PINE BLUFF -- The Jefferson County Quorum Court voted unanimously Monday to pay out nearly $60,000 in settlements with four former county employees who claimed they were due money for unused compensatory and vacation time.
The county's general fund will be reduced by $57,395.54 to pay $3,485.02 to Regina Ashcraft; $7,786.80 to Alamae Harris; $18,664.53 to Ron Jones; and $27,459.19 to Daniel Marks.
County Judge Hank Wilkins IV told the Quorum Court that the amounts were negotiated down from more than $100,000. The remaining county employees have accrued more than $750,000 in compensatory time and vacation days, Wilkins said.
"If we can't clear this up now, we're going to be in trouble," Wilkins said. "If several of those retire or are terminated at one time, it's going to be like the 1929 collapse of Wall Street."
During the tenure of former County Judge Dutch King, the compensatory time and vacation days were allowed to accrue from one year to the next, despite a county rule that prohibits the carryover. With no time clock in Jefferson County offices, the employees kept up with their own time.
One employee claimed more than 1,000 hours of compensatory time, said Lloyd Franklin, who is temporarily acting as Wilkins' chief of staff. Neither Franklin nor Wilkins would release the name of the employee.
King, the county judge before Wilkins took over in January, made an impassioned plea at the meeting for the county to reconsider doling out so much money to the unnamed employee.
"I come before you, the Quorum Court, tonight with a heavy heart," King said. "I've always been about doing things the right way. And when you're talking about the compensatory time that's being paid, I can't sleep at night for thinking about it."
King said that nobody earned that many hours of compensation time, even with all employees combined. As far as the employee in question, "He never worked his 40 hours hardly at all," King said.
"And to me, if you're trying to get something for nothing, you're stealing," King said. "In my heart that's the way I feel and if you approve something like that, you're part of it."
Franklin told the Quorum Court that three different attorneys had reviewed the issues and approved the settlements.
"This takes care of everything?" Justice of the Peace Melanie Johnson Dumas asked.
"It's all tied up with a neat little bow," Franklin replied.
Justice of the Peace Conley Byrd later in the meeting asked Wilkins if he was comfortable with the settlement figures.
"In light of what we heard today from our former county judge, there might be a good case for some fraud," Byrd said. "Are you satisfied that this the best we're going to get?"
"My answer is yes," Wilkins answered.
In an interview after the meeting, Wilkins said he is determined to prevent the problem from reoccurring.
The first order of business was to order time clocks and put them in immediate use. Next, Wilkins said, he wants to create and fill a position for a county compliance officer. The position would have numerous duties, including ensuring that the county is in full compliance with federal, state and local laws, rules and regulations; creating or updating employment procedures and policies; creating systems for accurately tracking and monitoring employee time and attendance; and conducting internal reviews.
An ordinance amending the budget and creating the new position at a $48,000 salary was put before the Quorum Court's Finance Committee last week, but it stalled in the discussion phase.
Wilkins said the group could not agree on whether the compliance officer would report to the county judge or to the sheriff.
"We're getting our ducks all lined up in a row," Wilkins said. "It's important to take our time to get it done. It will be revisited at the next committee meeting."
State Desk on 02/14/2017