county needs to shave $180,000 from its monthly expenses to have a solid financial foundation, the treasurer has said.
The county spends $600,000 each month on salaries out of $750,000 allotted for expenses -- a figure too high to sustain, said Justice of the Peace Herman Ginger, chairman of the Quorum Court's finance committee.
"What we have done today is just a Band-Aid, the problem is still there," Ginger said. "We are still looking at layoffs."
State Desk on 07/25/2015