Holiday bonuses, dispatch center design contract on Quorum Court's agenda today

The Union County Quorum Court is pictured in this September 2021 file photo. The body will meet today at 10 a.m.
The Union County Quorum Court is pictured in this September 2021 file photo. The body will meet today at 10 a.m.

The Union County Quorum Court will consider a payroll bonus this morning at their regular monthly meeting, as well as a potential contract with a local business.

According to the meeting agenda, two appropriation ordinances top the agenda: one that would put $15,000 in the Tax Collector's budget line for postage; and another adding $5,296.64 into the 911 Coordinator budget for health insurance matching.

District 1 Justice of the Peace Mike Dumas, who also chairs the Quorum Court's Finance Committee, explained that a postal office mix-up resulted in the county tax collector's postage being lost, which is why those funds are being re-appropriated this month.

Dumas said health insurance matching funds were mistakenly excluded from the 911 Coordinator budget line.

JPs will also consider ordinances creating new budget lines for federal COVID-19 relief dollars distributed to the county through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) earlier this year. One ordinance would create a new budget line for ARPA "revenue replacement" and the other would amend the county's 2021 budget to include the new budget fund.

"You'll hear a lot about (ARPA funds) in the months ahead," Dumas said in an email Wednesday afternoon.

Also on the agenda is consideration of an ordinance that would allow County Judge Mike Loftin to enter into a service agreement with CADM Architecture for an Emergency Response Center. On Wednesday, the fine details of the contract were still being ironed out, said Jody Cunningham, administrative assistant to the county judge.

Dumas said CADM Architecture was selected to design the new 911 dispatch complex, which will be funded with ARPA monies. Dumas originally pitched the idea of building a new 911 dispatch center with ARPA funds to the Quorum Court in August.

According to CADM's proposal to provide services submitted to the county, one of the company's specialties lies in designing government buildings. The company has previously worked on local facilities including the South Arkansas Regional Airport and the El Dorado-Union County Recreation Complex and with entities including the City of El Dorado, Union County and local small businesses.

The last item up for consideration this month are annual holiday bonuses for county workers.

The Quorum Court's Finance Committee will meet at 9:30 a.m. today in the second-floor conference room at the Union County Courthouse. The Quorum Court meeting will follow at 10 a.m. in the same location.

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