Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

JPs Approve Budget; Purchase Used Car

By RICKY RAGSDALE

Nevada County JPs approved a budget for indigent defense/public defender/investigator which may not be acceptable.

The budget was presented by Danny Rodgers during the regular meeting of the Nevada County Quorum Court Monday, January 12.

After approving the budget members began wondering whether the county can have two indigent budgets.

JPs approved regular operating budgets in December for 1998.

There was an indigent budget approved at that time for about $20,000.

The courts have reworked the requirements for indigent attorneys and divided the 8th Judicial district into two parts, of which Nevada County is paired with Hempstead County to the north.

Indigent attorneys for this district include Danny Rodgers, former Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Nevada and Lafayette counties, and Marsha Bassinger with the Honey and Honey law firm in Prescott.

Bassinger would be working from the original budget according to Rodgers while he would be working from the budget of $12,435 he presented.

Rodgers told the group the budget included funds for a copier which he needs immediately.

The funds for the budget did not come from Nevada County's county general funds but from indigent funds which are only available for these types of budgets.

Rodgers discussed the budget for about 40 minutes with the JPs before it was passed.

In other business, JPs approved the purchase of a 1993 Ford with a police package for $5,000 to be used by the Nevada County Sheriff's office.

Nevada County Judge James Roy Brown told JPs he found the vehicle through the state. It had been utilized by the University of Central Arkansas and has 94,000 miles.

The funds will be taken from county general, but will be funded from within the sheriff's budget according to Brown.