ROGERS — Supporters are gearing up for a summer campaign to get Rogers voters behind a proposal to extend a sales tax to pay for $240 million in capital projects from roads to parks.
The sales-tax extension would be used to issue a new series of bonds. The Aug. 14 vote includes an additional $60 million to repay bonds issued in 2015.
The Committee for the Future of Rogers plans to mail information to residents throughout the summer about the bond issues, said Raymond Burns, head of the committee and president of the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce.
Extending the 1 percent sales tax for capital improvements is not an addition for the city, Rogers Mayor Greg Hines said.
“It is a continuation of bonds that have been active within the city for almost 30 years,” Hines said. “Voters approved paying a tax to pay back the 2011 bond in 2015, and I think they’ll do same this time around.”
Current bonds paid for previous bond issues, city spokesman Ben Cline said.
“It’s like refinancing your house, but at a city level,” Cline said. “Nothing is changing because this tax has been on the books since the early ’80s. All we’re doing is asking the voters to continue it.”
Voters will be asked to approve five questions, one of which is to OK spending almost $60 million to refinance the city’s bond issue of 2015. If they vote against, the four other questions on the ballot will be moot, Cline said.
If a majority of voters decide against refinancing the bond, the 1 percent sales tax would end in 2021, Cline said.
The other questions on the ballot pertain to specific projects the city wants to accomplish, Cline said. The four questions refer to city parks, roads, and fire and police departments.