Jefferson County clerk speaks out on payroll delay, disagreement
JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ark. – The Jefferson County clerk wants to make her position known as the county payroll may not be distributed on April 30.
County Clerk Shawndra Taggart said in a Monday email that neither she nor County Judge Gerald Robinson are empowered to “remove or change any elected official’s payroll submission for their employees.”
At issue is, according to Robinson, requested overpayment for a former county employee’s accumulated sick time. Robinson said he delayed signing the mid-April payroll authorization for the same reason.
For the end-of-month payroll, Taggert said Robinson submitted a court order to remove entries from the payroll claim. Taggert continued that Robinson was violating policy and by doing so interfering with her official duties.
Jefferson County judge responds to payroll controversy, layoffs
The court order directs the county clerk to reduce payroll by $4,866.65 for the April 30 payroll. The deductions are coming from two payees, with $3,850.71 being deducted from the first and $1,015.94 from the second.
“The County Judge does not have the authority to utilize a limited judicial role to execute an executive function,” Taggert wrote in the Monday email. “That is the reason Arkansas Constitution speaks of the separation of powers doctrine. Signing claims, including payroll claims, is an executive function of the County Judge and County Clerk. I have executed my function by submitting payroll on three (3) separate occasions which have all been denied by the County Judge.”
Taggert continued that she would submit the April 30 payroll claim to the judge’s office on Monday morning, unaltered from what she first turned it in on April 18, “as my responsibility is to submit payroll based on what has been received by elected officials.”
Dispute between judge and clerk’s office may delay pay to Jefferson County employees
A spokesperson for the county judge’s office said Monday that the county clerk is not complying with the court order. They would not confirm or deny that the judge has signed the payroll claim.
The Jefferson County Quorum Court is hosting a town hall at 6 p.m. Tuesday night in the David W. Reynolds Community Services Center. “Unpaid/Denied Claims (Payroll)” is one of the items on the meeting’s agenda.
Jefferson County Quorum Court files lawsuit against county judge
When asked about a county judge’s powers, an Arkansas attorney general spokesperson replied in an email, “Our office has no information to provide at this time.”
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK.
