It’s the budget approval time of year for county and city governments and the Hempstead County Quorum Court passed their projected 2026 budget on a unanimous vote in a meeting Thursday late afternoon that was scheduled this week to allow time for the upcoming holidays.
A video of the complete meeting can be seen below this article.
Justice of the Peace and Chair of the Quorum Court budget committee Ed Darling briefed those in attendance on the differences between this year’s budget and those of the past. “The two biggest outstanding increases in the budget were healthcare insurance, and we had looked at trying to really do something for our employees, which we haven't done since we did our big reorganization or big adjustment back three years ago,” he said.
The budget includes a $1,000 raise for employees and efforts to repair some inequities that came about after the reorganization. Darling said the budget allows funds that can used by the elected officials and by department heads to redress these inequities.
Another big expenditure Darling spoke of, was the lease of four graders on terms that will include parts and maintenance. This should result in a net savings compared to previous years when hundreds of thousands would have to be spent for parts and repairs.
JP Vic Ford suggested that officials and department heads speak to the court in future meetings to provide information about how the county’s money is being spent. JP Steve Atchley agreed with this. County Judge Jerry Crane said this would be done.
County Clerk Karen Smith then read the ordinance detailing major budget lines together with expected revenue to come to those lines. The total projected spending for the County General Budget, Smith read, will be $6,221,110, and the anticipated revenue for the year will be $7,063,827.83. The Hempstead County Road Department. Budget for 2026 will be $4,908,709 and anticipated revenue for the year will be $5,649,664.31.
The court also approved preliminary legal work toward placing a 3/4th of a cent per dollar sales tax on a 2026 ballot yet to be specified that could be used to help support the continued services of the Southwest Arkansas Regional Medical Center. Several JPs stressed the importance of keeping a hospital in Hope both to serve residents in surrounding communities and to provide emergency care should it be needed due to injuries incurred at Hope’s several diverse industrial concerns. JP David Clayton said he expected a special meeting to be held next week for the decision of whether to place the option to adopt the tax on a ballot for the county’s citizens to decide.
Teresa Smith, Hempstead County’s liaison to FEMA in dealing with recovery of areas west of Hope and in and around Fulton from a spring storm said “we have received a total of $161,790 on the road projects that we have submitted. that's 75 percent of what I've turned in. It's a 75-25 split with FEMA. We still have a couple of projects out. For a while, our money rolled in pretty regular, and it's kind of stopped.” Smith said this is likely because of the budget-related federal government shut down which resulted in closed offices and has created a backlog.
Work on County Road 41 is pending a FEMA study of the scope of the project before a valuation of the cost of that work can be decided but Smith said it would probably be over $50,000.
Unfortunately, Smith said, attempts to receive funding from FEMA for repair of washings out at a farm near the Red River was turned down on the grounds the damage was already there prior to the April of 2025 storms. The Red River Levee board is undertaking repairs on its own here. For damage on the levees themselves, FEMA has also turned that down but wants a submission of what will be done. Smith said some temporary barriers could be placed but these are unlikely to last beyond five years.
In answer to JP Atchley’s question about whether funding could be available for new emergency sirens in the county to replace the current obsolete ones, Smith recommended the county consult with the Southwest Arkansas Planning District.
The meeting adjourned about 30 minutes after it began.
After the meeting, I asked Hope-Hempstead Economic Development Executive Director Anna Powell about grant applications made by both the city of Hope and the county for grant funding for equipment and roof repairs at Southwest Arkansas Regional Medical Center. She said no decisions had been made about awarding the funds but decisions are expected to be announced at the end of this month.