Three sales tax issues concerning budgets for police and firefighters in Mountain Home and an expansion of the Baxter County jail are on ballots for special elections Sept. 12.
Early voting on the measures begins Tuesday.
Mountain Home officials are asking for a three-eighths percent sales tax to help replace aging equipment for the city's Police and Fire departments and to hire a full-time animal control officer and code enforcement officer.
If favored, the tax will generate $1.7 million annually, said Travis Dover, president of the Mountain Home Professional Firefighters Association. The association is overseeing the promotion of the tax, said Dover, who also works for the Mountain Home Fire Department.
County officials also are seeking two sales tax increases to combat overcrowding at the county jail in Mountain Home.
The first is a 1 percent countywide sales tax that, if passed, is estimated to raise $4.6 million. Collection of the tax would begin in March when tourists flock to Lake Norfork, and it would end eight months later. The money would be used to pay for adding 48 to 55 beds to the 100-bed jail built in 2004.
The second tax, a one-fourth percent county sales tax, would be collected permanently and is estimated to raise $1.6 million a year to pay for upkeep and salaries of additional staff, said Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery.
Each of the three taxes is needed to fund the services that residents of Mountain Home and Baxter County need, supporters say.
"There's always a demand on public safety," Dover said. "This tax is a mechanism to attach to our community. As the community grows, we would grow with it."
Dover said the Mountain Home Fire Department uses vehicles that are at least 22 years old, and the department -- now with 25 firefighters -- has been housed in the same building since 1975.
If the tax passes, it will not be used for salary increases, Dover said.
"This will be a big win for our community," he said. "This will be the biggest thing for the Fire Department since it went from being volunteer to professional."
Police Chief Carry Manuel said the tax also would be used to replace police vehicles on a five-year basis and provide newer equipment for his 26 officers.
"Cars are a high priority," he said. "We have a handful of late models that have been donated, but a majority of our cars are older models that need repair. We want to get to the point of not having to replace things [only] when they die."
He said officers are using laptops that are eight years old. Police departments generally replace and upgrade computers every three years.
"We want to elevate our services and do a better job for the citizens of our town," Manuel said.
The county is using a unique approach to build an addition to its jail by imposing a short-lived 1 percent sales tax rather than a lesser tax collected over a longer period, Montgomery said. A majority of those paying the tax would be visitors during the summer, he said.
The 1 percent sales tax would expire Oct. 31, 2018. The one-fourth percent sales tax would begin Nov. 1, 2018.
Montgomery said construction of the jail addition should be completed in April or May 2019.
The sheriff has been a proponent of jail expansion for several years. County voters turned down a sales tax in 2011 that would have funded construction of additional jail space. Montgomery said the jail was crowded and presented safety issues for his workers.
In December 2012, he used a cutting torch to remove 58 of the 102 steel beds from the jail to save $60,000 a year in food, medical treatment, clothing and other costs for housing additional inmates.
"We're taking a different approach," he said of the taxes. "Our intention is not to burden everyone with a long tax. We will let our visitors help pay for this."
The one-fourth percent sales tax would pay for salaries for additional staff and for upkeep of the new addition.
"The county doesn't have the funds to hire more people without the tax," the sheriff said. "We will work with jail standards and not put our folks in any safety issues."
He said the state Criminal Detention Facilities Review Committee has conducted inspections of the jail and noted it was too crowded each time.
Last month, Montgomery sent eight inmates to the Arkansas Department of Correction, dropping the number of prisoners in his jail to 98.
When prisoners outnumber the beds in the jail, "we put them on the floor," he said.
The county discussed calling for a sales tax last year, but neighboring Marion County asked for a half-percent sales tax in November to fund construction of a new jail. The tax passed.
Officials have some concern about how the city and county are holding special elections on the same day.
"It's an unexpected challenge that came up," Dover said. "Originally, the county talked of having the election on Oct. 10. We set our date for Sept. 12 and then we found out we had company on the ballot."
Those living in Mountain Home will vote on all three proposals because the city is part of the county. County residents will only vote on the two jail tax issues.
Montgomery said county officials opted to set their election for Sept. 12 to cut the costs of holding two special elections.
"I don't think this will hurt either measure," the sheriff said. "We've had good feedback, and people see the need for these."
State Desk on 09/03/2017