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Homepage > News > 15 Forestry Firefighter Positions to Be Restored

A plan was unveiled today to restore the jobs for 15 firefighters who were previously laid off by the Arkansas Forestry Commission. Arkansas House Speaker Robert Moore and Representative Bobby Pierce approached Governor Mike Beebe with a plan to re-direct $550,000 from the Arkansas Agriculture Department budget to the Forestry Commission. The Governor has agreed to re-direct the funds. “We want to make sure, as we approach the warmest and driest months of the year, that every home and property in Arkansas is protected as much as possible,” said Speaker Moore. “Losing so many of our firefighters was cause for great concern. We thank Governor Beebe for working with the House to come up with a reasonable solution.” The firefighting positions will be restored in Bradley, Columbia, Conway, Drew, Fulton, Grant, Hempstead, Ouachita, Saline, Sevier and Union Counties. Speaker Moore and Rep. Pierce brought the idea of reallocating $550,000 after examining the Agriculture Department’s turn-back funds in recent years. The Agriculture Department will still have sufficient funds for its obligations. A shortfall in the Forestry Commission’s budget lead to layoffs in the agency late last year. This is not an alternative to the Governor's supplemental appropriation request of $2.7 million for the Forestry Commission. That money would cover salaries for the remainder of the fiscal year and would repay money the agency borrowed from the federal government. Legislators will vote on supplemental appropriations in the upcoming Fiscal Session.