Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Municipal Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Benton council approves connector-trail contract, budget fixes, software purchase and surplus-vehicle auction
Summary
At its Feb. 23 meeting the Benton City Council approved five finance resolutions: awarding the Ralph Bunch Connector Trail contract, amending the FY2025 budget, accepting a $17,000 historic-preservation grant, buying prosecutor software and declaring surplus police vehicles; all measures passed on recorded votes.
BENTON, Ark. — The Benton City Council on Feb. 23 approved a package of five finance resolutions that included a contract award for the Ralph Bunch Connector Trail, a routine FY2025 budget amendment, acceptance of a $17,000 certified local government grant for historic-preservation work, procurement of prosecutor case-management software and the sale of surplus police vehicles.
The council unanimously (by recorded vote margins reported as 9–1 for most measures) approved Resolution No. 11 to award the Ralph Bunch Connector Trail contract to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder and authorized the mayor to execute the contract and related documents.
Council then adopted Resolution No. 12, an annual amendment to the FY2025 budget to align appropriations with actual expenditures following the legislative audit process. Council member Frank Baptist noted this is a routine post-audit adjustment required by state practice.
Resolution No. 13 accepted a $17,000 grant from the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program and amended the 2026 general fund budget. The council discussed proposed uses: about $4,000 to send the historic-district commission chair to a professional conference and the remainder for a downtown historic-district survey to inform future improvements.
The council approved Resolution No. 14 to procure Spartan prosecutor software for the city prosecutor’s office, amending the FY2026 court automation fund by $22,120 using available cash on hand. According to material presented to council, staff said the software would “save a lot of time with processing warrants” and assist the police department in case processing.
Finally, Resolution No. 15 declared several city-owned vehicles — aging Dodge Chargers with over 100,000 miles used by the police department — as surplus and authorized their sale by public auction.
All five resolutions were read, moved and approved during the meeting; recorded vote tallies were announced on the floor. The council moved on to other agenda items after the votes.
