The Baxter County Quorum Court Tuesday night agreed to put an additional $50,000 into the operating budget of the Baxter County Detention Center to help cover jailers’ overtime at the facility. The funds were allocated into the jail’s budget from the county’s government-issued coronavirus relief funds.Sheriff John Montgomery says that the jail’s staff was down 21 employees at one point in early July, causing a sharp spike in overtime.
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Montgomery says the jail’s budgeted overtime allotment was exhausted by mid-year, prompting the allocation of additional funds.
The $50,000 moved into the jail’s budget will cover about $25,000 in existing overtime charges and provide about $25,000 in additional overtime funds, should they be needed later this year.
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The sheriff says it takes a “bare bones” staff of four employees to staff the jail for a single 12-hour shift.
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Also at Tuesday’s Quorum Court meeting, justices of the peace voted to allocate $18,000 into the jail’s 2021 operating budget to cover shortfalls in various line items for items like uniforms and supplies. A total of $10,000 will be moved from the Special Jail Fees Revenue Fund into the jail’s budget, while the remaining $8,000 will be pulled from the Detention Center Revenue Fund.
Justices also approved ordinances allowing the county to conduct business with Sheriff’s Department employee Dike Raney for some IT services and for the Juvenile Services Department to hire three new employees above the midpoint range within the county’s pay grade scale. Those new employees will be paid at the same rate of the employees they are replacing.
The Quorum Court also approved the appointment of John Browning to the Henderson Fire Protection District Board; the reappointments of Eric Faulkner, David Miller and Linda Bradbury to the Norfork Fire Protection District Board of Commissioners; and the reappointments of Eric Wolf and Tony Chamberlain to the 101 Gameliel Fire Protection District Board of Commissioners.
Justices also approved the reappointment of Deborah Chatman to the Baxter County Library Board.
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