09/03/2026
On Sep 1st at 6:30pm our Ouachita County Quorum Court (QC) met to discuss county business for the month of September.
We covered the following items:
1.) Roll call.
2.) Invocation.
3.) Pledge of Allegiance.
4.) Approval of the Aug minutes.
5.) Approval of the Treasurer's report.
6.) Audience participation:
-Keri Weatherford and Kerron Chermaine Simpson from the Ouachita Extension office reported on upcoming events.
-Jim Bob Davis asked the quorum court what the treasurer/collector item was going to look like on the November ballot. The election commission stated the ballot item would remain the same as it was on the primary ballot. After discussion the quorum court and audience agreed that the law was passed and the election commission didn't have any fault in the process. Daniel Faulkner from the Owens and Parker law firm spoke to the QC updating them on the Collector/Treasure position issue. He has repeated his recommendation to revert the position to its original configuration in order to comply with the AG Opinion. The election commissioner Mike Wynn stated the only way to legally change the position would be to bring a suit against the item.
-Gladis Nettles the elected official for the circuit clerk's office reported a storage problem for the official records that are mandated to be retained by the county and to implore the court to review the case for pay raises for the county employees.
-Abbie Nicholson of Ouachita County brought her concerns for the FLOCK cameras that are in Camden and suspected to be in the county. Sheriff Norwood stated there are zero FLOCK cameras in the county. He stated there are 4 within the Camden city limits.
-Election commissioners Eddie Horton and Mike Wynn along with the election coordinator Melissa Vaughn reiterated the collector/treasurer ballot item would not change. The group then proceeded to report the storage conditions of the election equipment is below the State required standards. There is a proposal to rent/lease 2310 sq ft of the SAU Tech adult Education Center for $577.59 a month. There commission stated there is a possibly 50k in grants available to help upgrade the facility to meet the state storage and security requirements. The commissioners stated there might be space available for the circuit clerk documents in the same building.
-Justin Freelend of Ouachita County asked the quorum court why it is hard to find the dates and times of the quorum court meetings. Justic Lilly relayed that all meetings are posted in the paper and on the radio every month and have been doing this for years. Angela Johnson of the circuit clerk's office reported to the court that she is currently working on a website for Ouachita County. Freelend then asked where the ballot drawing was posted. Melissa Vaughn stated it was already posted in the newspaper and that she personally called every candidate to ensure they had received notice of the drawing.
7.) New business
1.) An appropriation ordinance to appropriate funds in the jail operating fund, jail operating budget. $60k was approved to be moved for medical services. (Item Passed)
2.) An emergency ordinance to be entitled county jail is in need of a boiler for kitchen and laundry room. Sheriff Norwood reported 3 quotes were submitted the last one was the least costly. The QC decided to approve the original amount of $49k and the difference would be returned to the county budget after the installation is completed. (item passed)
3.) A resolution authorizing the county judge of Ouachita County to apply for a grant on behalf of the Ouachita County circuit clerk. (item passed)
4.) An appropriation ordinance to appropriate funds in the county general fund, assessor budget. $500 was approved for training a new employee. (item passed)
5.) An appropriation ordinance to appropriate funds in the jail operating fund, jail operating budget. $200k was approved to be moved to the sheriff/jail budget to cover budget (physical money) shortages. Justic Lilly recommended the sheriff review the sheriff/jail budget to ensure there are no future budget overages that will need to be covered by the county general fund. (item passed)
Meeting Adjourned.
