GARLAND CO., Ark. (KATV) — A group in Garland County has submitted a petition to county officials that would reduce library tax revenue by one-third—from 1.6 to 1.0 percent.

The library tax has not changed since the late 1990s.

George Pritchett, a member of the Garland County Tax Alliance, said the library would not be defunded, but rather the property tax would be adjusted to put money back into taxpayers’ pockets.

“In the late ’90s, Garland County voted to fund the library with $1.6 million based on property values ​​at the time,” Pritchett said.

“Real estate prices have skyrocketed beyond normal inflation levels. This means there is still enough money to finance the library.”

Pritchett said the petition received 130 of the 100 signatures required under the Arkansas Constitution to put it on the ballot.

Adam Webb, executive director of the Garland County Library, said that in addition to state grants, which make up about 5 percent of their budget, much of it comes from property taxes.

“I don’t have that much room in my budget to absorb those cuts, and that would have pretty drastic consequences for Garland County,” Webb said. “I mean, there’s no place where I can cut a million dollars and still provide the services that we provide today.”

Pritchett said he believes the library has used about 60 percent of its budget, while most county agencies use about 90 percent.

“They’re not spending all the money they get that keeps piling up,” Pritchett said. “The purpose of taxes is not to pile up surpluses somewhere, the purpose of taxes is to pay for operating costs. We just think the appropriations are overkill, and the Garland County Tax Alliance is out to find ways to save taxpayers money and put more money back into taxpayers’ pockets.”

Webb argues that this could significantly reduce resources such as educational activities for children or the provision of resources for students outside of school.

“We would have to look at staffing levels, hours of operation and the days we are open,” Webb said. “We actually could not maintain our services at current levels with a 40 percent cut in our funding.”

Pritchett said if the petition is not placed on the November ballot, the alliance will take legal action to have a judge decide whether the petition should be placed on the ballot under state law.

This application was submitted to the district authorities on Friday.

According to the Garland County Clerk’s Office, 108 of the signatures were verified and the application was submitted to the county judge for final approval.