If anyone would like to receive this newsletter, please let me know at: ejcoger@gmail.com or text me their email address at 479-306-9994. This week's news is long but I didn't want to leave out anything.
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RE: ZONING CHANGES JPs received this email from the Planning Director with updated planning-zoning code and map on 11/22/24. Here’s the map. Here’s the code.
➽ The regular November meeting of the Washington County Quorum Court was held Thursday 11/21/24. You can watch the meeting here.
The 2025 budget is around $127 Million Dollars. This year (2024) our budget was $114 Million Dollars. We’ve increased spending by $13 Million Dollars and have not included the taxpayers and community members of Washington County in our discussions. We basically rubber-stamped $127M of spending of taxpayer dollars.
I’ve been to every quorum court meeting since January of 2019 and each year the quorum court has had open public meetings before the budget is passed. Not this time. We had zero public meetings to go over specific budget department budgets. (The new STEP plan was discussed somewhat in detail, but not the whole budget) Starting at 51:30 in the video, when I point that out, County Judge Deakins interrupts me and says, “That’s not true.”
He goes on interrupting and says the budget has been posted on the website for over a month. I want to be very clear on this. The 2025 Washington County budget at $127 MILLION dollars was passed last week by the Washington County Quorum Court without including the public. Having a complex and detailed budget posted online is not a public meeting. It does not allow for public participation.
JPs asking questions of public officials via email, phone calls and private meetings are not public meetings. These conversations must always be had in public. How else does the public know why and on what basis we made the decisions that we make?
Budgets are moral documents and they set priorities. How can elected officials even pretend to know what the community wants and needs if they don’t include the public in discussions.
We should never be spending taxpayer dollars in private. Here are a few things that were passed in the 2025 budget without any public participation:
The entire Environmental Department was wiped out completely. Gone. $0 funding. No longer exists.
Information Technology increased 31.36%
includes $438,600 for software support maintenance agreements
includes $724,810 for storage, memory, and firewalls for South Campus
includes $466,622 for computers and IT equipment
JPs received a raise of $100 per meeting, making our per meeting pay $300
Road Department decreased $50K
includes concrete for construction of Cincinnati bridge.
includes $373,305 for a new excavator plus another $300K to replace a 1996 asphalt dist for asphalt/chip seal operations.
Justification letter states that these items will be purchased with proceeds from an auction. If auction funds do not cover the cost of all items, they will not be purchased.
I’ll have more budget items next week.
➽ Under “You can fight city hall (or county government) and win,” the community really showed up to support JP Suki Highers’ amendment to continue the funding for the HIV Clinic. (Check out past newsletters for the background) The county has funded this clinic for years. Employees at the clinic received pink slips that very day that their jobs would end 12/31/24.
It would have been catastrophic to the hundreds of clinic patients who depend on the clinic for lifesaving drugs and treatments. The quorum court voted unanimously to continue funding the clinic for 2025.
➽ I made a motion to amend the 2025 budget to include funding for the Legal Help Desk. That funding was cut from the budget also. My motion, sadly, did not have sufficient votes to pass. Listen starting at 1:06:03 in the video. The Legal Help Desk was made up of law students from UA and local pro bono attorneys who helped low income and marginalized people with civil legal matters. Its focus was to help people involved in Drug Court and Veterans Court.
➽ Bids were opened 11/21/24 at 2:00 pm in the Washington County Courthouse for the so called “Covid Mitigation Unit” to expand the Washington County Jail with American Rescue Plan Act dollars. This momentous event - at least in terms of taxpayer dollars and importance to the community - was not advertised by the county. It wasn’t on the county’s social media or the public calendar. Was it required to be since Nabholz Construction is the “Construction Manager?” Whether it was required or not, that information should have been shared with the public. I only found out about it because I was at the courthouse to perform a wedding ceremony and I recognized the Nabholz guy.
➽ This is an email JPs received from WC Judge Deakins last Friday:
From: Patrick Deakins
Sent: Friday, November 22, 2024 12:34 PM
To: Quorum Court
Subject: Matters Involving the Sheriff's Office
To the Honorable Washington County Justices of the Peace:
In an effort to keep you informed, I wanted to reach out and update you on something….
Over the course of the past year, my office has received what appeared to be initially credible allegations regarding possible misuse and/or theft of county property and possible misuse and/or theft of county funds. Based upon that information, I tasked Chief of Staff Stewart and Counselors Lester and Baker to undertake an internal investigation. We have completed that work and the findings were substantiated enough to forward our report to PA Durrett’s office.
I hope you can understand that this has been an extremely difficult and emotional process for my office to work through, however, we stand committed to transparency and to fulfilling our constitutional duties. I ask for your grace if we have seemed preoccupied. This process has taken a lot of our team’s bandwidth.
Our comments on an open investigation will be limited to protect the ongoing process.
Thanks.
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UPCOMING PUBLIC MEETINGS (Next Week)
🌟 No public meetings are scheduled for this week, at least not on the public county calendar. The Washington County Courthouse is closed 11/28/24 and 11/29/24 for Thanksgiving.
🌟 Washington County Quorum Court County Services Committee meets next Monday 12/2/24 at 6:00 PM, Washington County Courthouse. This is an in person meeting only. The meeting will be livestreamed here. I assume the agenda will be published Wednesday 11/27/24 and I will share that when I receive it. The zoning ordinance and map were tabled last meeting to the December meeting and should be on the agenda for discussion again. Hopefully no vote.
🌟 Washington County Planning and Zoning Board meets Thursday 12/5/24 at 5:00 PM, Washington County Courthouse. This is also an in person only meeting. You can watch the meeting here. If you’re able, I urge you to attend this meeting. The county judge has recently increased the size of the board (I’ve lost count).
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🌟 DETENTION CENTER INFORMATION 11/24/24
As of 11/24/24, there are at least 780 people locked away in our Washington County Detention Center.
80 of the detainees list addresses as either “homeless” or “1832 S School Street - the address of Seven Hills Homeless Shelter.
Here’s the link to the Detailed Charge Report:
You can check the “Calls for Service” board here.
Here’s a list in alphabetical order to search for people.
READ AND STUDY THE 2020 CRIMINAL JUSTICE ASSESSMENT STUDY PREPARED BY THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR STATE COURTS HERE. READ AND LEARN WHY WE DO NOT NEED TO SPEND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS ON JAIL EXPANSIONS TO KEEP OUR COMMUNITIES SAFE!
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COUNTY BID POSTINGS 11/24/24
🌟 No new bid/RFP postings this week. Here’s the link to current RFQs and bids:
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COUNTY JOB OPENINGS THIS WEEK (11/24/24)
This week’s job openings include a Deputy Public Defender.
Salary/Pay Rate:$72,477.95 - $81,537.70
Posted Date:11/20/2024
Applications accepted from: ALL PERSONS INTERESTED
Position Title: Deputy Public Defender
Department: Public Defender
Salary: $72,477.95 - $81,537.70
Pay Grade: 24
Here’s a link to the other current job postings:
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🌟 WANT TO BECOME INVOLVED?🌟
ATTEND AS MANY MEETINGS OF THE QUORUM COURT AND ITS SUBCOMMITTEES AS YOU CAN. CHECK MY WEBSITE WWW.BETHCOGER.COM FOR DATES AND TIMES.
CONTACT JUDGE DEAKINS AND TELL HIM YOU WANT OUR CRISIS STABILIZATION UNIT TO REOPEN AND ASK HIM TO GET TO WORK ON FINDING ANOTHER VENDOR BECAUSE WE CAN DO HARD THINGS.
Continue to ask Judge Deakins to appoint members to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee and get that group up and running! This is too important. If you haven’t called, please do so, or send email, or go by the courthouse and speak to the judge in person. WHAT’S NEXT? WHY WON’T JUDGE DEAKINS APPOINT MEMBERS AND ACTIVATE THIS COMMITTEE AND LET IT GET TO WORK? ASK HIM.
Contact your JP and set up a time to meet them for coffee or just to get together. Become a regular voice in their ear and urge them to support criminal justice reform and be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. That’s how I got started advocating to the court back in 2019. CAN YOU TAKE AN HOUR OR TWO AND MEET WITH YOUR JP AND SHARE YOUR CONCERNS OR COMMENTS, OR WHATEVER YOUR THOUGHTS ARE.
Share this Newsletter with your friends and neighbors!
Write letters to the editor. letters@nwadg.com
Do you have a court date in Benton or Washington County? Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition (AJRC) has a program to train volunteers to offer practical, procedural, and emotional support during your court hearing. From a reassuring check-in before your court date, to standing by your side on the day of court. Everyone deserves to be heard, supported, and understood.
To request a Court Support Volunteer, please fill out the Courtside Support Request Form. Questions? Concerns? Reach out to us at arkansasjusticereform@gmail.org.
To become a volunteer, contact AJRC at 479-345-1150 or the above email. They provide training that will help make you become a great Court Support Volunteer.
Here’s how you can contact your county officials. We need to hear from you!!
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