A campaign has begun to defeat the one-cent city Little Rock sales tax increase set for a special election Sept. 14.
Here’s one of two money-raising websites already up and running.
It says:
Responsible Taxation for Little Rock is an Arkansas Legislative Question Committee and may receive contributions in accordance with Arkansas law from individuals, approved political action committees, businesses, partnerships and corporations.
Contributions from foreign nationals are prohibited by law. State law requires that we collect and report name, address, occupation and employer of contributors.
Contributions are not tax deductible for Federal income tax purposes.
The committee filed papers Tuesday.
Its directors include City Director Lance Hines, who’s criticized Mayor Frank Scott Jr.’s plans for spending the expected $53 million a year in new money for 10 years. Other directors are Frank Lawrence, Ray Dillon and John Parke, all from the western side of town (in Parke’s case, Paron). Lawrence is a retired banker and CEO of Little Rock Athletic Centers; Dillon is former CEO of Deltic Timber, developer of Chenal Valley, and , until the first of this month, a member of the Little Rock Port Authority, and Parke is a businessman and Department of Human Services’ director of Medicaid payment integrity.
There’s a Twitter account.
If you would like to help in the fight go tohttps://t.co/seFPhFkING
— Responsible Taxation for Little Rock (@21rebuildno) July 28, 2021
And here’s another anti-tax website.
Responsible Taxation for Little Rock is a committee of concerned residents who think in the middle of a pandemic is not the time to increase the sales tax on groceries and school supplies and essentials that we need to live and raise our families in Little Rock. Working families are struggling to make ends meet and sucking millions of dollars from the pockets of residents for pet projects is not the way to make our city safer and stronger. Vote no on raising the sales tax in Little Rock on September 14.
When the City Board voted to put the tax on the ballot, Hines was joined by Directors Joan Adcock and Doris Wright in opposition. Ken Richardson voted present. The other six vote for the election. In meetings since, directors have had differences on spending the money, with particular questions about education, housing and crime initiatives. The mayor has made a Zoo expansion a signature part of his plan, along with investments in parks. He’s also put a focus on aid to neighborhoods underserved in the past, generally referring to poorer neighborhoods with larger minority populations. Many residents in West Little Rock, a growth area thanks to higher-income housing development, conversely feel their part of town hasn’t shared proportionally in city services given its positive impact on city growth.