Opinion says city can set tax vote

Sherwood's City Council has the power to determine when a millage election for a new library can be scheduled, instead of relying on petitioners' preferences, a state attorney general's opinion released Monday stated.

The opinion, requested by state Rep. Jim Nickels, D-Sherwood, asked if petitioners asking for a property tax election for a new library have the authority to set the month of a special election and whether the city council can decide whether to schedule that vote for either a special or general election.

Sherwood aldermen on May 27 voted for an amendment favoring the Nov. 2 general election for a millage vote to replace the Amy Sanders Library, 31 Shelby Road. The original legislation followed petitioners' request for a citywide vote to be held in a special election.

Bobby Roberts, Central Arkansas Library System director, had told the council during a previous meeting that petitioners' preference was for a special election to allow voters to focus on the library issue. The library campaign, he added, could get lost among statewide races during the Nov. 2 election. The Sanders library is a branch within the library system.

Some aldermen countered that a general election would provide the opportunity for more residents to vote on the issue because special elections generally have much lower voter turnouts.

The opinion said that the Arkansas Supreme Court has stated the actual election date is "generally a matter for local officials, rather than the petition." The opinion also said the city's governing body "has the discretion" to call a special election or present the issue to voters in a general election, citing the Local Government Library Bond Act of 1993.

The library proposal is for a 1.3-mill property tax to be levied in Sherwood that would back a $6 million bond issue to replace the Sanders Library, the oldest branch within the library system. If passed, the millage increase would mean the owner of a $150,000 house in Sherwood would pay an additional $39 annually in property taxes. A mill is one-tenth of a cent.

Metro on 06/24/2014

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