FORT SMITH -- Sebastian County has moved forward with spending almost half its covid-19 relief money.
The Quorum Court unanimously approved spending up to $10 million of its American Rescue Plan money for general government services at its meeting Tuesday.
County Judge David Hudson said the move will reimburse the county general fund for up to $10 million in payroll and operating expenses the county already planned to cover this year. This will create a different $10 million the county could then set aside for a jail capital project it wouldn't need to spend by Dec. 31, 2026, the federal deadline that comes with the American Rescue Plan money.
"You don't want to put deadlines on the process of deciding what to do with a big public policy issue like a justice system revision or a jail revision that might require an election, and they're having these discussions in other counties," Hudson said. "We need as much flexibility for these public policy decision makers to use time and educate the public and go through all the processes to make good, sound decisions."
The jail has had crowding issues for years.
Hudson has said the county has been allocated $24.8 million in rescue plan money. This includes the $10 million that can be used for general government services in accordance with a rule the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued in January, as well as about $14 million to use under more restrictive guidelines of the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program.
The Quorum Court approved holding the $10 million for anticipated jail construction March 15. Justices of the peace established a fund within the county's general fund to track the use of the $10 million in January.
Tuesday's move states the money will cover payroll and operating expenses for the Sheriff's Office, jail, jail maintenance, courthouse security, communications and mental health specialty court. Melissa Sinclair, director of finance and comptroller for the county, wrote in a memo May 10 this wouldn't include capital purchases.
Other American Rescue Plan Proposals
The Quorum Court was set to consider another move Tuesday to earmarked money from what's left of the county's $14 million pot of American Rescue Plan money to projects the county recommended at a special meeting May 17. This includes two projects meant to help reduce crowding at the jail.
However, the Quorum Court approved a motion by Shawn Looper, justice of the peace for District 3, to table the proposal until its July 19 meeting. Looper said this would give justices more time to study the proposal, remarking earlier it included "some pretty big numbers."
The proposal entailed spending $615,662 to establish a sobering center through the Guidance Center in Fort Smith and $176,958 for an expansion of the county mental health court. This includes the money needed to operate both for the remainder of the year.
Hudson has said the sobering center would be a place intoxicated people who aren't dangerous or violent would be diverted from the jail to receive short-term treatment. Arkansas Act 587 of 2021 allows a law enforcement officer to take someone intoxicated to a sobering center rather than a jail at their discretion.
The mental health court is an alternative sentencing and jail diversion program that opened Jan. 1, 2021, according to Hudson. The Quorum Court paid it through this year with a $550,000 appropriation.
The proposal would earmark nearly $3.1 million for the sobering center and more than $3.8 million for the mental health court so they would be paid for through 2026.
It would earmark money for other proposed projects as well, bringing the collective amount earmarked to more than $12.3 million. These include:
• A consolidated 911 call center: $3.5 million to be appropriated when the project budget is established.
• A new Arkansas Wireless Information Network tower to improve radio reception and help expedite medical and police calls: $1.5 million to be appropriated when the county receives quotes for the project.
• Creating more space for people to enter and exit the south entrance of the courthouse in Fort Smith: $50,000 to be spent when the project is established.
The proposal would also earmark $325,000 to provide the county's 13 rural volunteer fire departments money to purchase personal protective equipment.
In addition to the earmarks, the proposal would use rescue plan money for two other projects. One of them is improvements to the county Health Department, which is priced at $256,063. The other, valued at $73,990, involves installing Reme Halo ventilation systems in county buildings that don't have them and changing filter cartridges in those that do. These systems use ultraviolet light to kill airborne viruses.