Financial woes cripple services, spur spending freeze in Earle

Mayor, city council at odd over how to best spend remaining funds

By Ralph Hardin

news@theeveningtimes.com

There’s no denying that the City of Earle is a community in decline. The city, situated on the west end of Crittenden County, has lost nearly half its population since 1990. Businesses have closed, people have left, and in 2008, a tornado caused damage that in some areas was never repaired.

Still, Mayor Jaylen Smith, elected in 2022 at just 18 years old, has vowed to work to restore the city to at least some semblance of its former glory (the town’s 1990 population was around 3,500 in 1990. Today it is about 1,800).

But it won’t be easy. In recent months, Earle has seen financial difficulties, and last week, those difficulties led to the city’s leadership making some drastic steps.

Last Tuesday, during a city council meeting, the council froze the city’s money claiming the mayor is using it to buy things for his own gain, a claim the young mayor disputes.

“I tapped into that money to purchase something, which was some new equipment for our public works department,” Smith said. “So, that way we can see grass-cutting, tearing down houses, and different things. We bought police vehicles.”

The city’s funds, which were bolstered in 2021 by an American Rescue Plan Act windfall of more than $400,000, have been reduced to around $80,000. The dispute between Smith and the council is how to best spent those funds, resulting in the suspension of city services such as trash collection.

Councilmembers and the mayor were able to come to a stopgap agreement late last week. Smith announced that that all services for Earle residents have been restored despite the vote by the city council to freeze spending due to budgetary concerns. Smith did say, however, that the city is still struggling finaccially.

“My garbage truck and my boom truck have broken down. So, I cannot purchase anything to pick up garbage for my residents,” said Mayor Jaylen Smith. “The goal is to put money towards salary but I’m not in agreeance with that.”

SMITH