[0:00] Good evening. I'd like to call to order the Thursday, July 23rd, 2026,

[0:04] meeting of the Benton County Quorum Court. Will the court please call the roll?

[0:08] Jeff Dunn.

[0:09] Here.

[0:09] Ken Farmer.

[0:10] Here.

[0:10] Richard McKean.

[0:12] Here.

[0:13] Mike Miller.

[0:13] Here.

[0:14] Carrie Smith.

[0:15] Present.

[0:16] Brian Armas.

[0:17] Here.

[0:19] Sorry. Yep. I was a little short to the gun there.

[0:24] Joseph Bolinger.

[0:26] Brian's not here, but I'm here. Yeah.

[0:29] I'm not sure about that.

[0:33] Joel Jones.

[0:35] Joel Jones is here.

[0:37] Jacob Jensen.

[0:38] Here.

[0:39] Danny McCracken.

[0:40] Here.

[0:40] Dustin Todd.

[0:41] Here.

[0:42] John Risler.

[0:43] Here.

[0:44] Kurt Moore.

[0:45] Here.

[0:45] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[0:46] Here.

[0:47] Lucas Poynter.

[0:48] Here.

[0:49] That's 14 present.

[0:50] All right. Thank you. Will you please rise with me for our prayer tonight by

[0:54] Barry Tubbs, who's with Word of Life Fellowship, followed by our

[0:58] Pledge of Allegiance.

[1:00] Well, Lord, we love you. We thank you for this opportunity to gather together

[1:04] to help this city and this county. I ask and believe in Jesus' name,

[1:08] according to James 1, that you give us wisdom.

[1:10] Wisdom to lead well and lead for others.

[1:14] We thank you for all that you've done for us, all you will do for us.

[1:18] Thank you for blessing this area, this county, and this group of men and women as

[1:22] they try to lead. In Jesus' name, amen.

[1:24] Amen. Amen.

[1:25] That good?

[1:25] Yeah, that was perfect. Thank you. Thank you, Barry.

[1:29] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of

[1:33] America, and to the republic for which it stands,

[1:37] one nation under God, indivisible, with

[1:40] liberty and justice for all.

[1:48] Yeah. It's quick.

[1:51] Well, nice and short.

[1:54] So you get the folks talking publicly.

[1:56] Get the-

[1:56] All right.

[1:58] Welcome, everyone. We'll move forward in the agenda.

[2:00] Item number five, changes to the agenda. I'm not aware of any changes tonight.

[2:05] No changes? Okay, thank you. We'll move on to item number six, disposition of the

[2:09] minutes of the June 30th, 2026, Quorum Court meeting.

[2:15] Justice Rosenbaum?

[2:16] I'll make a motion to approve the minutes.

[2:18] Second.

[2:19] Got a motion by Justice Rosenbaum, second by Justice Bolinger regarding the minutes

[2:22] from the June 30th meeting. Is there any further discussion about the minutes?

[2:27] Hearing none, will the court please call the roll?

[2:29] Jeff Dunn.

[2:30] Yes.

[2:30] Ken Farmer.

[2:31] Yes.

[2:31] Richard McKean.

[2:32] Yes.

[2:33] Mike Miller.

[2:34] Yes.

[2:34] Carrie Smith.

[2:35] Yes.

[2:35] Brian Armas.

[2:37] Joseph Bolinger.

[2:38] Yes.

[2:39] Joel Jones.

[2:40] Yes.

[2:40] Jacob Jensen.

[2:41] Yes.

[2:42] Danny McCracken.

[2:43] Yes.

[2:43] Dustin Todd.

[2:44] Yes.

[2:45] John Risler.

[2:46] Yes.

[2:46] Kurt Moore.

[2:47] Yes.

[2:47] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[2:49] Yes.

[2:49] Lucas Poynter.

[2:50] Yes.

[2:50] 14 yays, one absent.

[2:52] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item number seven, elected

[2:55] officials' reports. Um, I see, um, Chief,

[2:58] anything from the sheriff's office tonight?

[3:00] Okay. Betsy, anything from the clerk's office?

[3:03] I have a couple of things. A municipal filing period will begin

[3:07] next Wednesday at noon. That will run, uh, July 29th

[3:11] through August 5th at noon. That's a Wednesday to Wednesday.

[3:14] Equalization Board, um, will have its organizational meeting on,

[3:19] uh, August 3rd at 8:30, and they do have appointments already

[3:23] scheduled for the remainder of the day.

[3:25] Um, and then just an update that I forgot to do in June.

[3:29] Every June 1st, we send a certification to the secretary of state

[3:33] certifying the number of registered voters in Benton County.

[3:37] We have topped 200,000 at

[3:39] 200,848. Puts us about

[3:42] 30,000 behind Pulaski County and about 50,000 ahead of Washington

[3:46] County.

[3:48] Wow, only 30 behind Pulaski now.

[3:50] It's booming.

[3:51] How about that?

[3:52] We can just get them to vote. They're registering.

[3:55] Okay.

[3:55] We just need to get them to vote.

[3:56] Great. Thank you for that. And I don't think I missed any other elected officials.

[4:00] No.

[4:01] Okay, we'll move on to item number eight,

[4:04] county judge's report. I'm sure you'll be sorry to hear that I do not have a formal

[4:07] report tonight. However, uh, I do have an update from our

[4:11] finance committee meeting. Um, the

[4:14] discussion we had regarding the sales tax allocation issue,

[4:18] the to-do out of that for us was to send some questions back to the

[4:22] attorney. Uh, those questions were accumulated last week, uh,

[4:26] by Joel and Deborah.

[4:28] Uh, I checked them off with Brian, JP Armas, um, earlier this week.

[4:31] He's not here tonight. And those questions are back to Sarah Giaimo.

[4:36] She's on vacation this week, so she has told me that she'll get back to

[4:39] me early next week with the answers to those questions, uh,

[4:43] regarding one question, two question, and the other things that came up.

[4:47] Uh, so I would expect to send out to you all a communication early next

[4:51] week when she's back in town.

[4:53] Um,

[4:54] related to that, obviously that discussion spurred a lot of attention,

[4:58] particularly with our city partners, and I think I'd mentioned that I thought an

[5:02] Intergovernmental Council meeting would be appropriate as a discussion forum for

[5:06] that. And tentatively, I've checked with several of our mayors and, uh,

[5:10] it looks like August 5th at 2:00 PM

[5:13] would be, uh, a date and time that, um, is suitable

[5:17] for the mayors. And again, the Intergovernmental Council basically is all the

[5:20] mayors and me representing the county.

[5:23] And so look for an invitation, uh, actually a

[5:26] notification. I shouldn't say that's an invitation because this is an, a, an

[5:29] official meeting. A notification coming out on that soon.

[5:33] So August 5th, 2:00 PM, Intergovernmental Council.

[5:36] And, uh, I'll just remind all of you, there's a preset agenda that we have

[5:40] to go through, and then we can add things to that agenda.

[5:43] So I would anticipate that, that this issue, whether or not there's an actual

[5:47] ballot question, this is an issue that we'll add, uh, as a discussion

[5:50] point, uh, on that meeting. So 2:00,

[5:54] August 5th, um, and look for a notification to come out on that before too

[5:58] long.

[6:01] And then for the disposal report tonight, we just have a few things,

[6:05] some scrap metal, about $4,300 worth of stuff.

[6:09] I don't know if anybody has any questions about that. Okay.

[6:13] Thank you. Hearing none, we'll go on in the agenda to item number 9, committee

[6:17] reports. Justice Jones?

[6:20] Finance met, and you talked about one of the big items from that.

[6:23] We have several other items on the agenda, some grants and other ordinances.

[6:28] Sales taxes got hit by rebate, as everybody saw we discussed.

[6:33] So we'll keep an eye on that.

[6:36] That's it.

[6:36] Okay, thank you. Justice Moore.

[6:40] Committee of the Whole was canceled due to no agenda items.

[6:43] Okay. But we'll have a big one in August.

[6:47] All right.

[6:49] We'll now move on

[6:51] to item number 10, public comments.

[6:53] Members of the public are welcome to address the quorum court this evening.

[6:57] If you'd like to come forward, there's a sign-in sheet.

[6:59] Please sign in,

[7:01] tell us your name and where you live, and then you have three

[7:05] minutes to address the quorum court this evening. Ma'am? Sure.

[7:09] I'm here.

[7:10] Yeah, if you wouldn't mind signing in, and then let us know

[7:13] your name and where you're from.

[7:16] Kathy Rains,

[7:18] Bella Vista.

[7:23] Good evening.

[7:25] Hi, Kerry.

[7:27] Thank you for the opportunity to address my concerns with you

[7:31] tonight.

[7:34] I understand that on June 12th,

[7:37] you unanimously voted to elevate the

[7:39] 287G task force model in Benton

[7:43] County to its highest level,

[7:47] authorizing local law enforcement agencies,

[7:52] along with the Benton County Sheriff's Office,

[7:55] to deputize officers

[7:57] to investigate immigration status,

[8:00] question individuals during routine community

[8:04] interactions,

[8:06] and enforce federal immigration laws in our neighborhoods.

[8:10] Now, you are asking taxpayers to provide

[8:14] additional funding to support these efforts.

[8:18] My question is simple: did you

[8:22] receive a request from the people of Benton County to

[8:26] pursue these actions,

[8:28] or are you following the priorities of the current

[8:32] presidential administration?

[8:36] Based on what I've seen and heard from our community, I believe the answer is

[8:39] clear. Residents have repeatedly and publicly

[8:43] asked the Benton County Sheriff's Office to move away from the jail

[8:47] enforcement model, and instead adopt the warrant

[8:51] service model.

[8:54] Those requests were made patiently,

[8:58] consistently, and in good faith,

[9:02] yet you chose to reject the course

[9:06] many community members advocated.

[9:08] And now you're asking the same tax members, whose concerns were

[9:12] disregarded, to finance an initiative

[9:16] they opposed.

[9:18] As a member of this community, I stand before you today to say I

[9:21] dissent.

[9:24] Rather than spending our tax dollars expanding local immigration

[9:27] enforcement and sending our neighbors to detention facilities

[9:31] hundreds of miles from their homes and families, or to places where their loved

[9:35] ones may struggle to find them or even know what happened

[9:39] to them.

[9:40] Too many people are disappearing, and we can't find them.

[9:45] I believe those resources should be invested in meeting the needs of the people who

[9:48] live here in Benton County.

[9:51] Use my tax dollars to help feed hungry children through SNAP.

[9:56] Invest in affordable housing, so families have a safe place to live.

[10:00] Support our public education, so our children and adults seeking new

[10:04] opportunities can succeed.

[10:07] Strengthen Medicaid, so our children, seniors, pregnant people, and other

[10:11] vulnerable residents can have access to healthcare that they need.

[10:15] Those investments make our community stronger, healthier, safer.

[10:20] They reflect the values of compassion, responsibility,

[10:24] human dignity that I want my tax dollars to support.

[10:29] Speaking of values,

[10:31] I know some of you identify as Bible-believing Christians,

[10:36] and have invoked your faith in defense of these policies.

[10:39] I cannot speak for your faith,

[10:42] but I can speak for mine.

[10:46] I am a Jesus-loving, southern woman who was raised to follow

[10:50] his teachings as written in the Holy Scriptures.

[10:53] I grew up in Sunday school,

[10:55] believing that to follow Christ meant to love my neighbor,

[10:58] welcome the stranger, care for the poor, and stand with those who are vulnerable.

[11:01] As an adult, I still believe that. Every day,

[11:05] I ask myself a simple question:

[11:08] "Where would Jesus be, and what would he be doing?"

[11:12] That's where I want to find myself.

[11:15] I don't believe he'd be in our Hispanic neighborhoods, terrorizing immigrant

[11:18] families-

[11:18] 30 seconds, ma'am

[11:19] ... treating our Latino and Latinx neighbors as enemies.

[11:22] Nope. He says, "If I was hungry, you gave me food.

[11:26] I was thirsty, you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me."

[11:30] Those are judgment words. So

[11:33] tonight, I'm going to sleep peacefully.

[11:35] I'll know I spoke according to my conscience and the values that Jesus taught me.

[11:38] I hope you sleep well. Bless your hearts.

[11:58] Good evening. My name is Ginny Steele.

[12:00] I'm a resident of Rogers. I've been a resident of Benton County for

[12:05] 30 years. I love my community so much And

[12:08] today, I'm very ashamed of it.

[12:11] I grieve for it.

[12:13] I've been attending Quorum Court meetings for about four months

[12:16] now. I've listened for the entire time, and I've

[12:20] observed, and now I feel very led to speak.

[12:24] Two noteworthy things happened at last month's meeting. First, Ms.

[12:27] Rosenbaum went out of her way to come and introduce

[12:31] herself to a couple of my very affluent-looking

[12:35] white female friends who are in their 70s.

[12:38] She was very sweet to ask where they live, if they would like to be introduced to

[12:42] their JP. I was so struck by that because I've never

[12:46] once seen it happen in the months that I've been in this room, not to

[12:49] myself or to any of my friends with brown skin here.

[12:53] I've never personally been approached by any justice of the peace here

[12:57] to welcome me to Quorum Court, to offer to connect me

[13:01] with my elected representative over here,

[13:04] to ask if I might have any questions about how this all works.

[13:08] That burden has been on me to learn.

[13:11] After that night's meeting, another noteworthy thing happened.

[13:13] As my white friends and I exited the building, we stood in the front and talked

[13:17] for a minute before parting ways. Mr.

[13:19] Dunn was so friendly. He came out and joined our group, told

[13:23] us he was really glad to see us here.

[13:26] He encouraged us to come to the next financial committee meeting.

[13:29] He was kind enough to wait while I got my phone out to put it in my

[13:33] calendar. This was such a stark contrast from the

[13:36] behavior that I have observed every time I've been here.

[13:40] I've quite literally watched Mr. Armas physically

[13:44] run away from a constituent in the parking lot.

[13:49] That's embarrassing, y'all. It is a bare minimum

[13:53] ask for an elected official to be willing to take the

[13:56] time to speak with a constituent who's taking the time to show

[14:01] up here,

[14:02] regardless of what they look like or if they perhaps have a dissenting

[14:06] opinion.

[14:09] I have never observed anyone seated here greet the citizens who come

[14:12] here faithfully to speak out against our county's very heavy

[14:16] voluntary involvement with ICE. People have pled

[14:20] for months that we scale back this partnership.

[14:24] This recent very sketchy move to escalate our

[14:27] participation is in direct opposition to what you've been asked to

[14:31] do.

[14:32] And though the agreement was passed very quietly, I want you to know we

[14:36] know.

[14:37] We know that every officer in this county is deputized to act as an ICE

[14:41] officer. We know they're financially incentivized-

[14:44] 30 seconds

[14:44] ... to racially profile, and arrest, and disappear people with brown

[14:48] skin. We know why our jail is being expanded.

[14:51] We know why there are more Flock cameras lining our streets.

[14:54] We know that we no longer live in a safe community.

[14:58] We're making sure everyone else in our community knows it, too.

[15:02] Thank you.

[15:04] Thank you.

[15:11] Yes, sir.

[15:12] Yes.

[15:14] Good to see all you nights. I'm Mark Lassiter from Pea Ridge.

[15:17] I've already signed in.

[15:22] I consider myself to be an independent.

[15:25] If I'm ever asked what party affiliation,

[15:29] I say I'm an independent. Two reasons for that.

[15:33] One is that

[15:35] it's always seemed to me with any kind of affiliation where we

[15:38] have,

[15:40] there is a tendency for that affiliation to skew our

[15:43] thinking,

[15:45] our judgment,

[15:47] our reasoning,

[15:50] anything about ourselves. So I've shied away from that.

[15:55] The second reason is, is that I've always felt like there is some

[15:59] value in the two-party system and the two that are

[16:02] represented in our country. I'm one of those

[16:06] that has this theory about government.

[16:10] I think government ought to work on behalf of the people.

[16:14] I don't know if y'all think that or not,

[16:16] but to me, that's what government ought to do.

[16:18] It ought to work on behalf of the people,

[16:21] including those that are most vulnerable and those that

[16:24] are the poorest.

[16:27] That theory

[16:29] is what led to Roosevelt's New Deal

[16:33] back in the 1930s.

[16:36] That gave us Social Security,

[16:38] gave us Medicare, I'm glad for that as well as the other,

[16:43] Medicaid, and all these safety nets.

[16:45] And believe it or not, at that time, both

[16:48] parties championed that idea and that philosophy about

[16:51] government.

[16:55] But the Republican Party's moved away from that,

[16:58] and that's pretty much a Democrat value now

[17:02] that I appreciate.

[17:04] I've always appreciated the Republican historically,

[17:08] valuing personal responsibility and accountability.

[17:12] I think that's a good thing.

[17:17] But my way of thinking about all this changed 10 years ago when

[17:22] we got a new administration.

[17:25] And the narcissism,

[17:28] the lack of integrity,

[17:31] and for me, as a person of faith, the

[17:35] outright rejection of Jesus'

[17:38] values

[17:40] was more than I could take, and it still is.

[17:44] And so today, when somebody asks me

[17:47] what my affiliation is, you know what I tell them?

[17:51] I say I'm still an independent,

[17:54] but I'm not a Republican.

[18:02] We have a new

[18:04] term in office for our current president, and on top of

[18:08] everything else

[18:10] If you're not aware of it, you should be.

[18:13] There is an authoritarianism to this administration that-

[18:16] 30 seconds

[18:17] ... and is characterized in a lot of ways, and I could name every single one of

[18:21] them. But one of them is using

[18:25] a federally

[18:27] funded law enforcement agency to pick

[18:31] out a certain segment of society.

[18:36] And our Latino community around us is suffering from that.

[18:41] But one of these days,

[18:43] I hope we all come to the realization, one of these days,

[18:47] history is not going to speak well of us in this period.

[18:53] Historians are going to look at our period of time now, and they're going to think

[18:57] about it being a dark, ugly time

[18:59] that took a lot of time to get over.

[19:05] Any way we're participating with ICE is a part of the problem.

[19:10] Thank you.

[19:19] Just one second.

[19:30] My name is Daniel Hopmeier. I'm a resident of Rogers in Benton County District

[19:34] 4, and I am also a candidate for the Arkansas House this year.

[19:38] And I am here to speak on a county and state issue: the county's

[19:42] collaboration with a federal agency that has proven itself incapable

[19:46] of keeping Americans safe or obeying the Constitution.

[19:50] Collaborating with ICE puts us all, immigrant or not

[19:54] immigrant, in danger.

[19:56] ICE and related segments of the Trump administration have routinely kidnapped,

[20:00] violated, injured, and killed human beings of every

[20:04] kind, including native-born citizens, legal immigrants,

[20:08] sick children, grandparents, military allies, and

[20:12] other longtime residents who have no criminal record.

[20:16] ICE sends people back to the wrong countries.

[20:18] It sends people back to deadly circumstances.

[20:21] It lies about what it has done. It willfully obscures evidence of its

[20:25] wrongdoing, and it keeps killing people that it wasn't even looking for.

[20:29] Every day

[20:31] is another opportunity for this same inhumanity here in Northwest

[20:35] Arkansas. Immigrating without authorization is

[20:39] a civil offense, not a capital crime punishable by

[20:42] prison time, cruelty, or death.

[20:45] And intertwining Northwest Arkansas law enforcement with ICE means that victims and

[20:49] witnesses of crimes, regardless of who commits them, cannot

[20:53] trust the authorities with vital information if they or someone they care

[20:56] about could be arrested, deported, or worse as a

[21:00] result. Furthermore, ICE isn't focused on removing the most

[21:04] dangerous people. Instead, it seeks out those who are working hard, those

[21:08] who are trying to do the right thing and follow the rules, those who are

[21:11] contributing to our economy, because those people are easier to find.

[21:16] ICE's actions run against this community and this country's principles of due

[21:19] process, equal treatment under the law, and common decency for people of

[21:24] all races and backgrounds.

[21:26] The agency does not deserve the trust and deference of Arkansas

[21:30] citizens or our local governments.

[21:32] They deserve only accountability for the damage that they have caused.

[21:37] For all of these reasons, I call on my county's leaders to roll back your

[21:41] agreements with ICE to the minimum required by state law, and I

[21:45] demand that ICE stop violating US and Arkansas constitutional

[21:48] guarantees that apply to all people on American soil.

[21:53] Please.

[21:59] I'm

[22:04] Mike Clages, and I live in the unincorporated part of Benton

[22:08] County, so not any of the towns.

[22:11] I've noticed there's some other political candidates here.

[22:13] I'm your candidate for lieutenant governor.

[22:17] It's been a while since I've talked here, but this is our 250th anniversary

[22:21] of the Declaration of Independence, and I thought it was important to bring

[22:24] something up about that. I know lots of people have been celebrating

[22:28] that. I've seen the bunting out and about, and everybody's kind of proud of

[22:31] that. But I don't think very many people, or even any of you,

[22:35] have actually read the document. I'd like to encourage you to change

[22:39] that.

[22:41] Because one of the things that's in there,

[22:43] and the whole purpose of the document, was to explain why

[22:48] we were taking up arms to violently overthrow our government.

[22:53] And that was because we had grievances about the bad things, the tyrannical things

[22:56] that that government was doing.

[22:58] And it listed them,

[23:00] so

[23:01] we would have a guide, a map of how would you know when your government has

[23:05] gone too far.

[23:07] And I think currently most of the room, I guess, would be interested to know

[23:10] that one of the grievances was that the government wasn't doing enough

[23:14] to facilitate naturalization and immigration.

[23:19] But that's not the main thing I want to talk about here.

[23:22] One of the grievances was that

[23:24] they actually discouraged people from taking part in their government.

[23:29] And that's something that I had to fight for years anytime I want to come here

[23:34] because you guys have a gun control policy that

[23:38] violates the Constitution of both the state and the country, and it violates state

[23:42] law. But the enforcement of that gun control in that front

[23:46] office is a searching device that I cannot go through because I have a

[23:50] medical device that's incompatible with those.

[23:53] So I have to consent to a more invasive search.

[23:56] At times, in any other location, that search would be

[24:00] considered sexual assault.

[24:03] And that's what I have to do

[24:05] in order to participate in my government. That's what I have to endure.

[24:11] But the main reason I came here to talk about was one of the things

[24:15] that their grievances was that the

[24:18] Government appointed officers to harass people,

[24:22] and we're seeing that quite often too.

[24:25] So when it happens, even without officers that we see,

[24:29] and the mass surveillance that we have.

[24:31] So

[24:32] I passed at least three

[24:35] mass surveillance cameras on my drive here.

[24:38] So I'm not suspected that I know of any crime. I haven't committed any crime.

[24:43] So why am I being searched?

[24:45] So Fourth Amendment's supposed to protect me from that, but it doesn't.

[24:50] In fact, I'm forced to pay for my own surveillance.

[24:55] So I would ask that we end that policy,

[25:00] that we end the mass surveillance, whether it's Flock, whether it's Axon, whether

[25:03] it's anybody else. We end mass surveillance.

[25:05] We actually get a warrant based on probable cause before we start searching people.

[25:11] So I'd ask that you make our government more friendly to the people, not oppressive

[25:15] to the people.

[25:17] And I ask that in this patriotic month,

[25:21] that before you guys consider yourselves my countrymen,

[25:25] that you actually read that document, that Declaration of Independence, and find

[25:29] out what it means to be an American.

[25:31] Thank you.

[25:33] Thank you.

[25:54] My name's Aaron Leonard. I'm from Bentonville, Crystal Flats

[25:58] apartment complex right down the road, actually.

[26:02] Like everyone here, I hope I was taught about chattel

[26:05] slavery and the Holocaust in school,

[26:08] about ocean ecosystems altered as sharks changed their migration

[26:12] patterns to follow the hordes of Black bodies thrown off of slave ships, and

[26:16] about six million people systematically murdered by a Nazi government using

[26:20] trains to transport them to gas chambers and ovens.

[26:23] And I used to wonder how decent people could ever let that happen at all.

[26:28] Watching ICE operate through this second Trump administration, I

[26:32] don't have to wonder that anymore.

[26:34] It truly breaks my heart, and I've spent countless hours with my

[26:38] family and my friends just trying to figure out how to keep

[26:41] existing in a world like this.

[26:45] Two months ago, I came to this court hoping for a chance to share my

[26:48] experience with my community, hoping for leaders who give a

[26:52] damn about the people they represent.

[26:54] Instead, I found a room full of people who do not care about your life or

[26:58] your suffering, who represent no one in the community that they live

[27:02] in.

[27:03] I shared one of the hardest moments of my own life, which included passing through

[27:07] airport security in Mexico City on my way back to the US,

[27:11] where I watched my wife cry as she waved goodbye to her father, who had been

[27:15] deported after 20 years living here and ripped away from his

[27:19] family.

[27:21] However, over time, I've actually come to understand that we are

[27:25] the lucky ones. ICE has shot and killed legal

[27:28] immigrants, killed American citizens on the street, and let

[27:32] over 50 people, 50 people, probably more than

[27:37] what's even in this room, die in detention facilities

[27:41] since last year, a two-decade record high.

[27:44] We are lucky that her father is even alive to wave goodbye to her

[27:48] after spending months inside one of these detention facilities as a

[27:52] diabetic, instead of being another dead body in a system that views

[27:56] human life as insignificant garbage.

[27:59] So while you all sit there staring with your blank faces, checking your

[28:03] phones,

[28:04] and waiting for me to stop spewing words that you don't care about, let me

[28:08] be exceedingly clear with my remaining time.

[28:12] I am an open and proud atheist, but I sometimes genuinely

[28:16] wish that I believed in your version of Christianity that you purport to care so

[28:20] much about here, because then I'd at least have the comfort of knowing you'd

[28:24] all burn in hell for eternity alongside the monsters in history

[28:27] who raped and killed slaves, separated generations of

[28:31] Black families, and ran concentration camps with the explicit purpose of

[28:35] killing an entire group of people they deemed to be too different.

[28:39] I'd sleep real easy knowing that there was a real eternal

[28:43] punishment

[28:47] for these creatures that I don't even view as human anymore.

[28:51] You might never be held legally liable, but understand that you will

[28:54] always be morally liable. Your children will read history books about

[28:58] the atrocities that you voted for and enabled while going to church

[29:02] and praying and pretending heaven was up there waiting for you.

[29:06] And I hope that your children and your grandchildren-

[29:09] 30 seconds

[29:09] ... turn away from you with the same total contempt you show your own

[29:12] neighbors. I hope they leave you with nothing and no one, as I have

[29:16] tried to do with my own parents, who I can't even look at anymore.

[29:20] So you can continue to bow down to the White House border czar, Tom

[29:24] Homan, who said, and I quote, "There will be more bloodshed

[29:28] unless they shut their mouth." I personally will never shut

[29:32] my mouth. I will continue to lift my voice forever to condemn your

[29:36] very existence, even if it ends up with my own death at the

[29:39] hands of these disgusting, subhuman pieces of trash.

[29:43] F**k ICE. Free Palestine. Thank you very much.

[29:52] Real quick before we move on.

[29:55] I understand this is a very emotional issue. I get that.

[30:00] But we do conduct business here. This is a place of decorum.

[30:04] We're not going to tolerate profanity. We're not going to tolerate threats.

[30:08] We're not going to tolerate that kind of behavior.

[30:10] That just isn't going to happen here.

[30:12] So I appreciate that everybody comes here.

[30:15] You will have the opportunity to speak your mind on this issue or any issue,

[30:19] frankly. We're wide open. But-

[30:27] So,

[30:29] we're not going to have this meeting disrupted either.

[30:31] You'll have your chance, and no, we're not going to tolerate profanity.

[30:35] We're just going to treat each other better. Yeah.

[30:39] And that'll be the last from the audience.

[30:42] We're going to be respectful to each other.

[30:46] So, with that, who would like to go next?

[30:51] All right. Public comments are over.

[30:54] We'll now move on to item number 11, 11A, old business.

[30:59] Judge, the third and final reading of proposed ordinance calling a special election

[31:02] on the question of the levy of annual dues of the Northwest Benton County NEPCO

[31:06] Volunteer Fire Department for fire protection services, designating the county

[31:09] official who will collect and remit the annual dues charged with the department,

[31:12] and prescribing other matters pertaining thereto, sponsored

[31:15] by Justice Dunn.

[31:18] Yes, third and final reading.

[31:22] I really appreciate the way NEPCO's gone about this.

[31:24] Mm-hmm.

[31:24] Number one, bringing it to this court in time for it to have the

[31:28] three readings at the traditional cadence.

[31:31] So, this is the third month that they've talked about this.

[31:35] And the

[31:38] unique plan that they've come forward with to support their volunteer

[31:42] fire department and also their EMS district, which we'll talk about next.

[31:47] Increasing the dues 4% a year for 10 years,

[31:52] and then if they want to continue that, they'll have to come back for a vote.

[31:56] This

[31:58] body is just voting to allow it to be on the ballot,

[32:02] and I move for its approval.

[32:04] Second.

[32:05] Motion by Justice Dunn, seconded by Justice Jones.

[32:07] I will note that Chief Taylor is here tonight.

[32:10] If there's any questions, I'm sure the chief would be happy to come up and answer

[32:13] those. Sorry to point you out, but you're here. I figured you'd made the journey.

[32:17] So,

[32:18] with that, is there any further discussion on item 11A?

[32:22] Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll?

[32:24] Jeff Dunn.

[32:25] Yes.

[32:25] Ken Farmer.

[32:26] Yes.

[32:26] Richard McKeon.

[32:27] Yes.

[32:28] Mike Miller.

[32:28] Yes.

[32:29] Kari Smith.

[32:30] Yes.

[32:30] Bryan Armus.

[32:32] Joseph Bollinger.

[32:33] Yes.

[32:33] Joel Jones.

[32:34] Yes.

[32:34] Jacob Jensen.

[32:35] Yes.

[32:36] Danny McCracken.

[32:37] Yes.

[32:37] Dustin Todd.

[32:38] Yes.

[32:38] Jon Risler.

[32:39] Yes.

[32:40] Kurt Moore.

[32:40] Yes.

[32:41] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[32:42] Yes.

[32:43] Lucas Pointer.

[32:44] Yes.

[32:44] That's 14 yays, one absent.

[32:46] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item 11B, please.

[32:49] The third and final reading of the proposed ordinance amending a portion of

[32:52] sections 26-29 of the Code of Ordinances of Benton County, Arkansas,

[32:56] to increase the service fee of the Northeast Benton County Emergency Medical

[32:59] Service District, EMSD, if approved by the residents of the district

[33:03] in a referendum, sponsored also again by Jeff Dunn.

[33:08] Same exact as the last one, but this pertains specifically to the EMSD, the

[33:12] ambulance portion of their operation. I move for its approval.

[33:16] Second.

[33:17] Motion by Justice Dunn, second by Justice Miller. Is there any further discussion?

[33:23] Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll?

[33:24] Jeff Dunn.

[33:25] Yes.

[33:25] Ken Farmer.

[33:26] Yes.

[33:27] Richard McKeon.

[33:27] Yes.

[33:28] Mike Miller.

[33:29] Yes.

[33:29] Kari Smith.

[33:30] Yes.

[33:30] Bryan Armus. Joseph Bollinger.

[33:33] Yes.

[33:33] Joel Jones.

[33:34] Yes.

[33:34] Jacob Jensen.

[33:35] Yes.

[33:36] Danny McCracken.

[33:36] Yes.

[33:37] Dustin Todd.

[33:38] Yes.

[33:38] Jon Risler.

[33:39] Yes.

[33:39] Kurt Moore.

[33:40] Yes.

[33:40] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[33:41] Yes.

[33:42] Lucas Pointer.

[33:42] Yes.

[33:43] That's 14 yays and one absent.

[33:45] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item 11C

[33:49] is just a second reading.

[33:51] Yes, sir. A proposed ordinance approving a transfer of personal property from

[33:54] Benton County, Arkansas, to the City of Gentry, Arkansas.

[33:59] Fire Department, sponsored by Justice Armus. No action need be taken.

[34:03] Actions needed. Does anybody have any thoughts,

[34:07] questions, comments? Justice Bollinger?

[34:08] One second.

[34:08] Justice Bollinger.

[34:10] Second reading.

[34:11] Second reading, so I guess-

[34:11] Okay.

[34:12] You're sort of playing the role of-

[34:13] Yeah, I was going to say, I answered for him earlier, so I figured-

[34:15] Yeah.

[34:17] Do we need a mo-- We don't need a motion.

[34:18] I-

[34:19] Nope.

[34:19] Okay. All right.

[34:20] The second reading, and then if there's any discussion, we can have that.

[34:23] If there's not, we'll move on.

[34:25] Seeing none, we'll move on to new business, item 12A, please.

[34:28] This is a resolution referring the question of increasing the service fee per

[34:31] household with the Northeast Benton County Emergency Medical Service District,

[34:34] EMSD, to the qualified voters of the district, sponsored by Justice Dunn.

[34:39] Third and final thing for the NEPCO election.

[34:41] Because it is an EMSD, it needs a resolution to go

[34:45] along with it, and I move for its approval.

[34:48] Second.

[34:49] Motion by Justice Dunn, second by Justice Farmer. Is there any further discussion?

[34:55] Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll?

[34:56] Jeff Dunn.

[34:57] Yes.

[34:57] Ken Farmer.

[34:58] Yes.

[34:59] Richard McKeon.

[35:00] Yes.

[35:00] Mike Miller.

[35:01] Yes.

[35:01] Kari Smith.

[35:02] Yes.

[35:02] Bryan Armus. Joseph Bollinger.

[35:04] Yes.

[35:05] Joel Jones.

[35:06] Yes.

[35:06] Jacob Jensen.

[35:07] Yes.

[35:08] Danny McCracken.

[35:09] Yes.

[35:09] Dustin Todd.

[35:10] Yes.

[35:10] Jon Risler.

[35:11] Yes.

[35:12] Kurt Moore.

[35:14] Yes.

[35:14] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[35:15] Yes.

[35:15] Lucas Pointer.

[35:16] Yes.

[35:16] That's 14 yays, one absent.

[35:18] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item 12B, please.

[35:22] A resolution authorizing the county judge of Benton County to apply for the fund

[35:24] year 26 U.S. Department of Human Services Substance Abuse, Mental Health

[35:28] Services, SAMHSA,

[35:30] Substance Use Disorder Treatment expansion, sponsored by Justice Miller.

[35:34] We heard the purpose of this just now when Tom read it.

[35:39] It is a grant provided by the Department of

[35:43] Human Services in the amount of 400,000 per

[35:46] year or annually for a five-year period, the total

[35:50] award being $2 million, and there is no matching

[35:54] requirements, and I move for its approval.

[35:58] Second.

[35:59] Motion by Justice Miller, seconded by Justice Bollinger.

[36:02] Is there any further discussion?

[36:05] Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll?

[36:07] Jeff Dunn.

[36:08] Yes.

[36:08] Ken Farmer.

[36:09] Yes.

[36:09] Richard McKeon.

[36:10] Yes.

[36:10] Mike Miller.

[36:11] Yes.

[36:11] Kari Smith.

[36:12] Yes.

[36:13] Bryan Armus. Joseph Bollinger.

[36:15] Yes.

[36:15] Joel Jones.

[36:16] Yes.

[36:16] Jacob Jensen.

[36:17] Yes.

[36:18] Danny McCracken.

[36:19] Yes.

[36:19] Dustin Todd.

[36:20] Yes.

[36:20] Jon Risler.

[36:21] Yes.

[36:22] Kurt Moore.

[36:22] Yes.

[36:23] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[36:24] Yes.

[36:24] Lucas Pointer.

[36:25] Yes.

[36:25] That's 14 yays, one absent.

[36:27] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item 12 C, please.

[36:30] Resolution authorizing the county judge of Benton County to apply for fund year

[36:33] 26 Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts Court Improvement Program for

[36:37] Juvenile Probation Fund 3706, sponsored by Justice Dunn.

[36:42] Resolution authorizing judge to apply for this grant, I move for its approval.

[36:45] Second.

[36:47] Motion by Justice Dunn. Was that Justice Miller? Second by Justice Miller.

[36:51] Is there any further discussion?

[36:55] Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll.

[36:58] Jeff Dunn.

[36:58] Yes.

[36:59] Ken Farmer.

[36:59] Yes.

[37:00] Richard McKeon.

[37:01] Yes.

[37:01] Mike Miller.

[37:02] Yes.

[37:02] Kari Smith.

[37:03] Yes.

[37:04] Brian Armus. Joseph Bollinger. Yes. Joel Jones. Yes.

[37:07] Jacob Jensen. Yes. Danny McCracken.

[37:09] Yes.

[37:10] Dustin Todd.

[37:11] Yes.

[37:12] John Rissler. Yes. Kurt Moore.

[37:13] Yes.

[37:14] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[37:15] Yes.

[37:15] Lucas Pointer. Yes. That's 14 yeas and one absent.

[37:18] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item 12 D, please.

[37:22] Resolution authorizing the county judge of Benton County to apply for the fund year

[37:25] 26 Department of Justice Community Policing Development, CPD, Micro

[37:29] Grant Program, sponsored by Justice Farmer.

[37:32] Okay, this is a proposed grant that would

[37:36] provide $200,000 for two

[37:39] personnel in the investigation of human trafficking,

[37:43] child exploitation, or cybercrime.

[37:46] Requires no county match, and I move that we

[37:50] approve the application.

[37:52] Second.

[37:53] Motion by Justice Farmer, seconded by Justice Miller.

[37:56] Is there any further discussion?

[37:59] Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll.

[38:01] Jeff Dunn.

[38:02] Yes.

[38:02] Ken Farmer.

[38:03] Yes.

[38:03] Richard McKeon.

[38:04] Yes.

[38:05] Mike Miller.

[38:05] Yes.

[38:06] Kari Smith.

[38:06] Yes.

[38:07] Brian Armus. Joseph Bollinger. Yes. Joel Jones. Yes.

[38:11] Jacob Jensen. Yes. Danny McCracken.

[38:13] Yes.

[38:13] Dustin Todd.

[38:14] Yes.

[38:14] John Rissler. Yes. Kurt Moore.

[38:17] Yes.

[38:17] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[38:18] Yes.

[38:18] Lucas Pointer. Yes. 14 yeas, one absent.

[38:21] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item 12 E, please.

[38:25] Resolution authorizing the county judge of Benton County to apply for the fund year

[38:28] 26 US Department of Justice Community Oriented Policing Services, COPS,

[38:32] Hiring Program, CHP, sponsored, again, by Justice Farmer.

[38:37] So, this is a grant that would

[38:40] provide 75% of the cost of a

[38:43] salary of a deputy for three years,

[38:47] up to an amount of

[38:48] $166,667

[38:52] over the three-year period.

[38:55] This would require a new position, and it would

[38:58] require that we fund that position for four years,

[39:02] not just the three years of the grant.

[39:04] So, this is something that reminds me of 20, 25

[39:08] years ago. The COPS Hiring Program was very prevalent in the

[39:12] country. So, I would move that we approve this application.

[39:17] Second.

[39:18] Motion by Justice Farmer, seconded by Justice Dunn.

[39:20] Is there any further discussion?

[39:23] Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll.

[39:25] Jeff Dunn.

[39:26] Yes.

[39:26] Ken Farmer.

[39:27] Yes.

[39:27] Richard McKeon.

[39:28] Yes.

[39:29] Mike Miller.

[39:29] Yes.

[39:30] Kari Smith.

[39:30] Yes.

[39:31] Brian Armus. Joseph Bollinger. Yes. Joel Jones. Yes.

[39:34] Jacob Jensen. Yes. Danny McCracken.

[39:36] Yes.

[39:37] Dustin Todd.

[39:37] Yes.

[39:38] John Rissler. Yes. Kurt Moore.

[39:40] Yes.

[39:40] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[39:41] Yes.

[39:41] Lucas Pointer. Yes. 14 yeas, one absent.

[39:44] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item 12 F, please.

[39:48] It's an appropriation ordinance amending appropriation ordinance number

[39:51] 02026-55, the 2026 Benton County budget, authorizing

[39:54] transfers and additional expenditures in Department 200, Road Fund,

[39:58] Fund 2000, and County Road and Department 500, Emergency Management

[40:02] Fund 1000, County General, sponsored by Justice Dunn.

[40:06] Two different transfers with zero net effect.

[40:09] One inside Road Department to cover the cost of some additional

[40:13] culverts, and then in Emergency Management to cover the cost

[40:17] of the hazard mitigation plan with zero net effect. I move that we approve.

[40:21] Second.

[40:22] Motion by Justice Dunn, second by Justice Farmer.

[40:25] Is there any further discussion?

[40:29] Hearing none, clerk will please call the roll.

[40:31] Jeff Dunn.

[40:32] Yes.

[40:32] Ken Farmer.

[40:33] Yes.

[40:33] Richard McKeon.

[40:34] Yes.

[40:34] Mike Miller.

[40:35] Yes.

[40:35] Kari Smith.

[40:36] Yes.

[40:37] Brian Armus. Joseph Bollinger. Yes. Joel Jones. Yes.

[40:41] Jacob Jensen. Yes. Danny McCracken.

[40:43] Yes.

[40:43] Dustin Todd.

[40:44] Yes.

[40:44] John Rissler. Yes. Kurt Moore.

[40:46] Yes.

[40:46] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[40:47] Yes.

[40:48] Lucas Pointer. Yes. 14 yeas, one absent.

[40:51] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item 12 G, please.

[40:54] Appropriation ordinance amending appropriation ordinance number 02026-55, the

[40:58] 2026 Benton County budget, authorizing transfers, additional expenditures in

[41:01] Department 500, Emergency Management Fund 1000, County General,

[41:06] sponsored by the very busy Justice Dunn.

[41:12] And was that 500, or was that-

[41:14] Yeah

[41:15] ... 418 in jail?

[41:17] What it shows on my-

[41:20] 12

[41:21] 12 G, Jean.

[41:23] Yeah, that's a typo.

[41:28] What should the department number be, Debra?

[41:31] It's 418 for jail.

[41:32] Oh, it is jail?

[41:41] Oh, no. I'm sorry.

[41:41] It should be-

[41:42] The agenda is correct, it's the ordinance.

[41:44] Yeah.

[41:44] Okay.

[41:45] I'll have to fix that.

[41:48] So yeah, this is, again, zero net effect transfer inside-

[41:53] ... to cover the cost to replace the drones.

[41:56] Beginning in May of next year, our current drones

[42:00] are no longer able to be operated. We did budget for this, but the

[42:04] new replacements are at a higher cost.

[42:07] But they were able to move inside the budget, so I move for its approval.

[42:11] Second.

[42:12] Motion by Justice Dunn, second by, was it Justice Farmer?

[42:16] Mm-hmm.

[42:16] Yeah, Justice Farmer. Is there any further discussion?

[42:21] Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll.

[42:24] Jeff Dunn.

[42:25] Yes.

[42:25] Ken Farmer.

[42:26] Yes.

[42:26] Richard McKeon.

[42:27] Yes.

[42:28] Mike Miller.

[42:28] Yes.

[42:29] Kari Smith.

[42:29] Yes.

[42:30] Brian Armus. Joseph Bollinger.

[42:32] Yes.

[42:33] Joel Jones.

[42:34] Yes.

[42:34] Jacob Jensen.

[42:35] Yes.

[42:36] Danny McCracken.

[42:37] Yes.

[42:37] Dustin Todd.

[42:38] Yes.

[42:38] John Rissler.

[42:40] Yes.

[42:40] Kurt Moore.

[42:41] Yes.

[42:41] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[42:42] Yes.

[42:43] Lucas Poynter.

[42:43] Yes.

[42:44] 14 yeas, 1 absent.

[42:46] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item 12 H, please.

[42:49] Appropriation ordinance, amending appropriation ordinance number 0202555, the

[42:53] 2026 Benton County budget. Authorizes transfers of additional expenditures in

[42:56] department 400, sheriff fund 1000, county general.

[43:00] Sponsored by Justice Dunn.

[43:02] Last one, transfers

[43:05] within the fund with zero net effect. This is around leased vehicles.

[43:09] We had a lengthy discussion at finance.

[43:12] There's a lot of moving parts on this, but

[43:16] those costs came in a little higher.

[43:17] Some of the vehicles came in sooner than expected, so there was a time when

[43:21] we had not

[43:23] returned the other leased vehicles.

[43:26] We had the old ones and the new ones, so we were double-dipped.

[43:30] Sheriff's department found the money inside their budget, so I move for its

[43:33] approval.

[43:34] Second.

[43:35] Motion by Justice Dunn, seconded by Justice Miller.

[43:38] Is there any further discussion?

[43:41] Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll?

[43:43] Jeff Dunn.

[43:43] Yes.

[43:44] Ken Farmer.

[43:45] Yes.

[43:45] Richard McKean.

[43:46] Yes.

[43:46] Mike Miller.

[43:47] Yes.

[43:47] Carrie Smith.

[43:48] Yes.

[43:48] Brian Armus. Joseph Bollinger.

[43:51] Yes.

[43:51] Joel Jones.

[43:52] Yes.

[43:52] Jacob Jensen.

[43:53] Yes.

[43:54] Danny McCracken.

[43:54] Yes.

[43:55] Dustin Todd.

[43:56] Yes.

[43:56] John Rissler.

[43:57] Yes.

[43:57] Kurt Moore.

[43:58] Yes.

[43:58] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[43:59] Yes.

[44:00] Lucas Poynter.

[44:00] Yes.

[44:01] It's 14 yeas, 1 absent.

[44:03] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item 12 I,

[44:06] please.

[44:07] An appropriation ordinance amending appropriation ordinance 0202555, the

[44:11] 2026 Benton County budget, appropriating additional funds and authorizing

[44:14] additional expenditures in department 400, sheriff fund 3414,

[44:18] federal forfeitures, DOJ, and department 101,

[44:22] county clerk fund 3005, county clerk automation fund.

[44:25] Sponsored by Justice Todd.

[44:27] Yeah, this is an appropriation ordinance.

[44:30] It's going to cover K9 and training, along with the vent hood,

[44:34] and then for the county clerk's office, some

[44:38] restoration of records, and I move for this to be approved.

[44:41] Second.

[44:42] Motion by Justice Todd, seconded by Justice Jones.

[44:45] Is there any further discussion?

[44:48] Hearing none, will the court please call the roll?

[44:50] Jeff Dunn.

[44:51] Yes.

[44:51] Ken Farmer.

[44:52] Yes.

[44:52] Richard McKean.

[44:53] Yes.

[44:54] Mike Miller.

[44:54] Yes.

[44:55] Carrie Smith.

[44:55] Yes.

[44:56] Brian Armus. Joseph Bollinger.

[44:58] Yes.

[44:58] Joel Jones.

[44:59] Yes.

[44:59] Jacob Jensen.

[45:00] Yes.

[45:01] Danny McCracken.

[45:02] Yes.

[45:02] Dustin Todd.

[45:03] Yes.

[45:03] John Rissler.

[45:04] Yes.

[45:04] Kurt Moore.

[45:05] Yes.

[45:06] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[45:07] Yes.

[45:08] Lucas Poynter.

[45:09] Yes.

[45:09] It's 14 yeas, 1 absent.

[45:11] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item 12 J, please.

[45:15] It is an appropriation ordinance amending appropriation ordinance 0202555, the

[45:19] 2026 Benton County budget, to create a new fund, 3630, Federal

[45:23] Highway Administration, FHWY, fund year '27, Carbon Reduction

[45:27] Program, CRP, grant, and to authorize transfers,

[45:31] appropriate additional funds, and authorize additional expenditures in department

[45:34] 200, road fund 3630,

[45:38] fund year... Or, I'm sorry, FHWY fund year '27 CRP,

[45:42] Panther Bike Trail, and in department 414, adult drug

[45:46] court fund 3048, AOC opioid settlement.

[45:49] Sponsored by Justice Dunn. Todd.

[45:51] Todd.

[45:52] Yeah.

[45:52] Todd.

[45:54] As mentioned, this is to create funds to appropriate some different

[45:58] grants, the biggest one being the

[46:02] study for the bike trail.

[46:05] That has an $80,000 match, but $53,000 is in

[46:08] kind, and then a transfer of a little over $26,000,

[46:13] and then some other smaller grants. I move for this to be approved.

[46:17] Second.

[46:18] Motion by Justice Todd, second by Justice Jones. Is there any further discussion?

[46:24] Hearing none, will the clerk please call the roll?

[46:26] Jeff Dunn.

[46:26] Yes.

[46:27] Ken Farmer.

[46:27] Yes.

[46:28] Richard McKean.

[46:29] Yes.

[46:29] Mike Miller.

[46:30] Yes.

[46:30] Carrie Smith.

[46:31] Yes.

[46:31] Brian Armus. Joseph Bollinger.

[46:33] Yes.

[46:34] Joel Jones.

[46:34] Yes.

[46:35] Jacob Jensen.

[46:36] Yes.

[46:36] Danny McCracken.

[46:37] Yes.

[46:38] Dustin Todd.

[46:38] Yes.

[46:39] John Rissler.

[46:40] Yes.

[46:41] Kurt Moore.

[46:42] Yes.

[46:42] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[46:43] Yes.

[46:44] Lucas Poynter.

[46:44] Yes.

[46:45] It's 14 yeas, 1 absent.

[46:47] Thank you for that vote. Moving on in the agenda, item 12K, please.

[46:50] Is an ordinance establishing a 287G ICE program fund as a unique

[46:54] special revenue fund. Sponsored by Justice Todd.

[46:58] Yes, I believe this is first reading. Is that correct, or?

[47:02] Correct.

[47:02] It would be, yes, sir.

[47:04] Okay.

[47:04] It's not an appropriation ordinance. Yes, sir, first reading.

[47:07] Okay.

[47:07] I can briefly speak to it. Once again, this is to establish a

[47:11] fund. We're not setting the policy.

[47:14] That MOU, or MOA, has already

[47:18] been signed by the sheriff's office, but this will create the fund as

[47:22] described.

[47:24] It's first reading. Justice Miller?

[47:28] Yeah. First, I want to say I

[47:31] do appreciate people who come and

[47:34] give us their opinions, their thoughts.

[47:39] I may not always appreciate the way it's done, but I'm sure

[47:44] I may not be the only one.

[47:47] I do have a great

[47:50] place in my heart for

[47:52] our men and women who put on the uniform every day.

[47:56] They put the badge on,

[47:58] and they go out not knowing if they're going to come back or not.

[48:02] And so I want to publicly say thank you to our law enforcement.

[48:07] I, for one, appreciate collaboration,

[48:12] especially when it's done in an effort to

[48:16] maintain law and order and to follow the laws of our

[48:20] land.

[48:21] So,

[48:22] I think...

[48:24] We'll not have any more outbursts, sir.

[48:27] Public comment's over. We'll not have any outbursts from the audience.

[48:31] So, I just want to publicly state I appreciate

[48:36] Our sheriff's office and the people who put the uniform on every day.

[48:40] And having said that,

[48:44] this particular ordinance

[48:47] is an accounting function,

[48:50] and to me, we have fiduciary responsibility

[48:53] to set up that

[48:56] fund site, fund code correctly.

[49:00] And I would move for suspension of the rules so that we can

[49:04] pass this tonight.

[49:09] Second.

[49:11] There's a motion by Justice Miller to suspend the rules to go to third reading.

[49:14] I think I heard Justice Rissler has seconded.

[49:18] So, on the floor right now is a

[49:22] motion to suspend the rules. If passed, then we would go immediately to

[49:26] third reading. I'll open it up for comment. Justice Bollinger.

[49:31] Justice Miller, just so

[49:34] we all know, what is the intention for suspending the

[49:38] rules to pass this tonight? Is there a logistical reason for this or-

[49:41] Yes,

[49:43] in my opinion, because we know that funds are going to be coming very

[49:46] soon for this, and if we wait, then those funds can't

[49:50] be appropriated and spent where they're intended to be

[49:54] spent.

[49:56] Justice Bollinger.

[49:59] I understand that point of view.

[50:02] With all due respect, I don't think

[50:05] if checks are coming in... Granted, I would

[50:08] say they should probably bounce because we're in $30-plus trillion of

[50:12] debt, so maybe the checks aren't good, but it's the federal government after all.

[50:16] But that being said,

[50:19] I don't think the

[50:20] money coming in is going to expire.

[50:23] I think we have a method or process of multiple readings over the course of

[50:26] months for public comment, be able to be able to be engaged on this.

[50:30] I understand your point of view. I think it's, we don't want to give

[50:34] up good governance

[50:36] because of a

[50:39] need like that. I understand your point of view. I don't think it's necessary.

[50:42] I think the money,

[50:43] if that's the issue, will still be just as good three months from now as it would

[50:46] be today, and we don't give up good governance for the sake of expediency,

[50:50] so...

[50:53] Are there any other comments on the suspension of the rules?

[50:58] Justice Jones.

[50:58] This is a question for Deborah, Judge, if you'll allow it, which is, is

[51:02] there a requirement that we need to have this available when the funds come in?

[51:06] A requirement, not a recommendation, a requirement.

[51:09] No, there isn't really a requirement.

[51:11] It's just that it's going to go into our regular operating

[51:15] fund. We just won't be able to appropriate.

[51:17] Okay.

[51:21] And then, I guess if that-

[51:23] Yeah, Justice Jones

[51:24] ... from the sheriff's office, is there a reason for needing to appropriate

[51:28] these funds for some purpose that couldn't wait for a

[51:31] couple of months?

[51:35] First funds should start arriving in about 30 days.

[51:38] I'm sorry, Chief, you mind coming up to the podium?

[51:40] Sorry.

[51:48] The first funds should start arriving in about 30 days, as of last week, I

[51:52] think. So, it's merely where the county wants to put these

[51:56] funds and hold these funds,

[51:58] and the accounting it, whatever Deborah recommends, is what the sheriff's office

[52:02] would recommend.

[52:09] So, what I'm hearing from Deborah, and I

[52:14] think the AAC has recommended that we

[52:17] cash these checks, put them in the right fund pretty quickly,

[52:21] but it's not a requirement, it's a recommendation, and we can put them in

[52:24] operating, they just can't be appropriated because they need to be audited

[52:27] appropriately.

[52:28] So then, the question is,

[52:31] is there a need or a reason that we would need to appropriate within the next two

[52:35] months?

[52:35] No. We don't have an emergency right now-

[52:38] Okay

[52:38] ... that we would have to have these funds.

[52:39] Okay.

[52:40] Farm Court is very good at providing funding, so that would be

[52:43] taken care of if we needed that.

[52:45] Okay.

[52:46] Question?

[52:48] Justice Miller.

[52:50] So,

[52:51] if it's 90 days before this

[52:54] fund is approved,

[52:57] then how much time does it take to go through the

[53:01] process of appropriating those funds?

[53:07] Deborah, go ahead.

[53:09] It would be another 30 days after that.

[53:11] So, once this goes into effect, this one does have the emergency clause in it, so

[53:15] it goes into effect as soon as it's approved.

[53:17] Doesn't have to wait the 30 days, and we can immediately go to

[53:21] finance and appropriate, which is one reading.

[53:25] So, we could be 120 days then.

[53:28] Right.

[53:28] And,

[53:30] would those funds be required to be expended this fiscal

[53:34] year if they came in?

[53:36] No.

[53:37] Justice Jones.

[53:38] Are you done? Okay. There's a clarification on this, may be a Tom or Deborah

[53:42] question, which is, could we appropriate in the same month that we create the

[53:46] fund since this has an emergency clause?

[53:48] If we create the fund first and have an appropriation afterwards,

[53:52] it reduces 30 days. It cuts 30 days out, if that's possible.

[53:57] Yes.

[53:57] Okay.

[53:58] That's pretty much what we do all the time with grants anyway.

[54:00] Yeah.

[54:00] We create a fund and appropriate at the same time.

[54:02] Yeah. So we could cut that 30 days back if they do have a request come in, but it'd

[54:06] still take the

[54:08] July, August, September, so in September we could have requested finance for some

[54:12] of these funds if they have requests.

[54:18] Just...

[54:19] I'm sorry,

[54:22] Justice McCracken.

[54:24] Danny, Danny, Justice-

[54:24] I said I don't speak very often, but, on this one said I

[54:28] don't really think that there's going to be any change in the opinions of anyone

[54:32] on this court between now and the end of September for the third vo-

[54:37] And I think we should just go ahead and get it over with, put it out there, get it

[54:41] under the table and completely done, and suspend them

[54:44] tonight.

[54:49] Any other comments? Justice Roessler.

[54:52] I agree with Justice McCracken that I can't imagine any

[54:56] reason that we wouldn't want our books

[54:59] correct

[55:00] when the money comes in, and it's just putting it in the right bank

[55:04] account

[55:05] so that when it does come, our bank account's ready.

[55:09] And so I don't see any reason either for waiting.

[55:12] This is just preparation for some funds that we know are coming.

[55:17] It isn't really any policy, it's just a place

[55:21] to put it, the right account, and

[55:23] it helps us with accountability. It should

[55:27] help keep our finances in order, and when we get requests of how much

[55:31] came,

[55:32] we can answer that from one fund and not multiple reports in the future.

[55:37] So I

[55:38] support suspending the rules for this.

[55:42] Justice Rosenbaum.

[55:44] Yes, Judge. So the motion is still on the floor to suspend the rules.

[55:48] Is that

[55:49] active still?

[55:51] And I greatly respect you, JP Miller, and feel a

[55:55] little conflicted, but I

[55:58] am going to vote against suspending the rules

[56:02] out of principle that

[56:04] I feel the purpose of the three months is to give opportunity for public comment.

[56:08] And I do agree that

[56:12] I don't think our decision tonight would be different

[56:16] in three months.

[56:18] And the reason why it's conflicting is because the last two public meetings at

[56:22] quorum court has become

[56:25] quite volatile, if you will. Language from the public that's

[56:29] difficult to hear.

[56:31] We've been called dumb. I've personally been called a racist.

[56:35] And what I would consider language that is threatening to,

[56:38] certainly our positions, if not our livelihood, who we are.

[56:42] Nonetheless, the principle is I do believe in public comment, and as hard as it is

[56:46] to hear,

[56:48] that's going to be my position tonight, is that I will not be

[56:51] supporting the suspension of rules.

[56:55] I'd like to make one point real quick. This will require 10 votes.

[56:59] So with that, I think Justice Smith, and then I'll go to Justice Bollinger.

[57:04] While I do support this, and you know I've never been hung up on having

[57:08] a philosophical issue of suspending the rules,

[57:11] I feel like this isn't a good enough reason to suspend the rules, and so

[57:15] I'll be voting against it.

[57:18] Justice Bollinger.

[57:21] Just to kind of echo what I said before and echo what Justice Rosenbaum and Smith

[57:25] have said,

[57:26] and

[57:28] yes,

[57:29] Justice McCracken, you're probably correct.

[57:31] No one's opinions on the quorum court

[57:34] will change within these three months.

[57:35] You're probably right on that, but that's not the point.

[57:38] The point is for the people in the crowd.

[57:41] The point is for the people in Benton County to be able to express their opinion to

[57:44] their government. That is the point of three readings.

[57:46] That is the intent of that, and just because it's

[57:49] uncomfortable doesn't make we change the rules.

[57:52] And

[57:54] so, no, I don't support that. Now, do I want to be called

[57:58] racist for the next three months or whatever like that?

[58:00] Which is

[58:01] obviously completely incorrect. No. But you know what?

[58:06] That's their position, and they have a right to be able to do that.

[58:09] And

[58:11] is it hard? Yeah. But

[58:13] it's their right as citizens to be able to do that.

[58:15] And I just want to say this, too.

[58:19] Swearing is also their free speech as well.

[58:21] I understand, Judge, your position on that, but I want to say that if a person

[58:25] wants to swear at me, they have every right to do that as well, so...

[58:31] Any other comments?

[58:33] All right. There's a motion and a second on the floor to

[58:37] suspend the rules on item 12K.

[58:42] If there are no other comments, will the clerk please call the roll.

[58:46] Jeff Dunn.

[58:47] No.

[58:48] Ken Farmer.

[58:49] No.

[58:50] Richard McKeon.

[58:53] No.

[58:54] Mike Miller.

[58:55] Yes.

[58:56] Carrie Smith.

[58:57] No.

[58:58] Brian Armus. Joseph Bollinger.

[59:00] No.

[59:01] Joel Jones.

[59:02] No.

[59:02] Jacob Jensen.

[59:04] No.

[59:05] Danny McCracken.

[59:06] Yes.

[59:07] Dustin Todd.

[59:08] No.

[59:09] John Roessler.

[59:10] Yes.

[59:11] Kurt Moore.

[59:12] Yes.

[59:13] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[59:14] No.

[59:15] Lucas Poynter.

[59:16] Yes.

[59:18] That's five yeas.

[59:21] However many nays.

[59:23] Zero.

[59:23] One absent. Is that nine? Nine and five is 14, and one's 15. Okay.

[59:27] All right.

[59:27] Five, nine and one.

[59:28] So that motion fails.

[59:31] So what this will mean is that 12K has been read one

[59:35] time, and will be back on the quorum court agenda in

[59:39] August, is what that means.

[59:44] Oh, Justice McCracken.

[59:46] I would request that we vote on it tonight before we leave.

[59:53] He can request a roll call vote.

[59:55] Yes. Wait, so let me make sure I understand.

[59:58] There could be a vote tonight, but it's not a final vote?

[1:00:00] It's not a vote, it's just a straw poll.

[1:00:02] Just a straw poll.

[1:00:04] So is that... I'm kind of-

[1:00:07] We did last month.

[1:00:08] Hold on a second. Justice Jones.

[1:00:10] Yeah. So I don't know if it would be a straw poll, because if we're going to

[1:00:13] request a vote, then it would be a vote to move it to second reading.

[1:00:16] That's the kind of the rule we passed, is that we would just read

[1:00:21] one, two, and vote on third for passage, but if we vote, then we're voting to move

[1:00:25] it.

[1:00:26] That was my understanding when we implemented that change.

[1:00:29] Yeah, state law on the rule-

[1:00:31] Yeah

[1:00:31] ... what's called the rule, is very clear that there's no need for a vote on the

[1:00:35] first or second readings.

[1:00:37] Yeah.

[1:00:37] There's no requirement whatsoever. You certainly may take it.

[1:00:41] It doesn't do any harm to take a vote, but it's not required.

[1:00:48] So are you making a motion

[1:00:50] to vote? And in this case, it'd still just be a vote, and it would still be on for

[1:00:54] the August quorum court.

[1:00:55] Yes, I am.

[1:00:57] Okay. Is there a second to go ahead and take a vote

[1:01:00] tonight?

[1:01:01] Second.

[1:01:02] All right. We have a motion and a second.

[1:01:04] Motion by Justice McCracken, second by Justice Miller to vote on first reading.

[1:01:09] And essentially that would be

[1:01:11] moving to second reading in August. Is there any further discussion?

[1:01:16] Will the court please call the roll?

[1:01:18] Butt Dunn.

[1:01:18] Yes.

[1:01:19] Kim Farmer.

[1:01:20] Yes.

[1:01:20] Richard McKean.

[1:01:21] Yes.

[1:01:22] Mike Miller.

[1:01:22] Yes.

[1:01:23] Terry Smith.

[1:01:23] Yes.

[1:01:24] Ryan Armus. Joseph Bollinger.

[1:01:28] Joseph Bollinger.

[1:01:29] Abstain.

[1:01:33] Joel Jones.

[1:01:34] Yes.

[1:01:35] Jacob Jensen.

[1:01:36] Yes.

[1:01:37] Danny McCracken.

[1:01:37] Yes.

[1:01:38] Dustin Todd.

[1:01:39] Yes.

[1:01:39] John Rissler.

[1:01:40] Yes.

[1:01:40] Kurt Moore.

[1:01:41] Yes.

[1:01:42] Bethany Rosenbaum.

[1:01:43] Yes.

[1:01:43] Lucas Poynter.

[1:01:44] Yes.

[1:01:45] That's 13 yays, one abstain, and one absent.

[1:01:47] Okay. So we'll have this at second reading at the

[1:01:51] August quorum court. Is that August 27th?

[1:01:55] Uh-

[1:01:55] I think so. It's on the bottom here

[1:01:56] ... on the-

[1:01:57] Yeah

[1:01:59] ... on the-

[1:01:59] All right. That concludes new business for this evening.

[1:02:02] We'll move on to item number 13, other business.

[1:02:03] Is there any other business for the quorum court tonight?

[1:02:08] Seeing none, announcements. I would just, again,

[1:02:11] say that look for a notification for Intergovernmental Council

[1:02:16] August 5th, that's Wednesday,

[1:02:19] at 2:00 PM. And again, that's an official

[1:02:23] body, so the mayors will be sitting here, just so everybody knows and you're not

[1:02:26] surprised if your name's not up here and there's a mayor's name up here.

[1:02:29] And I'm not sure we have enough room for it, so we might have to put some behind

[1:02:33] too. Otherwise, you can see the upcoming calendar

[1:02:37] there. Finance on Tuesday, August 11th.

[1:02:39] Committee of the Whole on August 18th, when we'll bring back the Drainage Criteria

[1:02:43] manual, and we will have a few other planning items on that night.

[1:02:46] And then quorum court will be on August 27th.

[1:02:50] Justice Jones.

[1:02:51] Just want to remind everybody that we still have a potential for having

[1:02:55] an extra finance meeting Monday, August 17th at 6:00

[1:02:58] PM, to talk about potential ARPA funds.

[1:03:01] And then just remind everybody that the August finance meeting will be

[1:03:05] long, so pack a lunch.

[1:03:07] We're going to talk about courts and a whole bunch of other things, and the new

[1:03:10] court facility and everything to do with that so that we're not surprised

[1:03:14] in budget.

[1:03:16] So just a reminder.

[1:03:18] Thank you.

[1:03:19] Are there any other announcements?

[1:03:22] All right. Seeing none, I'll entertain a motion to adjourn.

[1:03:25] Move we adjourn.

[1:03:26] All right. We're adjourned. Thank you, everybody.

July 23, 2026 Quorum Court

Transcript