Justices of the peace vote down funding plan for central Arkansas animal shelter

CONWAY — Advocates of a Faulkner County animal shelter are upset after the Quorum Court voted down a funding proposal to work with the city of Conway to build a joint shelter.

The vote Tuesday night was seven against the plan, advanced by County Judge Jim Baker, and five for it.

Justice of the Peace Randy Higgins has worked with shelter advocates for years but voted against the measure. Some justices didn’t like the funding plan and said a more pressing need is jail expansion.

Justice of the Peace Steve Goode said he will have a different funding proposal for a shelter at next month’s meeting, but it will involve reallocation of an existing tax and that requires a vote by the public even if the Quorum Court supports it. So any decision on whether that succeeds is months away.

The county collected a voluntary animal-shelter tax from the public for roughly 12 years. It would help with any shelter effort.

Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

Upcoming Events