Van Buren council approves security system, limits pay raises

story by Marla Cantrell
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The Van Buren City Council approved on Monday the installation of a $23,730 security system for the municipal complex. The city will pay just under $11,390 of that amount and the district court will pay the other $12,340.

It’s a move Mayor Bob Freeman said is long overdue.

“We’re not the sleepy village of 20 years ago,” Freeman said.

He said the need for the monitoring system was proven when Derek Riggs, a Van Buren reserve officer, was attacked early on a January Saturday morning by a man believed to be a transient looking for a warm place to spend the night. Riggs was treated for minor cuts after being hit with a whiskey bottle.

Advantage Security Technologies will install a system that will consist of a monitoring system for the bailiff in the district court area of the complex and a DVR recorder for after hours. Locks on exterior doors will automatically open at 7:30 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Freeman said after Riggs was attacked, the city asked several civic groups to find other places to meet so that the building was not be accessed after hours. That was a stop-gap measure. The new system is a permanent fix.

Aldermen also approved a change to the ordinance requiring competitive bidding for all contracts for purchases and capital improvements of $10,000 or more. Starting Jan. 1, the cap will be raised to $20,000, which is in line with state law. Alderman Teena Sagely asked if the council would continue to be informed about the city purchases between $10,000 and $20,000. The mayor assured her they would.

“You’ve got the power of the purse, as the city council,” Freeman said. “If I abuse that you can change that to $1 if you want.”

TIGHT BUDGET
The $11.3 million Van Buren budget for 2010, which was presented at the November meeting, was approved. It offers no across-the-board pay raises for city employees, although that decision could be reconsidered during the coming year if revenues increase.

Freeman said he and the council continue to work within a tight budget necessitated by the faltering economy. And while he does see potential for growth, he is not betting on any great increase in the coming months.

POPE AWARD
John Pope, with Keep Van Buren Beautiful, brought in the national award he and his commission received for curbing cigarette litter on Main Street by more than 50%. Pope said there were 220 million cigarettes sold in Arkansas last year.  He estimated 20 million ended up as litter that eventually ended up in state waterways.

The council then approved a resolution urging the state legislature to fund a 20% tax credit to businesses that buy cigarette urns for public use.

State Rep. Rick Green, R-Van Buren, who authored the legislation, which passed in 2009 and is awaiting funding, was on hand to read a citation from the Arkansas Speaker of the House honoring Pope’s work.

“John Pope is one of the most persistent people I have ever met in my life,” Green said. “I made the comment to him the other day, ‘You’re conquering cigarette litter one urn at a time.’”

(Link here for a more detailed story of Pope and the Keep Van Buren Beautiful project.)

The next council meeting will be held Jan. 11 at the municipal complex.