By Ray King
With adopting legislation setting the tax rates for 2024 coming down to the wire, the Jefferson County Quorum Court on Wednesday night approved those rates unanimously in a roll call vote.
State law requires that the rates for the following year be approved at a regular meeting in either November or December but until Wednesday that had not been done due to dissention between County Judge Gerald Robinson and a number of members of the Quorum Court.
White Hall School District Superintendent Gary Williams and a majority of his board was on hand to witness the meeting and Williams spoke to Deltaplex News afterward.
The tax rate for the White Hall District is 42.1 mills. The rate for the Pine Bluff School District is 41.7 mills and Superintendent Jennifer Barbaree said on the Oldies 1013 Morning Show Tuesday that had the tax rates not been approved, the district would lose about $21 million.
After the meeting, County Judge Gerald Robinson was excited about all the members of the Quorum Court coming together to pass the legislation.
Robinson has scheduled another meeting for Dec. 27 in an effort to adopt a 2024 budget and vote on Christmas bonuses for employees.
