Benton County commission rejects proposed FY2021–22 appropriation; tax-levy resolution bypassed

The Benton County Board of Commissioners voted on June 21, 2021, and rejected the proposed fiscal year 2021–22 appropriations resolution, with a roll-call tally of 10 Ayes, 7 Nays and 1 Absent, causing the motion to fail.

The failed resolution, introduced as Resolution 20210621-01, contained a full schedule of line-item appropriations for the general fund and numerous special funds, including the general-purpose school fund, highway/public works, capital projects and debt service. The record lists the proposed totals and detailed line items (for example, a $9,987,659 general fund total and a $23,473,185 general purpose school fund total) that formed the basis of the defeated measure.

Because the appropriation resolution did not pass, the commission recorded that Resolution 20210621-02 (fixing the tax levy) and Resolution 20210621-03 (appropriations to nonprofit charitable organizations) were bypassed. The minutes show those items were not acted on “because the budget didn’t pass.”

Commissioners debated the appropriation package as a comprehensive document rather than approving individual line items one by one; the recorded roll-call vote ended the motion when it failed to secure a majority. The meeting record does not show a substitute or emergency budget adopted that night.

Next steps recorded in the meeting minutes were procedural: a sequence of later, separate resolutions and transfers were considered and voted on during the same session, but the primary countywide appropriations resolution required for the fiscal year did not advance at this meeting.