Pulaski County employees and elected officials will get 4 percent raises next year, and the coroner's office will nearly double its staff, after final budget approval by justices of the peace Tuesday night.
Justices of the peace voted 14-0 to approve the nearly $69 million 2016 budget with little discussion. Justice of the Peace Tyler Denton, D-Little Rock, was absent from the meeting.
The increase will be the second-consecutive 4 percent raise for employees and elected officials. Last year, after no raises since 2011, the Quorum Court approved 4 percent across-the-board raises for 2015. Next year's raises will cost $1.37 million in 2016.
At the meeting, Justice of the Peace Phil Stowers, R-Maumelle, told the Quorum Court he would not be accepting his raise for 2016.
"I understand and respect that this is a personal decision," he said, but he wanted to make sure that his vote for the budget, while supportive of the needs of county employees, was "not a vote for personal gain."
Anyone can decline the raise before Jan. 1.
Last year, only three justices of the peace -- Doug Reed, R-Roland, Denton and Stowers -- opted out of the raise. Some justices of the peace were new this year and started out with the higher pay.
In 2015, the county budgeted no more than $173,250 to pay justices of the peace, averaging out to $11,550 per Quorum Court member. How much a justice of the peace earns depends on the number of meetings he attends. A raise of 4 percent would put the budget at $180,180, averaging out to $12,012 per justice of the peace. Annual compensation for justices of the peace in Arkansas counties of 200,000 or more people cannot exceed $13,319, as set by state law.
The proposed budget for 2016 was initially $67 million, up from $65.1 million for 2015, largely because of a Pulaski County Election Commission request for funds that will be reimbursed by the Federal Election Commission, and a request for new equipment for the assessor's office as it approaches another assessment year.
Justices of the peace also added about $500,000 in other personnel costs to the $67 million proposal in October, approving three more medical positions in the jail at a cost of $191,566 and five new coroners for more than $300,000 among a few other positions and raises in other county departments. The figures include all payroll costs.
Sheriff Doc Holladay told the eight-member budget committee last month the social worker/psychiatric position was intended to help the jail meet state standards, which require mental-health examinations of inmates who self-identify as mentally ill within 24 hours of arriving at the jail.
Additionally, Holladay said, a registered nurse was needed to fill a night-shift opening at the jail, and a licensed practical nurse was needed to cut down on vendor costs of providing a nurse, which could save the department money. The jail has two registered nurses on staff and seven licensed practical nurses.
The coroner's office will nearly double in size -- from six coroners to 11 -- after Coroner Gerone Hobbs said the department was overburdened and spending more than $100,000 on overtime this year for its six coroners.
He said a county should have one coroner for every 25,000 people. Pulaski County has nearly 400,000 people, which would necessitate 16 coroners under that formula.
Metro on 11/25/2015