Votes at a glance: Pope County court approves new positions, appropriations and board appointments

At its April meeting the Pope County Quorum Court approved a package of ordinances and a resolution covering staffing, appropriations and appointments.

The court adopted an ordinance creating an additional full-time real estate and personal property manager position for the assessor's office; the transcript lists the appropriation amount in a garbled form and the precise dollar figure was not specified on the record provided. Justice Jackie Heftlin moved the ordinance; the clerk called the roll and all recorded votes were yes, so the ordinance was adopted.

The court approved an ordinance adding a full-time deputy county clerk position (position number nine) with an appropriation of $12,787 to the county clerk's office. Justice Tim Wittenberg moved the ordinance and the roll-call vote recorded all yes votes.

An appropriation ordinance of $1,818.14 from the 911/OEM fund, a passthrough grant from the Pope County Community Foundation to support Hector first responders, was adopted on a unanimous roll-call vote after Justice Blake Tarpley presented the item.

The court approved a $250,000 appropriation from the general fund for county building remodel work to upgrade circuit court and quorum court areas and entry/exit ways; Justice Jamie Jackson presented the ordinance and it passed by roll call.

An ordinance appropriating $15,000 from the communications facility and equipment fund to replace a failed boiler at the detention center was adopted following Justice Ronnie Willbanks' motion.

The court also passed an ordinance to reschedule certain July 2026 personnel, budget committee and quorum court meetings to avoid the Fourth of July week; this ordinance was adopted by unanimous roll call.

Justice Jackie Heftlin presented and the court approved an ordinance authorizing the county judge to transfer certain county vehicles to the cities of Atkins, Hector and Dover; the measure passed by roll call.

Justice Doug Skelton moved a resolution reappointing members to the law library board (Braden Vaughn, Jacob Phillips, Timothy Murdoch, Clay McCall and Robert Beach); the court adopted the resolution on a roll-call vote with all recorded yes votes.

The court voted to add and adopt a late item requested by the circuit clerk's office: an exception ordinance authorizing Pope County to contract with specified employees for business purposes pursuant to ACA 14-14-20 because the county does business with the spouse of a newly hired circuit clerk employee. The court first voted to allow the late item (requiring the nine-vote threshold) and then adopted the ordinance; recorded votes were all yes.

All ordinances and the resolution recorded in the transcript passed on roll-call votes in which every recorded vote was "yes." No no-votes, abstentions or recusals were recorded in the provided transcript excerpts.

The court adjourned at 5:53 p.m.