KUAR | By Tess Vrbin / Arkansas Advocate
The Saline County Quorum Court will decide at a future meeting whether to shift some control over the county library system’s staff, budget and operations to the county judge.
The proposal, read for the first time at a Monday meeting, would amend the 1978 ordinance that created the five-member board that oversees the Saline County Library system. The current ordinance says the board has “full and complete authority” to maintain the library and “the exclusive right and power” to purchase library materials.
The amendment would remove those phrases and add “subject to oversight by the Saline County Judge.” It would also require the library board to submit all proposed changes to library policy to the county judge for approval, submit its annual budget to the quorum court for approval and obtain insurance policies in case of “claims that may be made due to actions or inactions” of the board and library administration.
Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate
Jennifer Floyd brought her 10-year-old daughter, Caroline, to the Saline County Quorum Court meeting on Monday, June 19, 2023 to oppose an ordinance that would give the county judge greater power over the Saline County Library.