Hathaway Reports to Visitors on Pulco Public Safety Report

Former Chancellor Charles E. Hathaway will brief members of the UALR Board of Visitors Thursday on a task force study he chaired this year on Pulaski County public safety concerns. The board will meets for its regular monthly meeting at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at the Ted and Virginia Bailey Alumni and Friends Center at 28th Street and Campus Drive West. A UALR Task Force on Public Safety released the results of its nine-month study in July. The panel concluded that safety and security of Pulaski County citizens require a .25 percent increase in sales taxes, but only if major changes are made in the management of county finances. According to the report, much of the crisis comes from society’s epidemic of drug abuse. The report recommended allocating 10 percent of the county’s public safety money to proven effective prevention, intervention, and treatment programs for drug and alcohol abusers. “Those who worked on this task force did not anticipate that a recommendation for a .25 cent sales and use tax would be the outcome,” the report said. “However, (members) realized that the jail situation is in a crisis that affects the whole of the criminal justice system. The crisis is rendering harm to the county.” The panel made 16 recommendations, some of which were likely to be controversial. “The report may provide enough controversy so as to stimulate much-needed action,” it said, promising that UALR – if asked – stood ready to lend expertise, facilitate discussion, and organize workshops to aid in implementing the recommended changes.