Sebastian County vote set on continuing 1% sales tax

Thursday, February 21, 2013

— The Sebastian County Quorum Court scheduled a special election May 14 for renewal of a 1 percent countywide sales tax, the revenue from which benefits large segments of the county.

The tax, which first went into effect in 1994, is scheduled to expire in mid-2014. If the tax is renewed, according to the resolution the Quorum Court passed Tuesday, it would remain in effect for another 10 years.

The resolution states that the county would use a large portion of its share of the tax for public safety.

If approved by voters, 54.5 percent of the county’s $3.5 million annual share of the tax would be spent on county jail operating expenses, and9 percent would be spent on operating the youthful-offender detention center.

The county would dedicate 9 percent of the tax revenue to three patrol deputy positions. Five percent would go for rural fire departments, and 2 percent would be spent on the county’s Emergency Medical Services department.

The resolution states that the remainder of the tax revenue would be spent for senior-citizen centers, 1 percent; the Scott/SebastianCounty library, 0.5 percent; county employee health care and worker compensation, 7 percent; and county parks, 1 percent.

Another 11 percent of the tax is earmarked to be saved in the county’s capital account. The Quorum Court voted to use the money, if needed, in case the U.S. Department of Justice forces the county to allocate more for jail operations.

In 2006, the county and the Justice Department entered into a memorandum of agreement to ensure that the constitutional rights of prisoners were being protected and that the county was following state and federal laws in operating the jail. The memorandum followed a Justice Department investigation into conditions at the jail in 2005.

Also Tuesday, the Fort Smith Board of Directors passed a resolution endorsing continuation of the countywide sales tax and setting out how the city would spend its share of the tax revenue.

Police and fire services would receive 76 percent of the tax revenue, according to the resolution; library programs would receive 6 percent; senior-citizen services would get 1.5 percent; park operations would receive 2.5 percent; downtown, riverfront and convention center improvements would receive 3 percent; and public transportation would receive 3 percent.

According to the resolution, 8 percent of the revenue would be used to replace revenue lost through repeal of the city’s business license requirement.

Of the $22.4 million the tax generated last year, Fort Smith’s share was $15.3 million. The tax revenue is apportioned by population.

The other cities in the county that receive a share of the tax are Barling, Bonanza, Central City, Greenwood, Hackett, Hartford, Huntington, Lavaca, Mansfield and Midland.

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 02/21/2013