Pulaski County justices of the peace voted Tuesday night to establish new rules and procedures for the Quorum Court.
The changes passed 14-0, with Justice of the Peace Staci Medlock, D-North Little Rock, absent from the meeting. Justices of the peace did not discuss the ordinance Tuesday after a lengthy questioning on the matter Jan. 12 and dissatisfaction from some justices of the peace who said they should have been consulted more.
Justices of the peace were presented with the changes as they were asked to sponsor their placement on the January Quorum Court agenda.
Donna Massey, D-Little Rock, said at that meeting that the ordinance was a good starting point and that it could be perfected if justices of the peace had a retreat for more discussion.
"I think what we have is great," she said, referring to the ordinance.
The change is part of a larger county effort to alter the county code books to reflect both state law and current county business. Earlier this month, county attorney Amanda Mitchell said the Quorum Court had not been violating state law.
The ordinance doesn't change much, Quorum Court coordinator Justin Blagg said. Blagg drafted the ordinance with the help of the county attorney's office.
The ordinance establishes many procedures in writing that were already practiced but not written down, he said, such as the procedure for who presides over Quorum Court meetings in the absence of the county judge.
"Sometimes they'll do something and they'll be like 'That's what we've been doing for 10 years,'" Blagg said earlier this month. "So let's put that in writing."
Changes include allowing nonvoting committee members to participate in committee meetings, limiting public comments to five minutes and establishing a way to appoint a meeting leader when the county judge is not present. Public comments have been informally limited to three minutes in the past, and the Quorum Court has previously had an informal means of appointing a meeting leader in the absence of the county judge.
The new ordinance is largely a matter of clarification, Blagg said.
"If anyone has a question we can refer right back to those rules," he said.
Mitchell's office and others already have updated county codes on the pay of justices of the peace, the number of justices of the peace who can serve on the Quorum Court budget committee, and permit fees for selling alcoholic beverages.
The ordinance establishing the pay was changed to reflect current pay rates; the ordinance addressing the budget committee was changed to reflect a county practice that did not align with state law; and the permit fees were changed to align with state law though Mitchell said the county never actually charged anyone the wrong amount.
Metro on 01/27/2016