BENTONVILLE -- Benton County justices of the peace agreed Thursday to charge cities an extra $5 a day for holding municipal prisoners in the jail.
The Quorum Court heard the first and second readings of a proposal raising the daily fee to cities for holding prisoners in the jail from $45 per day to $50 per day, with the increase being effective beginning Jan. 1. The proposal has to be read and approved three times before it takes effect.
Brenda Guenther, comptroller, has estimated the increase will generate $16,500 for the county. In 2015, according to Guenther, the county reported holding about 3,300 city prisoners.
The state reimburses the county $30 per day for holding inmates sentenced to terms in the state prison system. That amount was increased from $28 per day last year. County officials have estimated the cost for housing prisoners at $45 to $47 per day. The justices of the peace discussed political and legal options for getting the state reimbursement rate increased.
Joel Jones, justice of the peace for District 7, updated the Quorum Court on the work done on the proposed courts building. The county is considering a facility to house the circuit court judges, their courtrooms and offices and other related offices. Potential locations for a building have been narrowed to county property on Southwest 14th Street, near the Sheriff's Office and Jail, and to two sites in downtown Bentonville, one on Northeast Second Street and one behind the courthouse.
The third and final public workshop on the project is set for 6 p.m. Nov. 1. The workshop has been moved to the main courtroom on the third floor of the courthouse.
The Quorum Court also accepted the state audit of the county's finances for 2014. The justices of the peace earlier this month heard a report on the 2014 audit from Guenther, who said auditors questioned the decision to pay former Sheriff Kelley Cradduck $74,505 as part of an agreement securing Cradduck's resignation. The audit said the decision is questionable based on opinions from the state Attorney General's Office.
The audit report also said the county had "a material weakness" in some internal controls over financial records. Guenther said that finding isn't related to the recent discovery of irregularities in the handling of money in a travel account in the accounting office and a federal investigation underway. She said those problems will almost certainly be addressed in the 2015 audit report, which is now being prepared.
The justices of the peace also approved spending $185,000 in grant money to replace failing septic systems in Benton County.
General News on 11/02/2016