BENTONVILLE – A majority of Benton County justices of the peace are perplexed about why County Judge Dave Bisbee kept them in the dark about $65,000 in grant money used on security cameras for the County Administration Building when the original intent for the money was to implement a reverse-911 system. Bisbee has criticized former County Judge Gary Black’s administration for not being involved in the county’s pursuit of the emergency calling system; Bisbee killed the project when he took office. Bisbee then used the grant money on the security cameras without the JPs – the county’s governing body – knowing about the change. In an interview with The Daily Record last week, Black said he knew about the reverse-911 project. Minutes of the Aug. 5, 2008, Benton County Finance Committee meeting show the committee voted to pursue reverse 911. On Aug. 12 – with 12 of 13 JPs present – the Committee of 13 voted unanimously to support the project.
The way the story has played out has left more than a few JPs questioning Bisbee’s move. “Bisbee made a big deal about the policymakers not being a part of the expenditures, and of course, that turned out to be wrong,” Justice of the Peace Kurt Moore said. “But (Bisbee) did not bring it back to the policymakers (the Quorum Court) when he decided to change what he was going to do with (the grant money).” Justice Bob Stephenson backed Moore’s sentiments.






