Finance & Administration Council Committee Meeting – March 31, 2026
Finance & Administration Council Committee Meeting – March 31, 2026
The Finance & Administration Council Committee of Jonesboro, Arkansas, met on March 31, 2026, at 4:00 PM at the Municipal Center. The committee approved minutes, introduced resolutions for a sanitation truck lease and four municipal liens, and received updates from the Parks Department on youth basketball, volleyball tournaments, and upcoming cashless payment options.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the March 10, 2026, Finance Committee meeting were approved unanimously (4-0, 2 absent).
- Municipal Liens: Four resolutions to place municipal liens on properties for code enforcement violations were each recommended to the full council unanimously (4-0, 2 absent):
- RES-26:033: 3648 Hudson, owned by Needspace Hudson LLC, $2,115.
- RES-26:034: 2620 Crawford #11, owned by Hilltop Rentals LLC, $3,257.34.
- RES-26:035: 607 Alfred Watkins, owned by Wesley Kyle Grimes, $465.
- RES-26:036: 1100 Huntington, owned by Vernon Wood, $415.
Discussion Items
- Sanitation Truck Lease (RES-26:031): Chairman Joe Hafner summarized a two-year lease-purchase contract for seven new 2026 sanitation trucks (five side-load, one front-load, one rear-load). The city will make 24 monthly payments of $58,098.53, with a balloon payment of approximately $1.7 million at the end, totaling about $3.1 million ($2.9 million principal, $210,316.31 interest). Finance Director Steve Purtee clarified this is the third cycle of rotating trucks under a buyback program, which has been successful. The committee recommended the resolution to the full council (4-0, 2 absent).
- Parks Department Updates: Parks Director Jim Stearns reported on the recently concluded youth basketball season: nearly 975 children participated over six weeks across 37 games (Saturdays), with 7,717 paid attendees and a net profit of $3,030.92. For two volleyball tournaments held in January/February, total revenue was about $70,000; the Icebreaker tournament netted $995 profit, but the We Care tournament lost $7,500, resulting in an overall net loss of $6,505 on those tournaments. Stearns noted the department has shifted focus from hosting tournaments to youth sports programs.
- Cashless Payment Options: In response to Councilmember Dr. Charles Coleman’s question about residents without credit cards, Stearns announced the Parks Department will begin piloting a cashless option on April 1, aiming to offer it at events by April 11. He emphasized the city will never go completely cashless and will continue accepting cash. Coleman expressed concern about people without cards being unable to enjoy amenities.
- Pool Fees and Season Passes: Coleman asked about potential "bargain days" at the pool due to high entry costs. Stearns stated no fee changes are anticipated in the next six months. Councilmember Ann Williams asked about season passes; Stearns confirmed that season passes for field sports and the pool will be available (monthly and seasonal options) to offer savings over individual tickets.
Key Outcomes
- The committee recommended the sanitation truck lease (RES-26:031) to the full council.
- Four municipal liens (RES-26:033-036) were recommended to the full council.
- The minutes from March 10, 2026, were approved.
- The meeting adjourned unanimously (4-0, 2 absent) after no public comments.
Meeting Transcript
And record your attendance. Alright, now we can continue. We do have a quorum. Appreciate everybody being here. Next up is approval of minutes from the finance committee meeting on Tuesday, March 10th, 2026. Move to approval this there's noted change. Second. Motion second. Any questions or comments on the minutes as presented? If not, please record your vote on whether or not to approve the minutes. We'll move into new business. First up is resolution 26031. A resolution authorizing the city of Jonesboro to enter into a two-year lease contract for the purchase of five sanitation side load trucks, one sanitation front load truck and one sanitation rear load truck. Whereas the City of Jonesboro continues to see a need and desires to maintain the current rotation of heavy equipment for use in the sanitation department. And whereas the City of Jonesboro, Arkansas approved the 2026 budget in resolution 25196, which included the lease obligations for five sanitation side lows truck trucks, one sanitation rear load truck, and one sanitation front load truck. And whereas the City of Jonesboro, Arkansas desires to enter into a two-year lease contract with RVS Bank for five MAC automated side load trucks, one Mac front load truck, and one Freightliner Rear Load truck from River City Hydraulics Incorporated. The financing proposal for the trucks is attached here to be resolved by the city council of City of Jonesboro, Arkansas, the section one, the mayor, Harold Copenhagen, and City Clerk, April Leggett are hereby authorized by the city council for the city of Jones to rescue all documents necessary to effectuate this agreement. Move forward to full council. Second. So we'll pay a total of just like three million, I'm sorry, two million. We'll pay a total of about if are we going to do the balloon payment? Do we usually do the balloon payment? Yeah. Um we'll pay a total of um $3.1 million, 2.9 of that will be principal, and the interest will be about $210,316 and 31 cents. We anticipate that the that the dealer will uh execute the buyback at the end of that contract term as we've done the previous two. So just to clarify, these aren't the same seven trucks, these are trucks. That is correct. They are it is all 2026 trucks. So that is correct. They're brand new trucks, yeah. My mistake. Right. Yeah, yeah. I know after two or three years of repair and maintenance costs starts being really high on these trucks. So I know from personal experience. This has been very successful for the city and the sanitation department. Yeah. And also getting to pay it out over months instead of having to come up with it all at one time. Correct, right? It is beneficial. Anything else from staff? Anything from the public in attendance. Seeing none, all those in uh please record your vote on whether or not to forward resolution 26031 to full council. Um the last remaining items are all municipal liens, so I'm just gonna read those by title only. Um first up is resolution 2603. Resolution by the city council of the city of Jonesboro, Arkansas to place municipal lien on property located at 3648 Hudson, parcel 01-144-102-09400, owned by Need Space Hudson LLC5 and the amount of 215 dollars. Move forward to full council, second. Motion forward to full council. Any questions or comment comments from the committee? Anything from staff or the public in attendance?
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