Questions concerning how special revenues are accepted by the county were debated last night by the Craighead County’s Finance and Administration Committee. Those special revenues are in the form of grants the county receives. Members of the Finance and Administration Committee questioned some of the grants and what they were used for. Some were concerned that grants were used inappropriately for salary increases or other uses.
Last night, those members were told that grant money can’t be used for anything other than what a grant is written for. According to Craighead County’s Administrative Assistant to Judge Ed Hill Tony Thomas, those grants are audited by the federal government and are not used for salaries. They are instead used for maintenance of programs.
One example of the programs that are run through grants is the drug court that takes place in Craighead County. Circuit Judge Melissa Richardson runs the drug court in the 2nd Judicial District. She says the grant money that is received for the drug court is used to help treat those who go through the court. The grant money comes from the Arkansas Community Corrections and Richardson asked the committee to allow for the funding to be approved by the full court. $53,000 is expected to come to Craighead County in a first round of funding for the drug court and $10,000 could come to the county in an additional round.
Other grants that come from federal and state resources go to fund the DWI court, a mental health court, a veteran’s court, and a juvenile drug court. Over two and a half million dollars in federal money comes to Craighead County for the juvenile drug court and over $60,000 has been used to provide treatment. Thomas says since 2011, over seven million dollars in grant money has been used to help provide funding for various courts, the sheriff’s department, and other agencies across the county. The Craighead County Quorum Court’s Administration and Finance Committee approved the grants and sent them to the full Quorum Court for approval in the next meeting later this month.
