Move to fill JP vacancy on hold

Move to fill JP vacancy on hold

Replacing Sturch on Quorum Court will have to wait

news@theeveningtimes.com

The Quorum Court will wait until its next monthly meeting in August to declare the District 12 seat held by Ronnie Sturch vacant in order to give the county time to run a legal ad announcing the vacancy. The court had intended to declare a vacancy this month but was advised by County Attorney that they are legally required to run an ad first.

“There is a publication requirement,” Rogers said.

“The law requires us to publish before we can act on this.”

Sturch, who held the seat for the past six years, resigned effective July 1 to take the job as the director of the county’s 911 Dispatch Center.

Rogers asked justices whether they wanted to schedule a special meeting to declare the seat vacant or wait until the August meeting to do it.

“The way it works is you declare a vacancy and then the governor fills the vacancy,” Rogers said. “But we have to go through the process of declaring the vacancy and publish notice of it before we can declare it vacant.”

Rogers said he would prepare the legal notice for publication but said it would probably take several days before it appears in print.

The vacancy must be passed as a resolution which Rogers did not have prepared because he needs to put a date on it so it can run before the meeting.

“You will need to tell me if you want to have a special meeting,” Rogers said. Justice Vickie Robertson said she would prefer to vote on the resolution at the August Quorum Court meeting.

“I would like to see us wait until the next meeting,” Robertson said.

“I think we can wait,” Justice Lorenzo Parker agreed. “That would be my recommendation,” Rogers said.

“It just says it has to be published before the meeting. It doesn’t say any time frame. I will get it drafted.

But I just need to know a date.”

Robertson asked Rogers whether the appointment to fill the seat will expire on Dec. 31 when Sturch’s term ends, or whether it will be a “hold over” and the person appointed would serve until 2018.

Sturch was unopposed in the last election.

“I’m hearing the governor is going to appoint for the unexpired term plus the new term,” Robertson said.

“That would make a difference in what we do, because we have been telling people that the appointment would be for the remainder of the term and that they wouldn’t be able to run for the two year term.”

Justice Lorenzo Parker said he believes it will be a hold-over appointment.

Parker ran in to a similar situation when he missed the deadline to file papers for re-election. Because nobody else ran for the position, Parker kept his seat as a “hold-over.”

“Whoever would get the position would be considered a hold-over for the next term because nobody else was situated in that seat,” Parker said. “That’s the way I read it.”

Rogers said he would seek clarification from the Arkansas Association of Counties.

“I will look at that issue to try and get some clarification,” Rogers said.

By Mark Randall