Jonesboro, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – Two Craighead County government offices will become one after voters approved combining the offices of the collector and treasurer.
According to unofficial election results, 15,777 people, or 63.24%, voted for the measure, while 9,170, or 36.76%, against it.
The two offices will be combined beginning January 2031. The issue was brought before voters after the Craighead County quorum court approved placing in on the ballot in early February.
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Supporters of the issue said it could have saved the county upwards of $150,000, while opponents cited concerns regarding decreased oversight over government dollars, and said the study conducted beforehand to see if the offices could be combined was “misleading.”
“The people have spoken,” Craighead County Judge Marvin Day told JRN. “I think the big picture today is the economy’s tough. People want less government, less cost and any way that we can be more efficient with their money, at the end of the day, they want less government.”
As the county government prepares for the consolidation over the next four years, Day said it will be looking for “common sense” ways to ensure county money is protected and that proper checks and balances were in place.
Citizens Taxed Enough administrator Iris Stevens said the group will be keeping a “close eye” on the combined office to ensure it does “save us the money that we’ve been told that that will do.”
“We’ve looked at all the possible positives about it and really didn’t see anything, and didn’t look like it was gonna save any money over the long haul with combining these two offices. So, I guess we’ll just have to wait. That’s a few years down the road and we’ll have to see how it works,” she told JRN.
Terry McNatt is the current county treasurer, while Wes Eddington is the current county tax collector. Eddington is retiring at the end of this term, and his office will be occupied by Stephanie Hoffman through the end of 2030.
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