RISON - The Rison City Council officially declared the office of city recorder/treasurer vacant and approved the appointment of Rhonda Hopson as the interim recorder/treasurer through the end of the year.The city council's actions come after the passing of Rison City Recorder/Treasurer Rhonda Thompson on Aug. 2. Thompson had served as recorder/treasurer for 15 years. In addition, Thompson also served as the city's office/business manager with the responsibility of overseeing the city's day-to-day business like paying for expenses and doing payroll.While Thompson held both roles with the city, they are two separate positions. Recorder/ treasurer is an elected position that requires the holder to live within the city limits. The office/ business manager position is a paid job for the city separate from that of the recorder/treasurer. The office/business manager position does not require the person to be a resident of the city. Rison Mayor Charles Roberts said after the meeting that Hopson's appointment is to the fill the vacancy in the city recorder/ treasurer position until Dec. 31, 2024, which is the end of Thompson's current term. Hopson was not appointed to fill the office/business manager position. The city began running an advertisement in the Herald this week seeking applicants for that position.Since the passing of Thompson, Star City recorder/treasurer Alicia Hawkins has been handling Thompson's duties for the City of Rison. Hawkins and Hopson were both at the city council meeting Tuesday night.Before the city council took action on appointing Hopson to the position, the city council voted to officially declare the office of recorder/treasurer vacant. Immediately after that, the council approved Hopson’s appointment as recorder/treasurer through the end of the year.Budget ResolutionsAlso during Tuesday night’s meeting, which was for both August and September, the city council approved two resol...
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