Little Rock city board votes to approve sales tax increase for November ballot

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Those living in Little Rock will soon be voting on a proposed sales tax increase after a Tuesday city board meeting.

A special meeting was called where the proposed sales tax increase was discussed and voted on, passing 8-0 and now ready to move to the ballot for residents to vote.

“Tonight, the City of Little Rock Board of Directors and myself made a strong, significant, and successful step toward reinvesting in the City of Little Rock,” Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said.

If the sales tax passes in November on the ballot, it is estimated to bring in $650 million over the next 10 years. 5/8 would go toward capital projects and expire after 10 years, while the remaining 3/8th would be permanent funding for infrastructure and maintenance.

“We need more resources to take us to the next level, we have done a lot with less over the past 5 1/2 years we want to do more for you together,” Scott said.

City officials said improvements will be seen in four pillar areas including: Public safety, public infrastructure, parks and recreation, and port and economic development.

Before the vote the board listened to various comments from residents of Little Rock speaking both for and against the proposed sales tax.

Dawn Jeffery is not in support of the tax, saying it allocates too much money to large entities and not enough into the community.

“We want to see more invested in communities, more invested in housing, more invested in mental health and substance abuse counseling,” Jeffery said.

However, others say the improvements for the community are worth giving up some to other areas of the city.

“Yes we will give up having up pay a little extra money when we go get our groceries or when we go buy things at Walmart, but it’s going to go toward something good,” Michelle Foster said.

More information on the sales tax can be found at LittleRock.gov .

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