LITTLE ROCK — City Manager Bruce Moore presented the Little Rock Board of Directors with a capital expenditures plan Tuesday that would see $6.5 million in public works projects completed this year.
Some city directors, however, questioned whether the plan correctly prioritized the needs in their various wards.
The directors also called for more input — from the community and from themselves — ahead of any vote on Moore’s recommendations.
Mayor Mark Stodola noted that Moore’s plan was only a guideline meant to start the discussion, so a lengthy public comments process wouldn’t keep the city from getting projects done this year.
“It’s already presumed that there will have to be some flexibility in it,” Stodola said of Moore’s plan. “If you have suggestions, ultimately I would expect the manager to make revisions and ultimately we would come back to ask for a motion on this outline, and I again stress that it is an outline of a plan over 10 years.”
Stodola’s reference was to the capital-improvements portion of the sales-tax increase voters approved in September. It will expire in 10 years after generating about $196 million. The board is in the process of planning how to spend the tax revenue.
Of particular concern for the board was about $1 million in recommended drainage improvements and $3.8 million for resurfacing streets.
For example, in Ward 1, improvements are recommended for 13th Street, Allis Street and Wright Avenue.
City directors wanted to know how the city staff chose the sites they recommended.
“I think at the least there should be more input from the city directors,” Ward 6 Director Doris Wright said. “I think I know my ward better than the staff and some of these may not be the problems that they see as top priority.”
Stodola said he understands that the recommendations may not be those on the top of residents’ lists, but they are on the list.
“These came from the citizens saying ‘Hey, these are problems,’” Stodola said.
In September, voters approved increasing the city’s tax rate from 0.5 percent to 1.5 percent. Three-eighths percent of the tax goes toward capital improvements and five-eighths to operations. People now pay 8.5 percent in sales taxes in Little Rock, which includes a 1 percent county tax and a 6 percent state tax.
City directors are already moving forward with one project: an $8.7 million emergency communications system to replace a nearly 30-year-old radio system.
In December, Little Rock city directors passed a $158.6 million operating budget that included 57 new jobs ranging from a full-time veterinarian for the Little Rock Zoo to 15 maintenance workers for the parks department. Along with the new hires, the budget includes filling 102 vacant positions, including 32 police officer positions and eight code-enforcement positions.
Moore’s plan also includes $407,000 for a pilot program that would see the city hire temporary workers to install sidewalks. The aim of the program is to teach participants a trade so they can land jobs in the private sector, he said. The money would come from prevention, intervention and treatment funds, if approved by the board.
Vice Mayor Dean Kumpuris urged the board to consider setting spending policy before they take the recommendations on the road for public input.
He said spending may not be equal in each ward, since project needs are different in each, but “we need to tell the people how much we will spend on each ward up front.”
Moore said he will return to the board with any revisions and include the methodology behind the selection of the proposed projects. The board could take up the matter again at its meeting next week.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 01/25/2012