The Union County Quorum Court will meet next Thursday, Aug. 20, with a relatively light agenda.
Along with recapping revenues and a budget comparison from July, the body will also consider raises, or potentially bonuses, for county employees.
Justice of the Peace for District 1 Mike Dumas said there was little change in county revenues between June and July. At last month’s meeting, he reported that overall, the county was down approximately 10-11% overall, and Union County Treasurer Debbie Ray said the General Fund was down 13%, while the Highway Fund was down 18%.
Dumas said state officials have warned that since the COVID-19 public health crisis is likely to continue for some time, local revenues could continue to drop.
“COVID-19 is expected to be with us well into 2021,” Dumas said in an email. “Many of us believe we have not seen the low point in revenues yet.”
The Quorum Court voted in February to provide a 3% raise to all county employees, except Union County Sheriff’s deputies and jail employees, who were to receive a 6% raise. That ordinance was put on hold in March, and then rescinded in April when it was reported that the United States Commerce Department was predicting an 8% drop in county revenues. At that time, Dumas said he expected up to a 25%, or $500,000, drop in the General Fund.
Despite that, the issue will be revisited this month. Dumas said the Quorum Court’s Finance Committee is weighing several options with the help of County Judge Mike Loftin.
Dumas noted that the county won’t spend more than it brings in this year; but employees would be the last cut on the table if it came down to it.
“If we are forced to make cuts, everything possible, including grants to various agencies, would be cut before ever cutting employees,” he said.
The Quorum Court will also hear an update on the El Dorado-Union County Recreation Complex, which reopened for play in July after being closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Greg Harrison, who sits on the Complex Board, said he believed the Complex could have been making money since a dead period put in place by the Arkansas Activities Association was lifted on June 1. The El Dorado City Council subsequently voted to reopen the Complex for play the week after the Quorum Court met.
Harrison also provided an update on a recreation and expansion project that is ongoing at the Complex that had run into cost overruns; two new youth soccer fields and a concessions plaza were unable to be funded with their initial budget of $2.6 million. However, the El Dorado Advertising and Promotion Commission has since pledged $256,554 to fund the soccer fields’ construction.
The Finance Committee will meet ahead of the full Quorum Court on Aug. 20 at 9:30 a.m.; the Quorum Court meeting will follow at 10 a.m. in the third-floor Quorum Court room at the Union County Courthouse.