BENTONVILLE -- Keeping a 0.5 percent sales tax for highways drew one firm backer, one firm opponent and one firm proponent of any measure acceptable to the public for addressing the road needs of Benton County's state House District 91 in a Tuesday candidate forum.
Contenders Jorge Becker of Centerton, Delia Haak of Gentry and Scott Richardson of Bentonville answered questions for a crowd of at least 60 people at the forum hosted by the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Bentonville chamber. The forum began at 6 p.m. at Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville.
Haak supported extending the sales tax, noting it wasn't a tax increase. The plan, which goes before the voters as part of a proposed constitutional amendment would make permanent a 0.5 percent state sales tax due to expire in 2023. Counties and cities receive a share of the money the tax collects, she said. Losing those taxpayer dollars would severely hurt city street and county road programs, she said.
Richardson opposed the measure. He proposed long-term financing of highways in part by the same means he proposed in his narrowly unsuccessful bid for the office in 2018. State surpluses of taxpayer dollars, which vary from year to year, should go into a long-term capital improvement fund, he said. He also opposed the highway ballot proposal, which would make it very difficult for the Legislature or voters to correct or change.
"I'm a hard no," Richardson said.
Becker will accept the voters' decision on the extending the sales tax, but added the Legislature will have to come up with another option for more stable financing for roads if the voters reject this one. The state and counties' roads need improvement and it's a core function of government to provide those. Both she and Haak said they live in unincorporated portions of Benton County and have to travel dirt roads. "The dirt road that I use now is a war zone," Becker said, with an exposed culvert she has to get around by driving on the side of the road.
State finance took up much of the hour-long debate. All three candidates called for more accountability in state spending and opposition to increased taxes.
Incumbent Rep. Dan Douglas, R-Bentonville, isn't running for reelection. The winner of the March 3 primary will face Democrat Nick Jones in the Nov. 3 general election. Early voting begins Tuesday. A runoff election will be March 31 if none of the candidates get 50% plus one vote in the primary.
District 91 stretches from the western tip of Rogers to the Oklahoma border. It includes Gentry along with almost all of Highfill and Centerton, plus much of Cave Springs and parts of Bentonville. State House members serve two-year terms and have an annual salary of $41,393.
NW News on 02/12/2020