TRUMANN -- Voters approved a 1 percent sales tax in a special election in Trumann on Tuesday to fund several improvement projects in the Poinsett County town of 7,155.
Complete but unofficial results are:
For 376
Against 312
The tax will generate about $650,000 a year, said Mayor Barbara Lewallen.
"We are excited about the passage, but we wished it would have won by a larger margin," she said. "We want our community to be happy, not divided."
City Council members called for the election earlier this year after assessing city needs that included constructing a new water well; repairing drainage issues; improving garbage-collection services; and lowering the Fire Department's Insurance Services Office fire rating of 4, which regulates the cost of residents' fire insurance.
Lewallen said the city's first priority is to build a new well.
The city's water comes from a well that is more than 65 years old, the mayor said. The Arkansas Department of Health determined the well should be upgraded. Lewallen said that will cost more than $300,000.
Trumann Fire Chief Revis Kemper said earlier this month that if the tax passed, he could afford to buy a new ladder truck and to hire three more firefighters. The Trumann Fire Department has six paid firefighters and 20 volunteers.
Lewallen said the City Council's budget committee will now assess priorities and determine what the tax revenue can be used for.
"I hope the improvements we make will make others in the community realize the things we needed to do," she said.
About 22 percent of Trumann's registered voters cast ballots in the special election.
"It mattered to enough people to vote for this and support the tax," Lewallen said. "This will benefit the entire community."
Tuesday's passage raises Trumann's tax rate to 9.75 percent, equaling two other Poinsett County towns -- Marked Tree and the county seat, Harrisburg. Lepanto, on the eastern edge of the county, has a rate of 10 percent.
State Desk on 09/14/2016