Sheriff Announces Intent To Leave Post Divided Court Approves Funding Request
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by Janice Penix
After a discussion between the sheriff and some justices of the peace that at some points turned contentious, Sheriff Tom Hughes told members of the Johnson County Quorum Court on Thursday that he will resign by May 1, “if not before.”
The Court was considering an appropriation ordinance to fund a part-time sexual assault detective position at the sheriff’s office, with the cost of the salary itself funded by a federal grant but the other employee benefits such as retirement and insurance to be covered by the county.
The salary for the position is $38,314.75, or 73% of the total appropriation. The county’s portion of the cost is $14,430.50, or 27%.
Justice of the Peace Katie Howard said it was her understanding during the budgeting process the position would be fully covered by the grant, but Hughes said he told the Court several times matching funds would be required.
Howard said the Court made numerous cuts across various departments in order to balance the 2026 budget and the expense for the position was not included due to the understanding it would be grant-funded.
Hughes said he approached the Court last fall to ask whether he should apply for the grant, but because it took several months for the process to be completed, the sheriff’s office did not have the position in place for the first quarter of the grant cycle. The county will be reimbursed for the position quarterly, as appropriate paperwork is submitted, he said.
“My only concern is, when we talked about it last time, we said we didn’t want to put additional money toward it besides what the grant would cover,” Howard said. “We were not aware there were additional funds the county would have to cover. We talked about it when we were going through the budget, that we would fund only what the grant covered, and we were told it would be fully covered. I felt like that’s what was expressed to us.”
Hughes disagreed with Howard’s recollection of the discussion and said he informed the Court multiple times there would be a required match.
Justice of the Peace Kris Muldoon asked Hughes if the county’s portion for the position was included in the sheriff’s office budget requests for the year.
“We’ll find it somewhere,” Hughes said. “I gave up a lot of money for the county to balance the budget.”
Justice of the Peace Bethany Bean responded all county departments conceded budget requests, not just the sheriff’s office.
“We have had problems in the past with grants, where we didn’t get the funds and the county ended up having to pay all of it, so that’s why we are cautious,” Bean said.
The Court voted 6-2 to approve the funding, with Howard and Larry Jones voting no. Voting in favor were Bean, Van Hill, Ray Hobbs, Muldoon, John Payne and Robert Petersen. Justices of the Peace Brian Cooper, Mike Estes and Paula Ober were absent.
Following the vote, Hughes asked if the meeting was being recorded, stating he wanted to obtain a copy of the recording because “everybody needs to know who votes against sexual assault detectives.”
Then, he told the Court he will resign by May 1, and exited the meeting.
Howard responded to Hughes as he was walking from the room.
“I think that’s an unfair thing to state,” she said. “My job is to control the purse strings of the county. My recollection is different than yours. I am not against a sexual assault detective, and I think that’s an unfair generalization. We had a conversation, and you’re disagreeing with what was said. But there’s only one person who is leaving angry and raising the temperature in the room.”
Hughes was appointed to the sheriff’s position by the Court in November 2023, following the resignation of former sheriff Jimmy Stephens. As an appointee, he was ineligible to run for the position at the end of the term.
The livestream of the meeting may be viewed on the Johnson County, AR YouTube page.
Oark Sidewalk Grant
Justices of the peace declined participation in a federal grant program that would fund paved sidewalks near the Oark School campus.
Johnson County Judge Herman Houston presented the proposal to obtain funds for improving sidewalk paths for Oark, which he said originated from State Senator Bryan King.
A resolution was distributed to the Court stating federal funds are available through the Transportation Alternatives Program or Recreational Trails Program, with 80% federal participation and 20% local match.
Houston said he attended a meeting with King, as well as representatives from Oark Schools and the Arkansas Department of Transportation and the Clarksville-Johnson County Chamber of Commerce, which was assisting with the grant writing process.
Bean, who represents the Oark area on the Court, said she had not received an invitation to the meeting until the day before it occurred and was unable to attend. She expressed displeasure at not being included in the process.
Houston said Justice of the Peace Van Hill had been involved in soliciting feedback on the project, but Bean said he was not the appropriate representative.
“Van was not elected to represent Oark, I was,” Bean said. “I am highly offended by that because I talk to numerous people up there. If you needed resources up there, that’s my district. I should have been contacted. If there is information that needs to be collected from my district, I’d like to be a part of it.”
Hill said he only became involved because he was volunteering at the concession stand at the Oark basketball games and talked with school personnel and community members while he was on campus. He said he was made aware of the proposed grant when he received his packet for Thursday’s Court meeting.
Bean said she had spoken with school administrators who said they were supportive of the idea, but also acknowledged the school did not have funding available to assist with the 20% match.
In addition, several justices of the peace said they received calls from constituents who were opposed to the county utilizing funds for the project after so many cuts were made to existing county programs during the budgeting process for 2026.
Houston said he could take the funds for the project from the county road budget instead of the county general fund, but Bean said that was still a reduction in the amount of money available for county projects.
Payne agreed.
“I have heard from people, because we have cut so much, they are concerned about how much we have cut and then would be spending on this,” he said. “One of the people I talked to said it’s a political thing. Is it established that it’s definitely a safety need, or just something somebody wants?”
King, who Houston said organized the initial meeting on the project, is currently running for reelection and has an opponent in the March 3 Republican primary.
“My concern is, we cut our budget so drastically, and now we’re going to spend this money,” Bean said. “We all want the kids safe, I’m not disputing that. There is a lot more traffic up there now than there ever was, a lot of side-by-sides, and that is a concern. I’m for the safety of the kids by far, but I have to speak the concerns of the people from my district who spoke to me.”
A motion to approve the resolution, and the county’s participation in the grant application process, failed on a 3-5 vote, with Hill, Hobbs and Muldoon voting in favor and Bean, Howard, Jones, Petersen and Payne voting no. Several of the dissenting justices said they would be open to considering the project in the future, as federal funds are typically available each year.
Other Matters
–The Court approved an ordinance appropriating $659.54 in county general funds for contract labor at the health department. Houston said the amount represented custodial services which needed to be paid for 2025. Justices also appropriated $105,650 in solid waste funds for haulers in 2025.
-Members approved two matters for Johnson Regional Medical Center (JRMC). Ethan Rogers was appointed to the JRMC Board of Directors to replace Rickey Casey, whose term is expiring and who is limited from serving another term. An ordinance was also approved appropriating $117,032.37 in hospital millage funds from 2024 taxes collected in 2025, as well as delinquent personal and real estate taxes for prior years.
-Justices voted to approve the 911 interlocal agreement between the county and the cities of Clarksville, Lamar and Coal Hill. The agreement states after state funds are received for 911, the remaining cost balance will be shared among the entities, with Clarksville paying 60%, the county paying 35% and Lamar and Coal Hill paying 2.5% each. Houston said the only change in the agreement from previous years was a provision when the city of Clarksville’s total reaches $300,000, any funds in excess must be reviewed by the Clarksville City Council.
-Updates were given on the new radio tower project and the district court construction project. All were said to be proceeding on schedule, with completion for both set for this spring.
-The Court reviewed an addendum to the personnel policy manual regarding the employee compensation and classification procedure. Casey explained the addendum states the procedure the county has followed for the last few years but it has not been formalized within the policy manual.
-Members heard a presentation from the Johnson County Extension Office, including County Agent Jesse Taylor and County Agent-4H Jeanie Rowbotham. Members of 4-H who addressed the court included Tate Sisk and Archer Sams.
Read this story and others in the Feb. 18 issue of The Graphic, available online and at businesses throughout Franklin and Johnson counties. Subscribe or donate here to support more hometown journalism.
