Little Rock, Arkansas – On Tuesday night, the Jefferson County Quorum Court once again refused to approve a budget, extending a deadlock that has prevented county workers from receiving their paychecks.
There were some heated comments during the meeting, which took place in the Jefferson County Quorum Courtrooms.
Some questioned the human resources committee meeting that was held prior to the official quorum court meeting.
A resident of Jefferson County named Lloyd Franklin questioned, “Did we just witness an illegal human resources meeting that was just held on the cuff without any notice to the public?”
“As what he (Dr. Conley Byrd, Human Resource Co-Chair) just did was so illegal, I can’t even believe you did it in front of people from the legislature or the members of the press,” Franklin responded.
In response, Judge Gerald Robinson stated that the media had been notified. Security was brought in to handle a heated dispute between Judge Robinson and Franklin during the tense situation.
Judge Robinson’s proposed budget for the fiscal year 2025 has left the quorum court split.
Reginald Johnson, Justice of the Peace, proposed utilizing the budget from the previous year as a stopgap.
“I bring a motion that we replace the budget that you are proposing with the budget from 2024 with all amendments in total,” Johnson stated.
“You don’t have it to present,” Judge Robinson retorted. It hasn’t gone past the committee, after all. We are unable to present it here.
A solution might be provided by state legislation that Senator Bill Gilmore (R) and Representative Glenn Barnes (D) have introduced.
According to the proposed plan, all counties and cities would have to approve a budget by February 7 or else they would have to keep using the one from the prior year until a new one was authorized.
By taking this action, county workers would be guaranteed their wages.
