Sebastian County Judge Hotz talks about his learning curve, top projects and issues

After six months on the job, Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz says his office is busier than he could have imagined, he feels like he’s finally past the learning curve, and he’s excited about the projects that are underway.

“I feel privileged to be able to serve in this role,” Hotz said. “This office is busy, busier than I even imagined, but (former County Judge ) David Hudson left it in good shape.”

In the May 2022 primary election, Hotz, then the Sebastian County treasurer/collector, survived a three-person GOP primary race without a runoff to become the Sebastian County Judge. No Democrats filed for the seat, so there was no competition in the general election. Then County Judge Hudson did not seek re-election for the job he had held since 1998.

When he first took over the office, Hotz said he was inundated with requests for various requests for projects from citizens that required a good deal of research in order for him to “be up to speed.”

“I spent a lot of time researching,” he said. “It kept my head spinning trying to get to the bottom of the requests. Those have all been cleared up now.”

He said he realized as he researched more that many of the requests were not new requests. They were things that had been brought up in the past and hadn’t happened for various reasons.

TAX RENEWAL
Hotz said the biggest item his office is facing this year is the renewal of the 1% county-wide sales tax, which will go to the voters Aug. 8. The Sebastian County Quorum Court recently approved an ordinance to set a special election for the question of the continuation of the levying of a countywide 1% general sales and use tax within the county. The tax was first approved by voters in the county in 1994. It has been renewed twice for a 10-year interval, the last during a special election May 14, 2013. The tax is set to sunset June 30, 2024.

Collections from the tax are divided among the 11 municipalities in the county and the county itself based on a per capita percentage, Hotz said, noting that those living in the county and not in the incorporated limits of one of the towns make up the basis of Sebastian County’s share of the tax.

Of the $33.768 million collected from tax in 2022, 85.8% went to the towns and cities inside the county. The county received 14.2% in 2022 or approximately $4.8 million. The tax makes up about 10% of the county’s funds, Hotz said.

The Sebastian County Quorum Court passed a resolution April 18, stating how funds from the tax will be spent if the renewal is approved by the voters. The county’s share of the sales tax will be split with 54.5% of the tax revenue going to the operation of the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center, 9% going to the operation of the Sebastian County Juvenile Detention Center, 9% going to the continued funding and support of three patrol deputies with the Sebastian County Sheriff’s Office, 11% going to capital projects, 5% going to the county’s volunteer rural fire departments, 2% going to the Sebastian County EMS, 1% going to the Sebastian County senior citizen centers, 0.5% going to the programs with the Scott-Sebastian County Public Library, including building expansion as necessary, 7% going to the costs associated with paying for county employee health care and worker’s compensation, and 1% going to county parks.

“This funding is critical. Without it, something will have to go, something will have to be eliminated,” Hotz said. “When you take 10% out of your budget, that is significant. We haven’t looked at what we would need to cut, but if we didn’t have it, we’d have to make cuts.”

He said with a good portion of the tax going to the sheriff’s department patrol deputies and the jail, it ensures safety for the citizens of the county. The money that goes to the volunteer fire departments helps the ISO ratings, which equals money saved by citizens on insurance rates, he said.

“Safety is the biggest issue. When you see what happens in areas that don’t have the funding for these things, you realize how much we need it,” he said.

CALL CENTER CONSOLIDATION
But the tax isn’t the only thing keeping Hotz busy. The county has several ongoing projects including the mandated 911 consolidation. The Public Safety Act of 2019, passed by the state legislature, requires the county’s three 911 centers to be under one roof.

“It will improve service with less handoff time,” Hotz said. “It will save money, make everything more efficient and help our citizens in times of emergencies.”

Call centers, also known as emergency communications centers, handle individual emergency service units, including police, fire and ambulance. Sebastian County has two primary call centers, the Sheriff’s Office and Fort Smith Police Department. There is also a secondary Fort Smith Emergency Medical Services call center.

The state requires centers to be consolidated by Jan. 1, 2025. According to the plan for the consolidation in Sebastian County,  the initial structure and a finalized three-year budget for the facility is expected to be complete by July 31.

The initial plan shows that the center will have three managers, seven shift supervisors and 53 public safety telecommunicators. The center will also have its executive director, an executive assistant and an administration division consisting of a manager and an administrative coordinator. An executive director of that facility is expected to be selected by Sept. 30, according to the plan.

The preliminary annual budget for the consolidated center is $4.7 million, with a personnel budget of approximately $4.45 million and approximately $250,000 for operating, the plan states.

PARKS AND TRAILS, AND A LIBRARY
The county is also working on its parks and trail system, Hotz said. The county is in the middle of a $3 million project to update and upgrade facilities at the softball fields at Ben Geren Regional Park, which were built in the 1970s.

“They are in need of refurbishing and ADA upgrades,” Hotz said, noting that there is already one new concession stand and restroom facility.

Along with the park and trails at Ben Geren, Sebastian County has the 470-acre Bob Boyer Park located in the far south part of the county in the Midland community. The park has a half mile of paved walking trail, two picnic pavilions, and restroom facilities. The majority of this parkland is heavily wooded, undeveloped, and is often used as an equestrian day use facility.

Hotz said the state has another 1,600 acres of park land adjoining the park and the county is working with them to develop trails through much of both parcels.

“That will be about 2,000 acres of trails for mountain biking. We’ve seen the value trails have brought to Northwest Arkansas. This is a long-term project, but we hope to make it a selling point of the county,” Hotz said. “Businesses that are looking to relocate these days are looking for these types of amenities.”

The county is also in the process of building a new $5 million county library. The Sebastian County Quorum Court approved construction of the new library in 2021. The 10,400-square-foot library will be located on Highway 10 Spur and U.S. Highway 71 in Greenwood on two acres donated by Jacob Burton. The city of Greenwood spent $180,000 to get water to the property. The 5,700-square-feet Scott-Sebastian Regional Library, located on Adair Road in downtown Greenwood, was built in 1965. A big rock pile that Hotz said had to be moved before construction could begin, is being moved, he said July 3.

“This is about a two-year project, but the engineering work is done and the floor plan has been completed. We are moving forward now,” he said.

The county is also building two new AWIN (Arkansas wireless information network) towers in order to provide better emergency service communications in areas of the county where reception is weak, Hotz said.

“We have two dead spots, one on Sugarloaf Mountain Road and one near Witcherville,” Hotz said. “These towers will eliminate the majority of the dead spots, which will keep our emergency service personnel from losing communication. The last thing we want is a deputy making a stop to lose communications or a paramedic assisting a citizen to lose communication.”

Though only one of the big projects on the county’s list – the sales tax renewal – will happen this year and the rest are two- to three-year projects, he believes things are going well and his office and the county are making good progress.

“I am enjoying it (the job). I feel like I have a lot of career knowledge to contribute, and I really look forward to doing a good job for the country,” Hotz said.