Mississippi County Justices of the Peace Tuesday night unanimously passed an appropriation ordinance providing another $500,000 for the Mississippi County Hospital System.
The current county treasurer's report indicates that the hospital fund has only $39,200 in it.
Justice John Alan Nelson, chairman of the court's finance committee, told his colleagues that the money will come from both the hospital fund and county general funds.
The treasurer's report lists $18,078,565 in budgeted funds. Of those, $1,911,259 is listed as being invested in a certificate of deposit for County General.
The money will be used to pay the hospitals' portion of the Intergovernmental Transfer matching funds so that money called Upper Payment Limits can be sent to the hospitals by Medicaid.
The ordinance also provides funds to install fiber optic cables and other video conferencing equipment to the county jail, road and landfill departments.
The installation will allow for court appearances for jailed inmates without having to transport them to one of the county's two courthouses or to a district court.
The appropriation ordinance also includes $85,297 to add additional equipment to an existing communications tower so that the county will be connected to the Arkansas Wireless Information Network, also known as AWIN.
Of the appropriation, $75,000 is from a grant expected from the federal and state AWIN program. The remaining $10,297 will come from the sheriff's communication fund.
The ordinance also includes the transfer of poll workers from contract labor to part-time, as well as creates a new slot for a part-time investigator for the prosecuting attorney's office and slots for poll workers and the election coordinator.
After a lengthy discussion, justices voted to delay action on an ordinance providing for the establishment of flood protection zones.
Justice Donnie McDaniel said he had been advised by directors of the St. Francis River Levee District to postpone action on the measure until some points could be worked out.
However, the county's floodplain coordinator, David Lendennie, explained that the ordinance was identical to one previously passed by the court this year with two slight changes -- an effective date and a new requirement to move the lowest floor of any newly constructed residence to 2 feet above basic flood elevation.
Justice Bill Nelson urged his colleagues to approve the ordinance, saying it could be amended later if need be.
Nelson, a real estate agent, and Justice Ken Kennemore, an insurance agent, told the court that without the ordinance's passage, persons living within flood zones would not be able to renew their flood insurance, and persons wishing to purchase a home in a flood zone could not qualify for a mortgage because they could not purchase the flood insurance as required.
Justice Fred Fleeman said he felt the county was being "used as a pawn" between the levee districts and FEMA and as a way for FEMA to recoup losses incurred in New Orleans because of Hurricane Katrina.
Justice Emmanuel Lofton said he would rather pass the ordinance now and make changes later so that citizens of the county would be able to make their own choices.
"I would rather pass it now to ensure the protection of our citizens," Lofton said.
After defeating a motion to table the matter for 30 days, the court approved by a 10-2 vote to have a special session prior to June 18, the effective date of the ordinance, to further discuss the matter.
Justices McDaniel and Joe Lewis voted against the measure.
The court also approved a resolution allowing the county to apply for a grant from the Arkansas Community and Economic Development program, which will assist NIBCO in securing 25 more jobs.
If approved, the measure will bring $400,000 in state and county funds for the project to go with the $2.5 million the company is investing.
dhilton@blythevillecourier.com