Harrison voters reject 1% sales, use tax again

Harrison voters rejected a 1 percent sales and use tax Tuesday that would have helped fund its fire and police agencies.

The unofficial results, said Beckie Benton, the Boone County election coordinator, were:

For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .722 Against. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 994

The new tax would have generated about $4 million a year, said Mayor Jeff Crockett.

Crockett said it’s the third time the tax proposal has been voted down. The first time was in 2012, when it was part of a countywide proposal, he said. The second time was last November, when it was on the ballot as a city sales and use tax.

That money could have helped the city’s Fire Department buy three new pumper trucks, which cost about $400,000 each, Crockett said.

“If we don’t get them replaced before too long, it’s going to affect our ISO ratings, which will affect everybody’s casualty insurance, fire insurance cost for every homeowner and business owner in the city,” Crockett said.

Insurance Service Office is a company based in Jersey City, N.J., that collects information on municipal fire-protection efforts in communities throughout the United States and assigns a classification regarding fire protection. The ratings go from 1 through 10, with Class 1 being the best. Crockett said Harrison is currently rated as Class 3.

Of the revenue collected from the proposed tax, 25 percent would have gone to the Fire Department, and 25 percent would have gone to the Police Department, said Benton.

Of the remaining revenue collected through the 1 percent tax, 40 percent would have gone to the general fund (part of which would be used to pay for residential trash collection) and 10 percent would have gone to parks and recreation, she said.

Crockett said he was disappointed in the results of Tuesday’s vote.

“The people decided what they wanted to do, but I think an awful lot of them listened to misinformation,” Crockett said.

Opponents of the tax said it would have provided an increase in raises and benefits of 60 percent for fire and police agencies’ employees, but that’s not true, said Crockett. The sales-tax revenue would have gone primarily for equipment and infrastructure, not raises, he said.

Supporters of the tax increase argued that Harrison Fire Department employees are among the lowest-paid in the state.

In response to the 60 percent raise claim, Harrison Fire Chief Marc Lowery wrote on the department’s Facebook page that no percentage had been established for raises.

“While I am confident anyone would love that kind of increase, it is simply inaccurate,” he wrote. “The members of the Harrison Fire and Police Departments are not asking to be paid like big cities and understand the burdens of extra taxes. However, these dedicated and highly trained professionals deserve to be compensated for their service (at a minimum) comparable to other cities of our size because the fires they fight or the criminals they deal with are not any less severe simply because we are a smaller city.”

Police Chief Paul Woodruff also was disappointed.

“It’s a shame the tax was voted down,” he said in an email. “The police side of the tax would have been for added employees, equipment, updated dispatch for police and fire, and a very small amount going towards raises.”

Currently, Harrison has a half-percent sales tax that provides money for infrastructure and a quarter-percent sales tax that provides revenue for the general fund, said Crockett. Both of those taxes are set to expire in 2018.

Arkansas, Pages 18 on 04/13/2014

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