Franklin County invites Benton County to meet

Franklin County commissioners have a Valentine message of sorts for Benton County: Let’s meet.

In a sign of thawing between the counties, Franklin County commissioners voted Wednesday to send a letter to their Benton County counterparts proposing a March meeting to discuss the communications meltdown that has played out in headlines in recent weeks.

The counties are at loggerheads over the cost of bicounty operations, most recently the joint Benton-Franklin Superior Court district.

Benton County has accused Franklin of being unresponsive, most notably over the bicounty public defense office.

And Benton commissioners have investigated seeking legislation to break up the bicounty judicial district, saying it subsidizes Franklin County’s share of the administrative cost by more than $660,000. Franklin County has said it wants to pay its share, but wants an outside party review to verify the amount.

Benton County Chairman Shon Small and Franklin County Chairman Rick Miller have spoken by phone but no meeting has been scheduled.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 6:07 PM with the headline "Franklin County invites Benton County to meet."