JP Coger's Washington County UPdate 10/19/2025
- Beth Coger
- Oct 19
- 4 min read
Week of October 19, 2025 Transparency • Accountability • Fiscal Responsibility
🟠 THINGS TO KNOW: No governmental meetings scheduled this week in Washington County as of this date 10/19/25. The next regularly scheduled meeting is the Planning & Zoning Board on 10/30/25 at 5:00 PM.
Let’s look at last week’s meetings -
Adding Items to the Agenda:
At 3:05 in Video 1, JP Brad Bruns asks to add three ordinances to the agenda. (1) Establish Office of Code Enforcement & Eliminate Office of Deputy County Attorney; (2) Ordinance Re: Use of County Seal; and (3) Restricting the Use of County Money to fund Lawsuits.
Copies had already been distributed to all JPs on 10/13/25. The presiding officer, WC Judge Patrick Deakins, nevertheless ruled the motion “out of order” before copies could be re-delivered during the meeting.
Fuel Island — $665,500 proposal
Discussion begins at 14:46 in Part 1. I opposed this expenditure. Based on discussions with current and former road department employees and reviewing other major financial obligations (health insurance increases, 13 new road graders, and the FY26 budget), I believe this functions more as a want, not a need. Fiscal restraint matters when multi-million-dollar decisions are stacked in line behind it.
Judge Patrick Deakins disagreed and violated Robert’s Rules of Order (RRO) concerning “Decorum in Meetings,” and more, when he said at 20:20 Video 1, “That's spoken from somebody who's completely ignorant of county operations.” (He later said he, “...didn’t mean it that way.”
I called a Point of Order which, under Robert's Rules of Order, takes precedence over any pending question out of which it may arise. (RRO 23:1 et. seq.) I had to insist (at least a couple times) on a ruling and he finally ruled that my point was not well taken. I immediately appealed, but instead of promptly putting the matter to a vote by the entire assembly (another RRO violation), he spoke for four minutes.
Vote on the appeal of Point of Order Call by Coger
To uphold the ruling that my point of order was “not well taken”: Massingill, Lyons, Ecke, Dean, Dennis, Leming, Ricker, Pond, Wilson
To overturn and find the point of order well taken: Rivera-Lopez, Washington, Coger, Highers, Rios-Stafford, Bruns
After the meeting, a former State Representative who watched the meeting described the handling of the proceedings as “embarrassing” and in multiple respects out of compliance with RRO. I agree. Procedural rules exist to protect the minority and to ensure fairness, not just order. They must be followed regardless of who is speaking.
CAP Funding (begins at 1:16:21 in Part 2)
I opposed additional funding for Returning Home for the reasons detailed in last week’s newsletter. (see last week’s Newsletter for background) We have already granted nearly $2M with no bid process and no financial accounting. I introduced a simple amendment requiring monthly reporting of income and expenses. That amendment failed.
Vote on requiring financial accounting:
NO — Massingill, Rivera-Lopez, Ecke, Dean, Dennis, Leming, Ricker, Pond, Bruns, Wilson
YES — Washington, Coger, Highers, Rios-Stafford
The ordinance then passed without any transparency requirement attached.
Planning Board Pay Increase
Introduced at 54:23 in Part 2 and passed.
Conditional Use Permits
All four CUPs on the agenda were approved.
🔵 DETENTION CENTER SNAPSHOT
Incarcerated People as of 10/18/25: 721
Listed as "unsheltered": 82
Here’s the link to the Detailed Charge Report: https://www.washingtoncountyar.gov/government/departments-f-z/sheriff/detention-information/detainee-charge-report
You can check the “Calls for Service” board here.
Here’s a list in alphabetical order to search for people.
🟠 If you’d like to follow the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and see the people in your community who are being arrested and booked into the jail, you can download this free app from the App Store (see photo below). Then click on “JAIL” and look at the people who are being booked into the jail. This is especially important at this time when there is an increased presence of Immigration Control Enforcement (ICE) agents and activity in our community. Then you can click on each individual name and see their charges. If they are being held with an ICE hold or federal court hold, it should say so, usually at the very bottom of the page.
County Bid Postings (as of 10/19/25)
Bid 2025-14 RFP for “Rebid” of Fuel Island System. Bids are due 10/20/25 at 4:00 PM. Opening date is 10/21/25. For more information, contact Jarrod London purchasing@washingtoncountyar.gov. This includes Diesel/Fuel Pumps & Injectors; Fuel Management System and Fuel/Petroleum Equipment.
Bid 2025-12 Services for the Women’s Community Rebuilding Initiative bids were opened. See the tabulation sheet here. $767,690.05 by Positive Energy Affecting Recovering Lives d/b/a PEARL.
Extensive renovations have already begun on the former women’s prison. Where is that money coming from?
You can view the closed bids here.
View all RFQs and bids [here].
County Job Openings (as of 10/19/25).
The Road Superintendent position is still open. Here is more information on that. No official announcement has been made to the quorum court about this job vacancy.
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 | $21.91 - $24.14 | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $21.91 - $24.14 | |
Full Time | Open Until Filled | $102648.00-$113152.00 |
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.
⚫ FINAL THOUGHT
Transparency isn’t just about access to information — it’s about using that information to make better decisions for our residents. As always, thank you for staying informed and engaged.
— Beth Coger Washington County Justice of the Peace, District 9 📧ejcoger@gmail.com| 💻 bethcoger.com
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