During its regular meeting last Thursday, the Stone County Quorum Court budgeted $100,000 to cover five additional dispatching positions at the new jail for the remainder of this year, and considered again whether to request a half-cent sales tax to begin when the county’s jail construction tax sunsets later this year.
Sheriff Brandon Long made the staffing request at the June meeting, and the county’s budget committee recommended approval after further considering the request at a meeting Wednesday. Four positions will be paid from county general funds, and one from the 911 account.
Justices of the peace have previously discussed the idea of asking for a general half-cent sales tax to help fund operation of the jail and other needs, and they were pressed to take action by former JP Tim Hudspeth, who is running unopposed for Stone County Judge in the November General Election. Hudspeth reminded JPs that they face an August deadline to add the question to the November ballot.
JPs discussed the challenge of educating the public about the need for the tax and how it would be, in effect, extending the tax they are currently paying and not adding an additional tax.
County Judge Stacey Avey recommended the county ask an attorney who wrote the ballot language for the jail tax to address the topic at the next meeting, which is set for Aug. 6 (one week earlier than the normal monthly date). JPs agreed he should check the attorney’s availability.
Hudspeth also requested that the second administrative position in the county judge’s office be filled. Avey said there would be another quarterly budget committee meeting in October where that could be addressed.
In other business:
• JPs were updated regarding completion of the five-year appraisal cycle for the county (see related story).
• JPs approved an ordinance to amend the 2026 budget to appropriate funding for the sheriff’s department additional dispatching positions, and to transfer $3,500 from buy money to three funds within the department for uniforms, advertising and ammunition; and to transfer $15,000 from full-time salaries to overtime. Also, the ordinance appropriated $130,000 materials and $25,000 to machinery and equipment in the road department.
• Avey reported that the county jail is about 95 percent complete and he anticipates the county having a grand opening and open house in August.
• Election Coordinator Joey Burnett reported about the state’s audit of the March 3 primary, which involved a hand count of 41 percent of the ballots cast in the election and showed 100 percent accuracy between hand-counted ballots and results produced by the voting machines. He told JPs they could be confident that the system they chose for elections in the county is efficient and accurate.
• Jim Qualls, a former JP and former president of Stone County Community Resource Council, addressed JPs about emergency equipment that is stored for use during disasters and other emergencies. He said people need to know the county’s emergency plan and who has access to the generators, chain saws and other equipment in storage. He suggested an annual refresher for residents and first responders.
• JPs received a report of the legislative audit for 2024 in which there was one finding: appropriations and transfers spelled out in ordinances were transposed in the appropriations journal maintained by the clerk’s office. County Clerk Angie Hudspeth-Wade said she addressed the error with her staff and checked all ordinances for 2025 to assure they were correct.
• Avey reported that the county had received $7,750 following the sale of two vehicles and a piece of equipment from the road department at a recent auction.
• Avey reported that a matching grant was received from Arkansas Game & Fish for work on Round Bottom Road, which leads to a White River access. Avey said it is a $50,000 grant requiring a county match that can largely be made through use of equipment. The project will be bid later this year and will cover areas of the road not patched two years ago.
• JP Mike Vickers, who teaches third grade at Mountain View Elementary, said he and fellow teacher Lilly Boren received training so that the school could take part in a Farm Bureau pilot program that basically results in the elementary school having an agriculture education program. The teachers will work in conjunction with the Cooperative Extension Service.
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