OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Finance & Administration Council Committee Meeting - July 28, 2026

Meeting Portal — Tuesday, July 28, 2026
BodyJonesboro, Arkansas
SessionMeeting Portal
DateTuesday, July 28, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 44:33

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

But he said it's not expensive.

0:01

And he said what they were it's actually beneficial to fish habitat.

0:07

Like three thirty or forty feet.

0:10

And then skip thirty forty feet another guy's went out there.

0:19

You can do like gaps around and you can fish the whole lake and I don't know what's great.

0:30

Tomorrow and uh he said he would get me the info and I will give it to you.

0:34

But that would be cheaper too.

0:36

You wouldn't have to kill everything because you know, get into the lake, you just do like sections of it around the key fish, but you still so you don't have to be doing half the area.

0:55

No, I'm joking.

0:57

Not even just about that with good fish out.

1:04

Anything else?

1:07

So that's totally that's somebody that's my question.

1:11

Yeah, no, it's easy.

1:12

It's uh it's not that not that cost me at all.

1:15

So I will uh be hollow to that one.

1:24

Okay, that was not hard to go back to the market.

1:58

Yeah, what's it like to have fruits?

2:05

Yeah.

2:06

Well, I think we'll work on a gun, which is fine.

2:39

Well I saw the summary on the leader.

3:03

I know about the water.

3:28

We just have to make sure that we took that one.

3:38

I already had a following by the end of the room.

3:51

I would say that's when the total number of other people are just it's not in the area, it's in an office.

5:05

It's backwards that red means we're on it and green means we're on it.

5:23

Okay, she's good, Joe.

5:24

Okay.

5:25

All right.

5:37

All right, good afternoon, everybody.

5:38

It's four o'clock.

5:39

I'll call today's finance administration council committee meeting to order.

5:44

Um please confirm your attendance by pushing the appropriate button.

5:50

We do have five presents, so we do have a quorum today.

5:53

Next up is approval of minutes from the finance committee meeting on Tuesday, July 14th, 2026.

5:59

Move to approval if there's no to change.

6:02

Motion of second, any questions or comments on the minutes as presented.

6:07

If not, please record your party on whether or not to approve the minutes.

6:25

Moving to new business.

6:26

First up is resolution 26074.

6:29

A resolution by the city council, City of Jones for Arkansas to amend a portion of the employee handbook for all employees for the City of Jones Rural, whereas the current handbook employee handbook was previously revised by resolution 24167 on December 17, 2024, whereas this handbook serves as a primary policies and procedure manual for all employees, and whereas the city council desires to revise a portion of the employee handbook regarding the city's nepotism policy.

7:15

Up to but not including the section entitled Drug-Free Workplace Policy is hereby deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following.

7:59

This prohibition means not only that a person cannot supervise a relative, but also that the relative cannot be in that person's chain of command.

8:28

Examples include an employee signing an evaluation for a relative or in signing slash approving a check payable to a relative.

8:35

Number three, employees are required to notify the city's human relations department of a any existing familial relationships, b any familial relationships that are created among employees, for example, by marriage of two employees, and C the potential employment by the city of a relative.

8:54

Number four, the city will refuse to hire a job applicant who is a relative of a current employee if the applicant or current employee would be at a supervisory or subordinate position to another city employees who marry one another during their employment will be allowed to remain with the city unless they are in a superior um subordinate relationship and there is no open position to which one of them may be moved.

9:18

Number five, any person who is a relative of the mayor or city count or any city council member will not be eligible for hire with the city during the term of the mayor or city council member.

9:30

A relative of either the city clerk or the city attorney will be eligible for hire with the city so long as they do not work in the office or under the supervision of the elected official with whom they share a familial relationship.

9:42

Number six, familial relationship within the meaning of this policy means a husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, or granddaughter, or any of the those relationships arising as a result of marriage, for example, brother-in-law.

10:02

Number seven, relative, means anyone with whom there is a film familial relationship, all hires that must be considered nepotism will be will require the mayor or the mayor's design approval, failure to approve the mayor's or the failure to obtain the mayor's or the mayor's design's approval will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination.

10:22

Neither the mayor nor the city, neither the mayor nor the mayor's examine may approve a new hire in violation of number paragraph five of this policy regarding relatives of elected officials.

10:34

It is important that any relationship that may cause a conflict of interest be reported to a human resources to re human resources for the necessary approvals.

10:43

Personal dating relationships.

10:58

With knowledge, their employment may be affected if with the if the relationship results in inappropriate or unprofessional behavior.

11:06

Negatively impacts the common good or morale of other employees or creates conflicts of interest.

11:11

If such relationships exist between employees, then employees must report it to their supervisor and HR.

11:19

The city reserves the right to take the appropriate action it deems necessary.

11:23

Dating relationships in which one of the employees is a direct supervisor or prohibited.

11:28

If you plan on entering into a dating relationship with another employee in your department, and one of you is in a direct supervisory position, the following actions must be taken.

11:38

Number one, you must notify your supervisor and the human resource director immediately.

11:43

Two, one of you will be required to resign or transfer to another department if there's a position available within 30 calendar days.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters████████████████████████████████████36%
Municipal Liens█████████████████17%
Governance Accountability█████████████13%
Public Safety██████████10%
Technology and Innovation████████8%
Water And Wastewater Management███████7%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████5%
Procedural████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Finance & Administration Council Committee Meeting – July 28, 2026

The Finance & Administration Council Committee of Jonesboro, Arkansas, met on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at 4:00 PM in the Municipal Center. The meeting was chaired by Councilmember Joe Hafner. Present were Councilmembers John Street, David McClain, Ann Williams, and Charles Coleman (5 present). Councilmembers Anthony Coleman and Brian Emison were absent (2 absent). The committee addressed several resolutions, including a proposed change to the employee nepotism policy, multiple municipal liens, adoption of a revised employee handbook with an AI policy, and the South Caraway Road widening project contract. Key votes and a timeline for a proposed shelter facility loan were also discussed.

Approval of Minutes

  • The minutes from the July 14, 2026, Finance Committee meeting were approved by a vote of 4 ayes (Street, McClain, Williams, Coleman) and 2 absences.

New Business

RES-26:074 – Amendment to Employee Handbook (Nepotism Policy)

  • Sponsor: LJ Bryant
  • Discussion: Chairman Joe Hafner opposed the change, stating the current policy (strengthened in 2024) is adequate and that the proposed addition—barring hiring any relative of a mayor or city councilmember during their term—would unnecessarily limit the hiring pool. He noted the city has 49 current openings across Police, Fire, Streets, Engineering, City Planning, and Communications. HR Director Dewayne Douglas agreed the existing policy works and was concerned about restricting family members from serving as lifeguards or in parks. Public speaker Kevin Miller (1111 Layman Drive) opposed the change, noting that he researched cities including Paragould, Fort Smith, Conway, Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, Hot Springs, and Little Rock, and none have such a restriction. Sponsor LJ Bryant argued the policy is needed to prevent conflicts of interest and cited examples from previous administrations (Mayor Perrin and the current mayor) where relatives were hired; he emphasized public integrity. Councilmember David McClain supported the amendment, saying “it’s not a problem until it’s a problem” and referenced a past incident where a former mayor’s son was involved in misconduct on city computers. Councilmember Charles Coleman suggested decisions should be on an individual basis.
  • Vote: Motion to recommend to City Council FAILED: Ayes – David McClain (1); Nays – John Street, Ann Williams, Charles Coleman (3); Absent – Anthony Coleman, Brian Emison (2).

RES-26:079 through RES-26:084 – Municipal Liens (Six Properties)

  • Each resolution authorizes placing a municipal lien for code enforcement costs:
    • 218 W. Forrest (Derr Lavaughn) – $315
    • 413 Parkview (Sandhill Property Mgt) – $1,240
    • 616 E. Oak (Joyce Scarbough) – $275
    • 704 Vine (Ekpe Uko) – $275
    • 1702 W. Nettleton (EF Holdco WRE Assets REO LLC) – $315
    • 5017 Mt. Carmel (Katherine Arterberry) – $465
  • Each was approved unanimously (4-0-2) and recommended to City Council with no further discussion.

RES-26:085 – Adoption of Revised Employee Handbook

  • Sponsor: Human Resources
  • Discussion: The revised handbook includes an AI use policy and updated language for the Employee Representative Committee. HR Director Dewayne Douglas noted that a full handbook revision is in progress, but these two items have urgency, especially the AI policy. City Attorney Carol Duncan explained that employees may inadvertently upload confidential information (e.g., social security numbers, dates of birth) to free AI services like ChatGPT, risking data breaches. She also warned about AI “hallucinating” case law. The committee agreed to forward the current version to Council now and anticipate future updates for police and fire handbooks.
  • Vote: Motion to recommend to City Council PASSED (4-0-2).

RES-26:086 – South Caraway Road Widening Project – Contract Award

  • Sponsor: Engineering
  • Discussion: The low bidder is RL Persons Construction, Inc. (Job No. 2026:20). Funding comes from the capital improvement revenue bond budget. Councilmember David McClain asked about the contractor’s track record. Engineering Director Craig Light confirmed he has worked with RL Persons before and that they have a long history of highway projects in the area.
  • Vote: Motion to recommend to City Council PASSED (4-0-2).

Other Business

  • Depository Committee Update: Finance Director Steve Purtee reported that the committee is preparing for a short-term loan bid and a Depository Services RFP. Approximately 300 ACH transfers will need to be coordinated. A meeting date is pending based on related legislation.
  • Shelter Facility Update: Mayor Harold Copenhaver provided a timeline for a proposed short-term loan to purchase a building for a shelter. A special joint Finance and Public Safety meeting will be held next week to walk through facts and questions. The resolution and loan ordinance would be presented at the August 11 Finance meeting, with a final vote at the August 18 City Council meeting. This schedule allows closing within the agreed bond selling price terms.
  • Update on Scott Roper: Councilmember Charles Coleman asked about Scott Roper’s health. Mayor Copenhaver reported that his fever had broken and he is showing more positive signs but remains under close watch. He asked for continued prayers for Roper and his family. The mayor agreed to arrange a card or gesture for the family.

Public Comments

  • No additional public comments were made beyond the discussion on RES-26:074.

Key Outcomes

  • RES-26:074 (Nepotism Policy) – Failed to advance to City Council (1-3-2).
  • RES-26:079 through RES-26:084 (Municipal Liens) – Recommended to City Council (votes 4-0-2 each).
  • RES-26:085 (Revised Employee Handbook) – Recommended to City Council (4-0-2) with the understanding that further revisions will follow.
  • RES-26:086 (South Caraway Road Widening) – Recommended to City Council (4-0-2).
  • Shelter Facility Timeline: Special meeting next week; presentation on August 11; final vote on August 18.
  • Depository Committee: Awaiting legislative developments before scheduling.
  • Scott Roper: Condition improving but still serious; city will send support.

The meeting adjourned at approximately the conclusion of business.

Meeting Transcript

But he said it's not expensive. And he said what they were it's actually beneficial to fish habitat. Like three thirty or forty feet. And then skip thirty forty feet another guy's went out there. You can do like gaps around and you can fish the whole lake and I don't know what's great. Tomorrow and uh he said he would get me the info and I will give it to you. But that would be cheaper too. You wouldn't have to kill everything because you know, get into the lake, you just do like sections of it around the key fish, but you still so you don't have to be doing half the area. No, I'm joking. Not even just about that with good fish out. Anything else? So that's totally that's somebody that's my question. Yeah, no, it's easy. It's uh it's not that not that cost me at all. So I will uh be hollow to that one. Okay, that was not hard to go back to the market. Yeah, what's it like to have fruits? Yeah. Well, I think we'll work on a gun, which is fine. Well I saw the summary on the leader. I know about the water. We just have to make sure that we took that one. I already had a following by the end of the room. I would say that's when the total number of other people are just it's not in the area, it's in an office. It's backwards that red means we're on it and green means we're on it. Okay, she's good, Joe. Okay. All right. All right, good afternoon, everybody. It's four o'clock. I'll call today's finance administration council committee meeting to order. Um please confirm your attendance by pushing the appropriate button. We do have five presents, so we do have a quorum today. Next up is approval of minutes from the finance committee meeting on Tuesday, July 14th, 2026. Move to approval if there's no to change. Motion of second, any questions or comments on the minutes as presented. If not, please record your party on whether or not to approve the minutes. Moving to new business. First up is resolution 26074. A resolution by the city council, City of Jones for Arkansas to amend a portion of the employee handbook for all employees for the City of Jones Rural, whereas the current handbook employee handbook was previously revised by resolution 24167 on December 17, 2024, whereas this handbook serves as a primary policies and procedure manual for all employees, and whereas the city council desires to revise a portion of the employee handbook regarding the city's nepotism policy. Up to but not including the section entitled Drug-Free Workplace Policy is hereby deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following. This prohibition means not only that a person cannot supervise a relative, but also that the relative cannot be in that person's chain of command. Examples include an employee signing an evaluation for a relative or in signing slash approving a check payable to a relative. Number three, employees are required to notify the city's human relations department of a any existing familial relationships, b any familial relationships that are created among employees, for example, by marriage of two employees, and C the potential employment by the city of a relative. Number four, the city will refuse to hire a job applicant who is a relative of a current employee if the applicant or current employee would be at a supervisory or subordinate position to another city employees who marry one another during their employment will be allowed to remain with the city unless they are in a superior um subordinate relationship and there is no open position to which one of them may be moved. Number five, any person who is a relative of the mayor or city count or any city council member will not be eligible for hire with the city during the term of the mayor or city council member. A relative of either the city clerk or the city attorney will be eligible for hire with the city so long as they do not work in the office or under the supervision of the elected official with whom they share a familial relationship. Number six, familial relationship within the meaning of this policy means a husband, wife, father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, or granddaughter, or any of the those relationships arising as a result of marriage, for example, brother-in-law. Number seven, relative, means anyone with whom there is a film familial relationship, all hires that must be considered nepotism will be will require the mayor or the mayor's design approval, failure to approve the mayor's or the failure to obtain the mayor's or the mayor's design's approval will be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination. Neither the mayor nor the city, neither the mayor nor the mayor's examine may approve a new hire in violation of number paragraph five of this policy regarding relatives of elected officials.

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