Garland County officials set public hearing to discuss proposed cut to tax funding local library

The Garland County Library in Hot Springs (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)

A proposed cut to the property tax that funds the Garland County Library received enough support to qualify for the November ballot, but whether it will be on the ballot remains to be seen.

Opponents of the initiative have been critical of the fact that a supporter notarized his own signature on the petition, which is prohibited by state law.

The proposal would reduce the 1.6-mill tax, approved by county voters in 1998, to 1.0 mills. An earlier version of the measure sought to eliminate the tax completely, but supporters altered it after county residents raised concerns that the library would close without the tax funding.

Supporters of the measure submitted 131 signatures to County Clerk Sarah Smith’s office Aug. 2, and 108 were verified to be from registered voters in the county, Smith said Wednesday. Amendment 38 of the Arkansas Constitution requires at least 100 valid signatures for a proposal to change the tax levy that funds a local library.

When asked Wednesday if the measure would be on the ballot, Smith said County Attorney John Howard and County Judge Darryl Mahoney would decide “where we go next.”

On Monday, Mahoney scheduled a public hearing for 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 4 at which people can ask and answer questions about the petition.

Citizen-led initiative petitions must be notarized before they are submitted to local or state officials. Notary public Russell Thomas notarized 71 of the signatures, including his own, according to the petition documents, which are publicly available on the Garland County website.

A notary public “cannot notarize his/her own signature, or a document to which the notary is party,” according to the Arkansas Secretary of State’s handbook for notaries public .

George Pritchett, a spokesperson for the supporters of the measure, said he expects Thomas’ signature on the petition to be the only one nullified by his notarization, rather than all 10 signatures on the page in question.

Another notary, Tori Anna Marrin, signed the petition and notarized 40 signatures, but the pages she notarized did not include her own signature.

Pritchett expressed frustration with the upcoming county meeting and said county officials are “playing with numbers” and “trying to burn up the time” allowed to get the measure on the ballot.

Amendment 38 says a petition to change the library tax must be filed with the county at least 30 days before the election, which this year is Nov. 5.

Supporters of the measure are seeking more signatures in case they need to file another petition with county officials, Pritchett said.

“They’re going to use up a couple weeks, but we’ll regroup now knowing they’re going to try to use up 19 days in the month of August plus four in September,” he said. “…It’s very clear what the process and procedure [are], and we followed it to the letter.”

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Projected impact

Pritchett and Reggie Cowan, who also supports the measure , have said the Garland County Library receives too much tax money and can function on its cash reserves. They have also said library funding would be in the hands of the county quorum court.

Library Executive Director Adam Webb said in a July article in the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record that the library has $5 million set aside in “nontax accounts,” but he has said the idea that the library can rely on its reserves is not true.

The current millage brings in roughly $3.6 million annually for Garland County Library maintenance and operations, and the proposed 0.6-mill tax reduction would cut the library’s budget by $1 million and might force it to reduce its hours or limit its more expensive services, Webb said in July.

On July 17 , Mahoney shared a Facebook post from the library with a statement from Webb explaining the potential negative impact of the proposed ballot measure.

The Garland County Library’s 2024 budget anticipated $4.1 million in revenue and $3.9 million in expenses, leaving about $200,000. Webb said having some money left over is important “to make sure we have enough to pay the bills between tax settlements.”

If the measure is successful, Garland County would be Arkansas’ second county in two years, after Craighead County, to vote to reduce its library system’s tax revenue. Pritchett has said the Garland County effort is based on the one in Craighead County, a narrowly-approved 2022 measure that cut the libraries’ funding in half and forced the system to reduce its hours and staff .

Library systems in other Arkansas counties, including neighboring Saline County, have seen recent scrutiny from the public about how much money they have and how they spend it.

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