NLR mayor to hold forum today on city sales-tax vote

North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith will take his pitch for a new city sales tax to the Patrick Hays Senior Citizens Center at noon today, the fourth of five town-hall-style meetings he has scheduled to promote the special election Aug. 8.

The forum is open to the public, not just members of the senior center.

The senior center building is at 401 W. Pershing Blvd.

The city asks voters to approve a 1 percentage-point increase in the city's sales tax, raising it to 2 percent. The total sales tax consumers pay in North Little Rock is 8.5 percent, which includes a 6.5 percent state tax and a 1 percent Pulaski County tax.

If approved, revenue from the tax increase will be divided equally between a permanent tax to fund city operations and a tax lasting five years for improvements and repairs of city streets and drainage systems, the police and courts building, and fire stations.

The sales tax is projected by city officials to bring in an additional $16 million annually.

Early voting will begin Aug. 1 at the William F. Laman Public Library, 2801 Orange St. The city would begin collection of the tax Jan. 1.

The final public forum will be at 6 p.m. July 27 at Laman Library. That presentation will be before a library audience and shown live through the Facebook social media site that also will allow questions to be taken through the Internet, according to a city spokesman.

Metro on 07/20/2017

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