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FUTURE POSITIONS, BUDGETS DISCUSSED

By Erin France/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Saturday, November 21, 2009 12:15 AM CST

Future staff positions in the inspection department and Southeast Arkansas Regional Planning Commission were discussed at Friday’s budget meeting of the development and planning committee.

Aldermen agreed additional personnel were not needed immediately.

The development and planning committee reviewed Mayor Carl A. Redus Jr.’s proposed 2010 budget for the inspection department and grants for Southeast Arkansas Regional Planning, Pine Bluff Downtown Development, the state highway match and the economic development coordinator city match.

Fourth Ward Alderman George Stepps and 2nd Ward Alderman Charles Boyd recommended approval of the budget items. Fourth Ward Alderman Janice Roberts was not present.

“We applied this year for a position as a GIS technician which was stricken from the mayor’s budget,” said Robert Tucker, director of the city’s inspection and zoning department. “That’s something we’re really going to need to think seriously about in 2011.”

The city had an agreement to create a GIS mapping database in 2010, Tucker said, and next year could use an employee at a salary of $35,000 to update the information.

Tucker added that someone trained for the job likely could be found in Pine Bluff.

“It will be a very powerful tool for us in the coming years,” he said.

The committee also discussed staffing at the Southeast Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, with Redus suggesting adding an employee.

The commission operates with director Jerre George and a staff member.

“I’m just wondering if that’s going to be able to provide enough support to the whole region, and particularly to us,” Redus said.

George said she’s not certain if the commission has the budget to hire another employee, which she estimated a salary for at around $40,000.

“We’re real hesitant to get into hiring someone else until we know what’s going to happen with the transportation funds,” she said.

George said the commission has had to dip into its reserve funds to make its fiscal ends meet.

“We probably, as a group, need to look down and see what needs to be done to address that,” Redus said.

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