FAYETTEVILLE — FAYETTEVILLE - Voters defeated a proposed Washington County public-transit tax.
Unofficial results showed: For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,391 Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,001
Ozark Regional Transit had said it could not pay for public transportation needs unless its money for Washington County was almost tripled.
Opponents had said the proposed increase was too much, and they criticized the transit provider for breakingwith a regional transportation approach.
At issue was whether to approve a quarter-percent sales tax that would have raised about $7.5 million for transit. A quarterpercent tax would be 25 cents on a $100 purchase.
The transit budget for a twocounty area in Northwest Arkansas is about $2.8 million a year, which includes federal transportation money; fares; and payments from cities, counties and social-service agencies.
Arkansas, Pages 19 on 05/23/2012