Less than 1 percent of the 126,911 eligible voters have cast early ballots so far in Tuesday's Little Rock library bond refinancing election.
By the close of polls Friday, 284 people had voted on the measure, according to totals provided by the Pulaski County Election Commission.
Early voting continues Monday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Pulaski County Regional Building at 501 W. Markham St.
Election-day voting Tuesday will run from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at individual polling stations across the city.
Little Rock registered voters are being asked to refinance a series of bonds that will reduce the overall millage that property owners pay, while also extending the payment on the bonds by a few years.
Central Arkansas Library System officials say the refinancing would generate between $15 million and $17 million for projects at Little Rock libraries. The vote won't affect libraries in the system's other areas of coverage in Pulaski and Perry counties.
Library administrators plan to use the funds to buy more computers, books and add to other collections, as well as build additions onto three branches and purchase Internet-related technology upgrades.
Executive Director Bobby Roberts said he's optimistic about the vote, adding that the library system has grown so much that the upgrades are needed.
"The robo calls we did on the polling look pretty good, but those are not really scientific," Roberts said last week. "I think all you can do on an issue like this is make sure you get your message out. The coalition is working on that."
The Coalition for Neighborhood Libraries has been sending out emails and fliers ahead of the election. The fliers tout that more than 1.7 million people visited a library in Little Rock in 2014 and that more than 170,000 people attended about 5,500 programs.
"Millage bonds are earmarked only for library use and cannot be diverted to any other purpose," the flier said. "The taxes are paid on personal and real property taxes in the Little Rock city limits, and the money paid for the bonds is tax deductible if income taxes are itemized."
If voters approve refinancing a series of 2008 and 2009 bonds, annual overall library taxes for a homeowner with a $100,000 house will be reduced from $102 to $100.
The current 1 mill assessed on those bonds would decrease to 0.9 mill, and the payment period would be extended another four years past the current end date of 2028.
A mill is one-tenth of 1 cent, with each mill producing $1 in tax revenue for every $1,000 of taxable property.
In all, Little Rock property owners pay 5.1 mills for library bonds or operations now. That would decrease to 5 mills if the refinancing is approved.
The Little Rock Board of Directors has indicated its support for the project.
Expansion and major renovations are planned for the Dee Brown Library, the John Gould Fletcher Library and the Roosevelt Thompson Library. Smaller, limited remodeling is scheduled for the Main Library and the Sue Cowan Williams Library. The upgrades to Brown, Fletcher and Thompson will add at least 2,000 square feet and reconfigure the children's areas.
About $2 million raised from the refinancing would be dedicated to technology upgrades, such as Internet bandwidth and digital equipment, including computers. Roberts said that's a big need.
"Internet service is an endless need in this community, and ours is at capacity, and we need to make it more efficient. We don't need long lines of people waiting for Internet, which is what we are heading toward," he said. "The main thing is the library is getting a lot of use. This is the cheapest way I know to push the system up another notch."
Metro on 07/12/2015