Editing Washington County, Arkansas (section)

==Government==
{{see also|County government in Arkansas|County judge|Quorum Court}}
The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the [[Constitution of Arkansas]] and the [[Arkansas Code]]. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are called ''justices of the peace'' and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year. The number of districts in a county vary from nine to fifteen, and district boundaries are drawn by the county election commission. The Washington County Quorum Court has fifteen members.<ref>{{cite web |title= Washington County |url= http://www.arcounties.org/counties/washington/ |publisher= Association of Arkansas Counties |access-date= October 17, 2019 }}</ref> Presiding over quorum court meetings is the ''county judge'', who serves as the [[chief operating officer]] of the county. The county judge is elected at-large and does not vote in quorum court business, although capable of vetoing quorum court decisions.<ref>{{ Cite encyclopedia |title= Quorum Courts |url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=6348 |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]] |publisher= [[Butler Center for Arkansas Studies]] at the [[Central Arkansas Library System]] |date= March 24, 2014 |last= Teske |first= Steven |access-date= January 23, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{ Cite encyclopedia |title= Office of County Judge |url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=5720 |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]] |publisher= Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System |date= August 28, 2015 |last= Goss |first= Kay C. |access-date= January 23, 2016 }}</ref>

===Current Government===
The current County Judge is [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Patrick Deakins, who was elected to replace Judge Joseph Wood, who retired to run for [[Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas|Arkansas Lieutenant Governor]]. He defeated Democrat Josh Moody in the November 2022 election by 4.46%.
{| class="wikitable"
|+Washington County, Arkansas Elected countywide officials<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Elected Officials {{!}} Washington County, AR |url=https://www.washingtoncountyar.gov/government/elected-officials |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250314123030/https://www.washingtoncountyar.gov/government/elected-officials |archive-date=2025-03-14 |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=www.washingtoncountyar.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>https://www.arcounties.org/site/assets/files/6033/november_races.pdf</ref>
!Position
!Officeholder
!Party
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|[[County judge|County Judge]]
|Patrick Deakins
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|[[Municipal clerk|County Clerk]]
|Becky Lewallen
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|[[Court clerk|Circuit Clerk]]
|Kyle Sylvester
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|[[Sheriff]]
|Jay Cantrell
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|[[Treasurer]]
|Bobby Hill
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|[[Tax collector|Collector]]
|Angela Wood
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|[[Tax assessment|Assessor]]
|Russell Hill
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#92C5DE;
|[[Coroner]]
|Roger Morris
|Democratic
|}
The composition of the Quorum Court following the as of January 2, 2024 is 10 [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and 5 [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]]. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Washington County, Arkansas, elections, 2024 |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_County,_Arkansas,_elections,_2024 |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref> 
*District 1: Bradley Bruns (R); Elected in 2024.
*District 2: David Wilson (R); Elected in 2022.
*District 3: Robert Massingill (R); Elected in 2024.
*District 4: Vladimir Lopez (D); Elected in 2024.
*District 5: Kyle Lyons (R) of Springdale; Elected in 2022.
*District 6: Lisa Ecke (R) of Springdale; Elected in 2014
*District 7: Charles Dean (R) of Fayetteville; Elected in 2022.
*District 8: Shawndra Washington (D) of Fayetteville; Elected in 2018.
*District 9: Beth Coger (D) of Fayetteville; Elected in 2022.
*District 10: Robert Dennis (R) of Prairie Grove; Elected in 2020.
*District 11: Suki Highers (D) of Fayetteville ; Elected in 2018.
*District 12: Evelyn Ríos Stafford (D) of Fayetteville; Elected in 2020.
*District 13: Willie Leming (R) of Lincoln; Elected in 2018
*District 14: Gary Ricker (R) of Fayetteville; Elected in 2022.
*District 15: Butch Pond (R) of Fayetteville; Elected in 2002.
Additionally, the townships of Washington County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by the [[Constitution of Arkansas]]. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a Constable? |url=https://www.uaex.uada.edu/business-communities/ced-blog/posts/2022/may/what-is-a-constable.aspx |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=What is a Constable? |language=en}}</ref> The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:<ref name=":1" />

* District 1: Tom G. Clowers (R)
* District 2: John M. Brooks (D)
* District 3: Kyle Woodruff (R)

===Taxation===
{{See also|Taxation in the United States}}
[[Property tax]] is assessed by the Washington County Assessor annually based upon the fair market value of the property and determining which tax rate, commonly called a ''millage'' in Arkansas, will apply. The rate depends upon the property's location with respect to city limits, school district, and special [[tax increment financing]] (TIF) districts. This tax is collected by the Washington County Collector between the first business day of March of each year through October 15 without penalty. The Washington County Treasurer disburses tax revenues to various government agencies, such as cities, county road departments, fire departments, libraries, and police departments in accordance with the budget set by the quorum court.

Sales and use taxes in Arkansas are voter approved and collected by the [[Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration]].
Arkansas's statewide [[sales tax|sales]] and [[use tax]] has been 6.5% since July 1, 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title= State Tax Rates |url= http://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/offices/exciseTax/salesanduse/Pages/StateTaxRates.aspx |publisher= Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration |access-date= December 19, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161223132933/http://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/offices/exciseTax/salesanduse/Pages/StateTaxRates.aspx |archive-date= December 23, 2016 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Washington County has an additional sales and use tax of 1.25% since December 1, 2004. Within Washington County, Greenland and West Fork have 3.0% additional sales and use tax, Elkins, Prairie Grove, Tontitown have a rate of 2.75%, Farmington, Fayetteville, Johnson, Lincoln, and Springdale are at 2%, and Elm Springs and Goshen have tax rates of 1%.<ref>{{cite web |title= List of Cities and Counties with Local Sales and Use Tax |date= October–December 2019 |url= http://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/offices/exciseTax/salesanduse/Documents/cityCountyTaxTable.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219070244/http://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/offices/exciseTax/salesanduse/Documents/cityCountyTaxTable.pdf |archive-date=December 19, 2009 |url-status=live |publisher= Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration |access-date= October 16, 2019 }}</ref> The [[Arkansas State Treasurer]] disburses tax revenue to counties/cities in accordance with tax rules.