First we'd like to apologize to our readers. We have been dealing with some personal issues and haven't posted in over a month. As a result we have some catching up to do, so here it goes. . .
Earlier this month the new jail opened and is now housing inmates as we understand it, it's about time that this project was finished. The opening of our new facility sparked a new resolve by the county, pay up or get locked up.
County Administrator Mike Hutchens said recently in an interview in the ADG, "If you owe money on fines when that jail opens, they're not going to send you back home [from court]; you're going to jail," Administrator Mike Hutchens. "All these people have kind of been sliding" because of a lack of jail space. But now, he said, "There's getting ready to be room for a lot of people." Of course the jail is now open but we haven't heard if it has effected the collection of delinquent fines yet.
We do know of one person in particular who is still sliding by on his fines. Our neighbor, Hank Turknett, not only has refused paying his fines, he has also refuses to pay his restitution for his 2004 assault conviction. We will be watching with baited breath to see if this new jail space will mean jail time for this particular deadbeat.
Another good thing about the new jail's opening is now criminals can be put in jail for their crimes, at least for a little while (the new jail is going to fill up fast). One deputy shared his thoughts on this with the ADG in the same article.
"I can't tell you how frustrating it is to pick up someone and be told just give them a ticket and let them go when you know" the offender will likely break the law again, said Lt. Rick Beavers, Even with the extra space, "it's not going to be very long before they're full."
It's nice to see that they have finally started admitting publicly that the crowded jail has allowed crimes to go unpunished and fines to go uncollected. It looks like things are finally starting to look up for the sheriff's office. That is until Sheriff Marty Montgomery raised his ‘less than perfect' head back into the spotlight.
After many months of laying low Sheriff Montgomery emerges from his public silence still claiming he did nothing wrong. Montgomery told members of the Quorum Court he has no intentions of repaying the money he spent for his tuition payment. A payment that has already been determined to be illegal by auditors for the state, a special prosecutor however decided not to charge Montgomery for this illegal expenditure.
Montgomery said "all classes were approved as necessary and beneficial according to the guidelines of our policy and procedure manual. Therefore, I have no intention of reimbursing Faulkner County for any of those charges". How convenient is this, who exactly determined the classes were necessary and beneficial? The Sheriff? His lawyer? It sure wasn't the taxpayer.
The funny thing about this tuition payment is that at the time Montgomery made it he knew it was wrong because he told a clerk he'd repay it. And if it was a legal payment then why wasn't there more of them? The fact is this is simply spin designed to get Montgomery out of hot water, and it worked. The Quorum Court voted not to proceed with the collection of this illegal tuition payment citing the legal cost involved.
We cannot agree with the Quorum Court on this matter. Their failure to enforce the state's spending procedures leaves the door open for other such illegal actions. A possible example of such an illegal payment is the sheriff's recent purchase of the Bell OH58 helicopter.
Once again Montgomery arrogantly side steps the accepted and legal spending policies set forth by the state to purchase a 38-year old dinosaur of an aircraft without the approval of the Quorum Court. The QC and its Finance Committee are supposed to be the taxpayer's representatives who manage and oversees the spending of the county's money. They are our only line of defense in protecting the county from bankruptcy. It is their duty to decide what we spend our money on. Montgomery's unwillingness to work with the QC can only hurt a department he's spent the last 10 years running.
The county could very well benefit from the addition of a helicopter but only if we can afford to maintain and fly it. Even if you take Montgomery's figures of $200 to $250 per hour multiplied by the 100 hours per year estimated usage that comes to $20,000 to $25,000 per year. We are told by members of the F&A committee that there's no room in the budget for that expense. The overall costs to the county to maintain this aircraft will be far greater than Montgomery is letting on. Then there is the issuance payments to be considered as well as any cost involved making sure we have FAA approved pilots and mechanics.
The bottom line here is the selfish, arrogant, and vindictive way this purchase was made. Montgomery demonstrates once again what a class act he is. One step forward two steps back must be a favorite phrase of Montgomery. The truly scary part of this is what's next for Montgomery to spend our money on, a new fleet of patrol cars? New Computers for the Sheriff's Office? If he can purchase a helicopter without approval why not buy these items? After why should he care, he's not going to be in charge next year, the budget's not going to be his problem. The JP's and the County Judge's office really needs to tighten the reigns on Montgomery before we are on the hook for thousands of dollars we can't pay for.
