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Residents press court on reserve deputies and library funding during public comment
Summary
Multiple residents told the Faulkner County Quorum Court to reconsider recent budget decisions, urging support for volunteer reserve deputies and to preserve library staffing and facilities amid proposed cuts.
Three members of the public used the court's comment period to press the Quorum Court on budget decisions affecting reserve deputies, emergency-squad transparency and the Faulkner County Library.
Former reserve unit commander Bridal Connor said reserve deputies volunteer thousands of hours and recently had a county funding request denied; she asked the court to reconsider and warned that families of injured or killed volunteers would be left without support. The presiding justice acknowledged appreciation for the volunteers but did not record a reversal of the court's prior decision during the session.
Peyton Stafford, a Conway resident, urged the court to maintain the library's budget and current librarians, listing services the library provides, including programming for children and teens, voter registration, passport services and low-cost copying and notary services. Stafford said cuts would jeopardize those services and community programs.
Resident Connie Kirby said she could not locate public information about a county "emergency squad" yet saw a line in the budget for roughly $212,000 and questioned vehicle purchases and accountability for that unit. Treasurer Scott Sanson said final tax payments arrive in December and that the treasurer will present fund-level information to the court in January, which may allow follow-up on Kirby's questions.
The court did not take immediate action on the public commenters' specific requests, but several justices later highlighted library facilities as a capital priority to consider within the county's capital set-aside planning.
Quotes from the meeting: "These men and women deserve ... you to take a hard look at what they do and where we do spend our money," said Bridal Connor about reserve deputies. "The library also provides citizen services such as voter registration...A budget cut would put all of these services...at stake," Peyton Stafford said.
Next steps: Treasurer will provide final property-tax receipts and a fund accounting update at a future meeting; residents may follow up with their justices or the treasurer to request detailed line-item explanations.
