Update Judges Comments 10/26/11
I was recently reminded that my comments were well over a year old and it was time for an update especially regarding the landfill. Not being a computer whiz, I guess I have neglected my duties but I do appreciate those who read my comments.
So let’s get started.
Concerning the landfill - we are close to closing out the bonds and once that is done, we will have full control. This has been a long, drawn out, and at times frustrating process but it will soon be over. Jason Kincade, Operations Manager, and his staff have been working very hard and having them on the job (and not some strangers from out-of-state) is very reassuring to everyone. We have a good landfill but it is still a landfill and is not going to be without its problems and issues. ALL land fills have problems and issues - it’s how you handle them that is important. In that area, we, the local citizens, have control.
Times are really rough now. The way things are going in Washington with neither side worried about the damage they are doing to our country, I am afraid it’s not going to change soon. Seems everywhere you look everyone is affected - working people, retirees, businesses, non-profit corporations, for-profit corporations, etc. This economic downturn has spared no one. County government is no different. We are working very hard to make sure all county operations and services that we provide to the public are kept at a level that will continue to provide a good quality of life for the citizens we serve.
I am responsible for the one of the largest county departments - the Road & Bridge Dept. and it has had to make the biggest adjustment. With gas prices bouncing around like a rubber ball and knowing that if we run short on fuel it would be even harder to maintain a high level of road work, last March I challenged the department to come up with ways to save fuel and still maintain our road system.
Using their suggestions we cut our grader routes in half. Instead of 8 routes and grading roads every 6-9 weeks, we now only grade the roads every 10 to 12 weeks. We knew this would cause some issues but it would be better to grade roads every10-12 weeks than not grade them for several months if we ran out of fuel. We also parked several trucks that were being driven home by some grader operators. This has not come without problems but most of them have been because some people just hate change. Other things we have had to do is stop all courtesy grading. The only roads that will be hard surfaced are existing roads that are already hard surfaced but are in need of re-surfacing. We continue to lose approximately 10 miles of chip seal roads every year because we can’t afford to maintain them. We can’t afford to continue paving new roads if we can’t maintain them. These decisions were difficult but looking back if we hadn’t made them we would probably already be out of fuel and still have 2 months left in this year.
Some talk has begun about generating more revenues. Yes, no matter how you say it, it means more taxes. I do agree we are going to have to look at more revenues but now certainly isn’t the time. I have said all along we need to look at our spending before we look at raising taxes! We have some elected officials who believe the way to manage their department is to increase spending. That sounds like Washington’s way of managing our country. Just spend more money and it will be ok. They are even using the old Bush scare tactics. If you don’t give me more money or re-elect me, the world will come to an end. We will be over run with criminals and weapons of mass destruction. It wasn’t true then and it isn’t true now. Now is the time to evaluate our spending and see if we can do some thinking outside the box in order to get through these tough times. Elected officials should be looking at ways to get the job done without more spending and without traveling all over the U S going to “seminars” and spending thousands of tax dollars on travel just because we can.
I would also like to address the Alternative School. I am all for education. Having spent 9 years on the school board and having raised 3 kids I know the importance of a good education. I also firmly believe it’s the school’s responsibility to educate our kids - not the courts or the juvenile justice system at the local level.
Over a year ago I started looking at our spending (one of my job duties). One department jumped out at me. The Alternative School was spending thousands of dollars going on trips to Branson, buying $800.00 worth of special order tennis shoes, eating out 2-3 times a month, buying candy and cokes and having staff meetings at taxpayer’s expense. They were driving all over 4 counties everyday picking up kids at taxpayers’ expense. Not only were they spending thousands of dollars on food and travel to games and attractions, the kids weren’t getting much of an education. According to their own record they submitted to the state, in school year 2010 and 2011 they showed they had 164 kids in Alternative School. Only 9% graduated; 4% got their G E D; 13% went back to the regular class room; 15% dropped out of school; and 16% returned to the Alternative School.
We were spending in excess of one million dollars annually between the schools’ money and grants that the alternative school received to educate 13% or 22 total students. You do the math - that’s a lot of tax dollars. I brought this to the attention of the schools and also the Quorum Court. The schools have now started their own alternative schools which is where any alternative school should be and certainly who should be responsible for the education of our kids.
In closing I just want to wish everyone a very happy holiday season and in the future I will do a better job of keeping my updates more timely.
Joe Bodenhamer
Baxter County Judge
I was recently reminded that my comments were well over a year old and it was time for an update especially regarding the landfill. Not being a computer whiz, I guess I have neglected my duties but I do appreciate those who read my comments.
So let’s get started.
Concerning the landfill - we are close to closing out the bonds and once that is done, we will have full control. This has been a long, drawn out, and at times frustrating process but it will soon be over. Jason Kincade, Operations Manager, and his staff have been working very hard and having them on the job (and not some strangers from out-of-state) is very reassuring to everyone. We have a good landfill but it is still a landfill and is not going to be without its problems and issues. ALL land fills have problems and issues - it’s how you handle them that is important. In that area, we, the local citizens, have control.
Times are really rough now. The way things are going in Washington with neither side worried about the damage they are doing to our country, I am afraid it’s not going to change soon. Seems everywhere you look everyone is affected - working people, retirees, businesses, non-profit corporations, for-profit corporations, etc. This economic downturn has spared no one. County government is no different. We are working very hard to make sure all county operations and services that we provide to the public are kept at a level that will continue to provide a good quality of life for the citizens we serve.
I am responsible for the one of the largest county departments - the Road & Bridge Dept. and it has had to make the biggest adjustment. With gas prices bouncing around like a rubber ball and knowing that if we run short on fuel it would be even harder to maintain a high level of road work, last March I challenged the department to come up with ways to save fuel and still maintain our road system.
Using their suggestions we cut our grader routes in half. Instead of 8 routes and grading roads every 6-9 weeks, we now only grade the roads every 10 to 12 weeks. We knew this would cause some issues but it would be better to grade roads every10-12 weeks than not grade them for several months if we ran out of fuel. We also parked several trucks that were being driven home by some grader operators. This has not come without problems but most of them have been because some people just hate change. Other things we have had to do is stop all courtesy grading. The only roads that will be hard surfaced are existing roads that are already hard surfaced but are in need of re-surfacing. We continue to lose approximately 10 miles of chip seal roads every year because we can’t afford to maintain them. We can’t afford to continue paving new roads if we can’t maintain them. These decisions were difficult but looking back if we hadn’t made them we would probably already be out of fuel and still have 2 months left in this year.
Some talk has begun about generating more revenues. Yes, no matter how you say it, it means more taxes. I do agree we are going to have to look at more revenues but now certainly isn’t the time. I have said all along we need to look at our spending before we look at raising taxes! We have some elected officials who believe the way to manage their department is to increase spending. That sounds like Washington’s way of managing our country. Just spend more money and it will be ok. They are even using the old Bush scare tactics. If you don’t give me more money or re-elect me, the world will come to an end. We will be over run with criminals and weapons of mass destruction. It wasn’t true then and it isn’t true now. Now is the time to evaluate our spending and see if we can do some thinking outside the box in order to get through these tough times. Elected officials should be looking at ways to get the job done without more spending and without traveling all over the U S going to “seminars” and spending thousands of tax dollars on travel just because we can.
I would also like to address the Alternative School. I am all for education. Having spent 9 years on the school board and having raised 3 kids I know the importance of a good education. I also firmly believe it’s the school’s responsibility to educate our kids - not the courts or the juvenile justice system at the local level.
Over a year ago I started looking at our spending (one of my job duties). One department jumped out at me. The Alternative School was spending thousands of dollars going on trips to Branson, buying $800.00 worth of special order tennis shoes, eating out 2-3 times a month, buying candy and cokes and having staff meetings at taxpayer’s expense. They were driving all over 4 counties everyday picking up kids at taxpayers’ expense. Not only were they spending thousands of dollars on food and travel to games and attractions, the kids weren’t getting much of an education. According to their own record they submitted to the state, in school year 2010 and 2011 they showed they had 164 kids in Alternative School. Only 9% graduated; 4% got their G E D; 13% went back to the regular class room; 15% dropped out of school; and 16% returned to the Alternative School.
We were spending in excess of one million dollars annually between the schools’ money and grants that the alternative school received to educate 13% or 22 total students. You do the math - that’s a lot of tax dollars. I brought this to the attention of the schools and also the Quorum Court. The schools have now started their own alternative schools which is where any alternative school should be and certainly who should be responsible for the education of our kids.
In closing I just want to wish everyone a very happy holiday season and in the future I will do a better job of keeping my updates more timely.
Joe Bodenhamer
Baxter County Judge
Joe Bodenhamer ~ County Judge
Elected 2009 - Present
Phone: 870-425-2755
Office Location: 3rd Floor, Baxter County Courthouse
1 East 7th Street, Mountain Home, AR 72653
Elected 2009 - Present
Phone: 870-425-2755
Office Location: 3rd Floor, Baxter County Courthouse
1 East 7th Street, Mountain Home, AR 72653
Official Web Site Of Baxter County Government
