The Arkadelphian and The Southern Standard both reported that Quorum Court member Albert Neal moved to have the Quorum Court monthly pay raised from $200 to $250 per month at the November 14th meeting. His motion died for lack of a second. If not the Quorum Court, who does the decision belong to?

This court of eleven J.P.’s not only has the AUTHORITY, but has accepted the RESPONSIBILITY to decide who gets raises, what projects get funded, where our money gets spent, etc.

Approximately 26 years ago a good friend of mine was serving on the Quorum Court. His name was Billy Kirksey. He made the motion that the pay for the members be raised from $75 per month to $200 per month. That motion passed. Billy served all of Clark County very well while on the court.

On January 1, 2023, all eleven members will be sworn in as Justices of the Peace. All eleven will have the AUTHORITY to decide what to spend our county’s money on. They will also have the RESPONSIBILITY of where our county’s money is spent.

We need to encourage young leaders to become more involved with making all of Clark County “A GREAT PLACE TO CALL HOME”.

I personally think that all Quorum Court members need to be paid more. Someone should look into what counties the size of Clark County pay their Quorum Courts. I served on the Quorum Court for 14 years. I never met anyone that was only interested in the pay.

The Quorum Court needs to be looked upon as the respected leaders for all of Clark County, Arkansas.

THERE AIN’T NO FREE LUNCH. It just doesn’t exist!

— Brown Hardman, Arkadelphia