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Finance committee forwards items 10–18, including grants and revenue appropriations, to full quorum court
Summary
The Washington County Finance Committee voted unanimously to forward nine ordinances and appropriation items (10–18) to the full quorum court with "do pass" recommendations, including funding for juvenile court grants, emergency management reimbursements and a $19.3 million carryover resolution.
Washington County Finance Committee — The Washington County Finance Committee voted unanimously to forward items 10 through 18 to the full quorum court with "do pass" recommendations, advancing several grant appropriations and revenue recognitions to be adopted by the full court.
The committee advanced ordinances that would: amend circuit court budgets for 2025; recognize AOC juvenile court grant funds for Division 3 and Division 8 (including a $3,000 appropriation listed for Division 8); appropriate Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) reimbursements totaling $49,170.07 plus an anticipated $12,855.83 to the county emergency management budget; recognize $60,000 in additional revenue in the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) grant fund; and enact a larger ordinance projecting revenue and carryover totaling $19,296,165.05 across various grant funds.
Why it matters: forwarding these ordinances with "do pass" recommendations clears them for a full quorum court vote, allowing Washington County to accept and distribute grant funds, reimburse municipal fire departments for EMAC deployments, and carry forward prior-year grant balances into the 2025 budget year.
Committee action and votes The committee heard individual motions on several items before agreeing to add items 10–18 to a single consent agenda. Motions to forward each item were made and seconded by committee members (examples recorded in the meeting include motions by JP Lemming, JP Ricker, JP Ecki, JP Dean and others). A motion by JP Hires to add items 10–18 to the consent agenda, seconded by JP Ricker, carried unanimously. Committee chairs and members then voted to forward the grouped consent agenda to the full court.
Selected item details and discussion - Item 16 (EMAC reimbursements): The committee was told the funds reimburse municipal fire departments that deployed personnel on U.S. Urban Search and Rescue and EMAC deployments. JP Lemming said the money is intended to reimburse cities including Springdale, Fayetteville and Bentonville for personnel deployed on mutual-aid teams.
- Item 18 (HIDTA grant fund; $60,000): The sheriff, appearing for questions, explained Washington County serves as a fiduciary for Arkansas’ HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) funds. He said the county receives the funds and distributes them to multiple participating entities across Arkansas for enforcement efforts and that the money supports the HIDTA task force and related enforcement work.
- Item 17 (revenue and carryover): The ordinance lists individual grant funds and amounts totaling $19,296,165.05 to be carried forward into the 2025 budget, as required to make the grant money available for spending in the new fiscal year.
Consent agenda mechanics Committee members discussed that placing items on a consent agenda allows the full quorum court to vote on them as a single item rather than individually. Given unanimous committee approval on the included items, the chair confirmed they would be presented to the full court together.
What’s next All items will appear on the full Washington County Quorum Court agenda with the committee’s "do pass" recommendation. The full court will decide whether to adopt each ordinance, accept the grants, and appropriate the funds as proposed.
