Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Bond Resolutions topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Benton County commissioners reject motion to rescind October bond resolutions after divided roll call
Summary
At the Nov. 18 meeting in Camden, commissioners debated whether to rescind two October bond resolutions after public petitions and mayoral remarks; a roll-call recorded in the minutes lists 11 Ayes and 6 Nays while the minutes also state the motion failed.
The Benton County Commission debated and voted on a motion to rescind two bond resolutions adopted in October during its Nov. 18, 2019 meeting in Camden.
Election Commissioner Mark Ward used the public-comments period to present a petition against the county's bond approach and distributed a Debt Management Policy he said had been passed by the commission in November 2011. Ward said he was "not against all the bond projects," but objected to how they had been proposed and said the bond issue should be put to a public vote after more discussion and research. Resident Dwayne Fowler later told commissioners he had gathered signatures in support of the petition.
Mayor Brett Lashlee urged the commission to follow the county's financial plan and suggested the commission rescind the October resolutions, saying he believed the City of Camden would benefit from the bond projects and asked for a 50% commitment from the city. Sheriff Kenny Christopher also used his report to raise unrelated facility concerns at the jail, including the possible need to replace two water heaters at an estimated cost upward of $7,000.
Commissioner Rocky Presson publicly registered opposition to rescinding the October resolutions and said he wanted the bond issue placed on the March ballot so county voters could decide. Commissioner Angie Hern moved to rescind Resolutions 20191021-16 and 20191021-17; Commissioner Janet Higdon seconded the motion.
The minutes record a roll-call entry of "11 Ayes and 6 Nays." The same minutes also state "Motion Fails." The roll-call matrix in the minutes lists individual commissioners and marks for Aye or Nay under their names. The record in the minutes is internally inconsistent about whether the rescission passed; the minutes themselves record the stated result as that the motion failed.
The commission did not adopt any alternate timetable for placing the bond before voters during the meeting; Mayor Lashlee advised the commission to schedule a special called session before Dec. 3 to draft a resolution to place the bond issue on the March 3 ballot, or alternatively to wait for the Aug. 6 primary.
The commission moved on to other business after the vote.
