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QUORUM COURT GIVES NOD TO CREDIT CARD, FINS BUDGET, APPOINTMENTS

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Tuesday, March 10, 2009 10:02 AM CDT

A $24,500 budget that will cover maintenance and operations costs for the juvenile court’s FINS (Families in Need of Services) and Truancy program was approved by the Jefferson County Quorum Court during a brief meeting Monday night.

The program is funded by the four school districts in Jefferson County — Dollarway, Pine Bluff, Watson Chapel and White Hall — and no county money is involved. The total approved includes $11,000 for mileage, $9,500 to cover cell phone expenses, and $4,000 for office supplies.

The ordinance was sponsored by Justice of the Peace Ted Harden.

A resolution sponsored by Harden that will authorize Juvenile Court Judge Earnest E. Brown Jr. to get a Visa credit card with a $5,000 limit issued in the name of the juvenile court was also approved by the county’s legislative body Monday.

County Attorney Terry Wynne, in response to a question from Justice Alfred Carroll about the title of the resolution, noted for the record that the resolution “is not authorizing any funding” from the county for the card, which Brown said he would personally guarantee.

Brown said the card would be used for purchasing supplies and paying for hotel rooms for staff members attending training. Only the judge, his chief of staff and trial court assistant will be able to use the card.

A 2009 budget of $3,570.69 for the Local Citizen Corp. Council using a grant from the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management was also approved. That budget was necessary because the grant funds must be maintained and accounted for separately from other federal funds the county received.

Also Monday, the Quorum Court approved the reappointment of David Price to a two-year term on the Jefferson Emergency Services Board, and Steve Ferren to a five-year term on the 911 Administrative Board.

Price was appointed to replace his late father, Benny Price, and will serve until March 31, 2011. That resolution was sponsored by Justice Edward Spears.

Justice Cleddie Shock sponsored the resolution reappointing Ferren, whose term will expire March 1, 2014.

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