Alma voters Tuesday approved all seven improvement projects in a package to be paid for with revenue from a 1 percent sales tax.
With complete and unofficial totals, the vote counts were:
Street improvement bonds
For 288
Against 154
Fire Department improvement bonds
For 296
Against 151
Police Department improvement bonds
For 291
Against 156
Park and recreation facilities improvement bonds
For 278
Against 165
Downtown streetscape improvement bonds
For 270
Against 177
Parking improvement bonds
For 256
Against 192
Refinancing bonds
For 280
Against 161
The revenue from the 1 percent sales tax now is being used to pay off water and sewer improvement bonds. Once that debt is paid, possibly by November, officials want to use the revenue from the tax to pay for the improvements approved by voters in Tuesday’s special election. The tax will expire when the projects are paid off. With approval of all the projects, the tax is expected to sunset in 2024.
Officials have stressed that the 1 percent sales tax is not a new tax but the continuation of an existing tax. The city’s sales tax rate totals 9.5 percent.
Among the improvements city officials plan to make with the tax revenue are remodeling or replacing a fire station, adding and replacing firetrucks, downtown streetscape improvements and additional downtown parking, paying off police communication and computer equipment and making park and recreation improvements.
The bond refinance money will be used to refinance $1.5 million in outstanding Capital Improvement Refunding and Improvement Revenue Bonds that were used to pay for renovations to the police station and municipal offices downtown.