Craighead County Justices review property list, tax revenue

It was not Christmas, but county officials on Monday (April 11) were making a list of county properties and checking it twice for review. Finance Committee Chairman Josh Longmire has worked the past several months to get an accurate accounting of county owned properties.

Longmire said the information was needed to understand what the county owns as well as what is rented out to groups on a monthly basis.

The debate began earlier this year over the ownership of the Craighead Nursing Center. The 52-acre property and building on Harrisburg Road has been owned by the county since the mid-1960s, but the nursing center is set up as a non-profit group. The five member board is appointed by the county judge, must be confirmed by the Craighead County Quorum Court and is run by a director on a day-to-day basis, Thomas said.

Longmire said the board needs to come to the quorum court meetings to provide updates.

“It is a county owned property. I am not saying it is a bad facility and that is not the argument,” Longmire said, noting information on the home’s operations would alleviate concerns over operations.

Tony Thomas, administrative assistant to County Judge Ed Hill, answered questions from several justices on the list. For instance, Thomas said a wing of the second floor at the courthouse in Jonesboro is rented to the Arkansas Department of Community Corrections for $5,000 a month while the old jail and a nearby old bank building is used for maintenance and storage. The county also owns a police substation in Monette, but is leased to the city of Monette at $50 a month, Thomas said.

The city recently paid $3,000 to cover the rental of the building since 2011. However, Longmire questioned why the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration does not pay rent for using a room at the Lake City courthouse for an office.

“I feel like we should be getting rent on the properties we own,” Longmire said.

However, some who attended the meeting said the DFA office provides a service for people in the eastern half of Craighead County.

Thomas said the county has attempted to work to negotiate contracts based on needs and residents’ needs. Longmire said a comment he made about “handshake deals” was taken out of context, with the comment coming from Hill at a recent Quorum Court meeting. Thomas said Hill was wrong in making the statement over handshake deals.

Craighead County Treasurer Terry McNatt said the county recently received $1 million from property tax collections in March. The county also collected about $230,000 in delinquent real estate taxes in March. As for revenues, McNatt said collections, especially in court fines and property tax, should be watched.

“Right now, everything is tight,” McNatt said, noting state turn back money to the counties is expected to take a 1% cut this year.