Mayor Joe Smith will make a presentation on the upcoming sales-tax election in North Little Rock during a town-hall meeting tonight.
The Aug. 8 special election, now less than a month away, will ask voters to approve a 1 percentage-point increase in the city's sales tax. North Little Rock now has a 1 percent city sales tax as part of the total 8.5 percent sales tax charged to consumers.
If passed, revenue collected from the sales tax is to be divided equally for different purposes. One half-percent will be a permanent tax for city operations. The other half-percent will be in effect for five years to use toward improvements to the police and courts building, fire stations and streets and drainage, as will be stated on the ballot.
Today's town hall is the third of five scheduled for the public to hear the mayor's presentation on the need for the additional tax. Smith has also met with several neighborhood associations and civic and business organizations to promote the tax increase.
Today's meeting will be at at 6 p.m. at the North Heights Community Center, 4801 Allen St.
The next meeting will be at noon next Thursday at the Patrick Henry Hays Senior Citizens Center, 401 W. Pershing Blvd.
The City Council decided in May to call the special election instead of implementing a garbage fee to increase revenue. The city doesn't charge for garbage or yard-waste pickup.
During the first two town halls, Smith has said that "doing nothing isn't an option," and added that he doesn't believe a garbage fee would be fair, partly because apartment renters wouldn't be charged the fee. He also has called the addition of a garbage fee "a Band-Aid at best," because the revenue wouldn't keep pace with future financial needs, according to city projections.
Smith also said a downtown plaza he is pushing to create along Main Street isn't connected to the sales-tax question, saying at the last town hall that the plaza will be developed "whether this penny passes or not."
Collection of the new tax would begin Jan. 1. Early voting will begin Aug. 1 at the William F. Laman main library, 2801 Orange St.
North Little Rock's sales tax consists of the city's 1 percent tax, a 1 percent Pulaski County tax and a 6.5 percent state tax.
Metro on 07/13/2017