Personnel committee forwards ordinance to create three BJA-funded court positions

Faulkner County’s Personnel Committee voted to send Ordinance 24-55 to the Budget and Finance Committee for consideration after staff read the proposed ordinance and a court representative described how grant-funded positions would be used.

The ordinance, as read into the record, would create three full-time, grant-funded positions in the Faulkner County Circuit Court, 3rd Division to staff a site-based opioid, stimulant and substance-abuse program. The ordinance text declares the measure an emergency and states it “shall be in full force” on Jan. 1, 2025.

The ordinance names three positions and the salaries recorded in the reading: a project director (position number 1101) at $65,450; a peer recovery specialist (position number 1102) at $24,000.63; and a social worker (position number shown in the ordinance reading as 1101) at $50,000. The ordinance text appropriates BJA grant funds to two internal funds and provides line-item allocations for salary and benefits: an appropriation of roughly $159,769 (amount varied slightly in the reading) to BJA Grant Fund 3550 with breakdowns that included salary, Social Security matching, retirement matching, health insurance and related benefits; and separate anticipated revenue and appropriations to BJA Grant Fund 3533 totaling roughly $78,854 and $73,854 respectively with similar benefit line-item breakdowns. The ordinance reading includes specific benefit amounts (for example, $8,372 for Social Security matching and $16,767 for retirement matching in one fund) as recorded in the meeting transcript.

Julian Wiggins, identified in the meeting as “Julian Wiggins, the Exemptive Police Council for the Department of court,” said the positions were written into the grant and that the grant is a reimbursement award spanning three years. “In addition to bolstering those decisions, we will touch the entire community of the public county. Justice-involved individuals and their families will be impacted by these decisions,” Wiggins said.

County counsel and staff said the county budgets year by year; because the grant reimburses expenses, the 2025 budget shows the first-year appropriations while future years (2026–27) would be reflected in later budgets if the grant continues. A committee member noted that historically some grant-funded positions have later been continued by county general funds or by reapplying for the grant after the initial term.

The Personnel Committee voice-voted the motion to send the ordinance to Budget and Finance; the chair recorded the ayes and the item was referred for further consideration. The committee did not adopt the ordinance outright; the committee’s action at this meeting was referral to Budget and Finance.

The ordinance text, as read, declares an emergency and sets an effective date; the committee’s referral means final approval and formal appropriation would still require subsequent committee or court action.