JP Coger's Washington County Newsletter 8/10/25
- Beth Coger
- Aug 10
- 5 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
UPCOMING EVENTS & THINGS TO KNOW:
➽ The Washington County Quorum Court Finance & Budget Committee meets Tuesday, August 12, 2025, 6:00 PM, Washington County Courthouse, 280 N. College, Fayetteville, Arkansas. This is an in person meeting only. The meeting will be live streamed here on the county’s YouTube channel.
The agenda for that meeting can be found here.
➽ Item 4.1: Highlights of Treasurer’s Report
7/1/25 General Fund balance $20,110,019.56. 7/31/25 Balance $18,468,751.74
ARPA Revenue Replacement Fund 7/31/25 balance $8,786,679.92
Jail Maintenance & Operation 7/1/25 balance $8,085,609.51. Expenditures of $2,076,710.19 and income of $2,322,276.32. 7/31/25 balance $8,331,175.64
American Rescue Plan Act 7/1/25 balance $8,716,740.51. Expenditures $823,822.31. 7/31/25 balance $7,924,613.45. This account had $31,695.25 income which is likely interest.
The Law Library fund had income of $7,086.65. Expenditures $70,341.79 and 7/31/25 balance $383,239.22
Community Rebuilding Initiative 7/1/31 balance $315,352.22; revenue of $50,552.34; expenditures of $68,245.83 and end balance of $297,658.73
Property Taxes received 7/25 = $761,838.73 with YTD = $10,043,618.45
One Cent Sales Tax 60% General and 40% Road received in July $942,200.35 with YTD = $6,563,263.02 (5.59% increase from same time last year)
Quarter Cent Sales Tax JAIL 6/25 = $1,448,416.54 with YTD = $10,060,895.91 (6.59% over same time last year)
AGENDA ITEMS I AM HIGHLIGHTING:
➽ ITEM 12.1: An ordinance to transfer $30,000 from Professional Services Line Item 3009 to Overtime/Other Premium Compensation to help cover staffing needs through the remainder of the fiscal year at the Juvenile Detention Center. The JDC is experiencing an increased demand for staff coverage “...due to various factors.”
➽ ITEM 15.1: I am sponsoring this resolution to request that the County Judge provide the Quorum Court with a fiscal impact statement within ninety (90) days. This report should include projected costs for staffing, salaries, benefits, operational expenses, maintenance, and any other anticipated financial obligations associated with the additional jail beds being added to the Washington County Detention Center.
These beds are coming — that decision has been made — yet the quorum court has had zero discussions about how we plan to fund the significant increase in operational costs. Regardless of whether we can "tell the judge what to do," it is entirely within our responsibility as the fiscal body of the county to ask for — and expect — this information so we can make informed budget decisions.
This is about basic fiscal accountability. If we are going to bear the financial burden, we need to understand it fully and in advance. Washington County taxpayers should be paying close attention to this. These are your tax dollars.
I expect the usual well prepared pushback against my resolution.
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➽ Here is the complete copy of the Internal Investigative Report by Washington County, Arkansas, (by Chief of Staff Michael Stewart and Deputy County Attorney Catherine Baker) concerning investigations at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, along with information regarding the appointment of a special prosecuting attorney and his two-page report. The evidence and information contained in this report are deeply troubling and have brought to light serious issues that must be addressed. This report is very professionally done and extremely thorough. We should heed the recommendations they make.
In addition to uncovering the illegal use of county property and misuse of county funds, the investigation also identified “likely violations” related to the 309 Inmate Program. Under Act 309, these state inmates are placed under county or city supervision—either housed locally, assigned to work, or conditionally released with oversight. Learn more about the 309 Program Learn more about the 309 program here.
The special prosecutor determined that the actions of certain Sheriff’s Office employees would, in his opinion, “...be better termed as a public funds type of illegal exaction, rather than a theft of property.” If that is the case, and it appears to be the case, it is now going to be incumbent upon the Quorum Court to consider what corrective action is necessary, and to act accordingly.
This responsibility should concern every elected official in Washington County, as it goes directly to the integrity and accountability of our government. If the only remaining avenue for remedy is through a civil action or other administrative measures, it is our duty to pursue it without delay.
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Does Washington County have a Planning Board? I have heard nothing since the Planning Director, Dr. Sam Ata, notified the quorum court that due to Act 519, all planning decisions are on hold and there will be no planning board meetings. Here is that email notice.
This could be fixed at next week's quorum court meeting. Will it get done? Stay tuned.
Act 519. of 2025 requires that: “A majority of the voting members of the county planning board shall reside in an unincorporated area of the county.” In order to comply, we need two (2) additional members appointed who reside in unincorporated areas of the county. JP Evelyn Rios Stafford tried to correct this at the July quorum court meeting by bringing an ordinance to accomplish that. That ordinance will be on its second reading 8/21/25.
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WASHINGTON COUNTY DETENTION CENTER INFORMATION 8/9/25:
As of Saturday, August 9, 2025, there were 677 individuals detained at the Washington County Detention Center. The breakdown is as follows:
77 individuals reported their address as either “homeless” or 1832 S. School Street (Seven Hills Homeless Shelter).
39 detainees are classified as 309 Trustees.
113 individuals are ADC Commitments—they have been sentenced to the Arkansas Department of Corrections but remain in our jail due to a lack of available DOC beds.
195 individuals are being held on Failure to Appear charges.
197 individuals are being held for other jurisdictions (Hold for Other Departments).
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.
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County Bid Postings (as of 8/9/25)
New Bid: 2025-09 due 8/18/25 at 4:00 PM; opening date 8/19/25. This is a bid for flooring and wall updates for the Fourth Floor of the Washington County Courthouse.
Directly below is the tabulation sheet for the thirteen road graders. I asked how we could be bidding these road graders when the money had not been appropriated and here’s the response I received from Mr. Paul Sherman, WC Comptroller:
“This bid was done to know the direction that we need to take in regard to future appropriations to replace our current graders next year. There are multiple “moving parts” into this large capital investment. Several of them are coming up on the end of their lease terms. Through discussion with Mr. Crowder, we may have some positive equity values in our current graders. This could potentially reduce that amount of funding that will be required going into the future. The bid will allow us to match future appropriations to the actual figure needed verses appropriating too much and letting that appropriation expire. This is another attempt to match the budget to actual cash flow, which will allow us to manage our funds more effectively and efficiently.”
View all RFQs and bids [here].
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County Job Openings (as of 8/9/25).
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $21.91 / HR | |
Temporary | Open Until Filled | 14/Hr | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $21.25 - $23.42/hr | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $21.91 - $24.14 | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $18 Hr | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $16.90-$31.10 |
Below is the link for all posted job openings in Washington County. The road department and sheriff’s offices are almost always hiring. The road department is 479-444-1610. The sheriff’s office is 479-444-5700.
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