The Jasper County Board of Supervisors have engaged in intent with a brokerage firm and law firm on a $5,150,000 county-wide bond issue and have approved the intent to advertise for the issuing of bonds to be used to improve roadways within the county in the future.
Working in conjunction, a representative with the brokerage firm Crews & Associates out of Arkansas, and a representative from Butler-Snow Law Firm, met with the supervisors about the bond issue Monday morning to discuss the initial specifics of the venture.
According to Board Attorney Ricky Ruffin, the county has received funds and will continue to receive funds that have been specifically designated for infrastructure, but additional funds would be needed for a complete county-wide repair project.
“The board has received money that has come from the state, and it will increase as time goes on. Our first check was $100,000 from the Internet sales tax that was voted on last year by the legislature. The board has to use that for ‘infrastructure,’” he explained. “What the board has decided to do is take the money they get from Internet sales and do a $5,150,000 bond issue to redo roads and bridges with that money. Half of that indebtedness we think, or maybe more, can be retired through the infrastructure money that comes from the state. It’s a good idea; that’s what it’s for, but it will amount to a couple of mills of taxes that would have to be ad valorem county-wide.”
Beat 1 Supervisor Eddie Helms made the motion to engage Crews & Associates as the underwriter on the bond issue and Butler-Snow as the law firm, and Beat 2 Supervisor Sandy Stevens made the second on the motion. The entire board voted in agreement.
Later in the meeting, Beat 3 Supervisor Doug Rogers made a motion to advertise the intent to issue the bonds, and Beat 4 Supervisor Randy Corley returned with the second on the motion. The board again voted unanimously in agreements.
Following the publication in the newspaper about the intent on the bond issue, a certain number of signatures within a certain time frame would be needed to protest the issue, according to Ruffin. If those protest guidelines are not met, the board can then move ahead with the issuing of bonds once an audit of the county is completed.
“Each beat has its wish list in that [road and bridge work] proposal, and they will do the work if the bond issue passes. But, right now, we are held up because our auditors auditing the county are behind, and we won’t be able to issue the bonds until after we get our 2017 audit completed,” Ruffin ended.