Van Buren County quorum court approves multiple grant appropriations, confirms library appointment and adopts temporary employee payout rule

At a regular meeting of the Van Buren County Quorum Court, members approved four appropriation ordinances to place grant and reimbursement funds into county budgets, confirmed an appointment to the county library board and adopted a temporary personnel payout policy for employees who left the county during an insurance change.

The actions responded to awarded grants and a state reimbursement and addressed a contested question about how much the county should pay departing employees for insurance-related payouts. The court also heard updates about road projects and storm damage that county officials said have strained operations.

Quorum court members unanimously adopted an ordinance to appropriate $7,000 awarded to the Allrige community by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Division of Rural Services, into the county’s 2025 budget. Virgil Lemmings sponsored the ordinance and moved for approval; the motion carried on a roll-call vote recorded as yes from Mays, Nikki, Sarah, Bradford, Robertson, Paige, Lemmings and Bass.

The court next approved an appropriation of $96,564.65 to the Van Buren County Senior Center to cover invoices tied to a grant administered by the White River Area Agency. That ordinance was introduced by Esther (last name not specified) and carried on a roll call…