Collection of a renewed sales tax in Osceola won’t begin until three months after an existing 1 percent tax expires, resulting in the Mississippi County town losing about $300,000 in potential tax revenue, Mayor Dickie Kennemore said Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Osceola voters approved extending the sales tax, which was originally set in 1983 and then renewed for 20 years in 1993.
Monette residents also favored a 1 percent sales tax Tuesday for the small eastern Craighead County town.
Revenue from both taxes will fund city services, officials said.
Complete, but unofficial results were:
Osceola 1 percent sales tax For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243
Monette 1 percent sales tax For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Kennemore said his city’s sales tax is expected to generate about $1.2 million yearly.
When City Council members voted to seek the tax’s renewal earlier this year, they thought the tax expired in December, Kennemore said. Instead, collection of the citywide tax ends on June 30.With Tuesday’s passage, the tax will go back into effect on Oct. 1 - three months after the expiration.
“There’s a gap,” Kennemore said. “It slipped up on us. We were told it expired at the end of the year. At least we know we’ll have money coming in later, though.”
In Monette, Mayor Jerry Qualls credited a detailed information campaign about the tax for its passage.
Monette, a city of 1,500, became one of the last incorporated Craighead County towns to pass a sales tax.
“If you let people know the need for it, it has a chance of passing,” Qualls said. “Otherwise, some think you’re just pushing a tax on them for no reason.”
Revenue from the 1 percent tax, which is estimated to bring in $100,000 a year, will be disbursed among several city departments.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 20 on 05/19/2013