Trumann voters will decide Sept. 13 on a 1 percent citywide sales tax that's proposed to generate enough money to fund long-range projects for the Poinsett County city.
Early voting begins today.
The city's budget committee called for the special election after discussing several improvements needed in the city of 7,155.
"You have to have funds to do things," Mayor Barbara Lewallen said. "Small towns like ours don't have a lot of cash laying around. We have a laundry list of community improvements and quality-of-life improvements we need to do."
Voters approved a 1 percent sales tax in Trumann in 2009 to fund work on utilities, streets and sewers.
The mayor said the city needs more revenue to continue making improvements. Revenue from the tax, if passed, will garner "several hundred thousand" dollars a year and be placed in the city's general revenue fund.
"We have aging infrastructure," Lewallen said. "We need to repair sewer and water lines. Sanitation is another issue. We need a more efficient and costly way of getting rid of our trash."
The city's water comes from a well that is more than 65 years old, she said. The Arkansas Department of Health determined the well must be upgraded, and the cost to do so has been estimated at more than $300,000.
Trumann sits on flat land and storm water drainage is another problem, Lewallen said. The city has 48 lift stations to help pump water into drainage ditches, but portions of the city still flood during heavy rains.
"We've identified a whole lot of service improvements," she said.
Trumann Fire Chief Revis Kemper said if the tax passes, his fire department could afford to buy a new ladder truck. The city's fire department maintains an Insurance Service Office fire rating of 4, which regulates the cost of fire insurance in the town.
To maintain that rating, Kemper said, he needs to replace the department's 44-year-old truck.
"If we lose it, or it fails inspection, we'll go to a Class 5," Kemper said.
He added the city could hire three firefighters to raise its ISO rating to 3. Each one-point raise in a fire rating is equal to about a 5 percent reduction in fire insurance costs, the chief said.
The fire department currently has six paid firefighters and 20 volunteers.
City officials acknowledged passing tax measures are difficult and they are conducting a low-key campaign in favor of the 1 percent tax.
"We're not going door-to-door and we're not really publicly advertising it," Kemper said. "But I've been to organizations to speak and we do talk about it."
If voters favor the tax, Trumann's tax rate will be 9.75. Two other Poinsett County towns -- Marked Tree and county seat Harrisburg -- currently have tax rates of 9.75 percent. Lepanto, in the eastern edge of the county, levies a 10-percent sales tax.
State Desk on 09/06/2016