Garland County officials have scheduled a public hearing to discuss proposed tax cuts for the local library • Arkansas Advocate
A proposed Reduction of property tax That fund has given the Garland County Library enough support to qualify for the November ballot, but whether it will be on the ballot remains to be seen.
Opponents of the initiative criticize the fact that a supporter had his own signature on the petition notarized, which is prohibited under state law.
The proposal would reduce the 1.6 percent tax approved by county voters in 1998 to 1.0 percent. previous version of the measure attempted to eliminate the tax altogether, but supporters changed the plan after county residents expressed concerns that the library would have to close without the tax funds.
Supporters of the measure 131 signatures submitted to County Clerk Sarah Smith’s office on Aug. 2, and 108 were confirmed to be registered voters in the county, Smith said Wednesday. Amendment 38 The Arkansas Constitution requires at least 100 valid signatures for a proposal to change the tax levy to fund a local library.
When asked whether the measure would be up for a vote, Smith said Wednesday that District Attorney John Howard and District Judge Darryl Mahoney would decide “how to proceed.”
On Monday, Mahoney called a public hearing for September 4th at 8:30 a.m., where people can ask and answer questions about the petition.
Citizens’ initiatives must be notarized before being submitted to local or state agencies. Notary Public Russell Thomas certified 71 of the signatures, including his own, according to petition documents, which publicly accessible on the Garland County website.
A notary “cannot attest to his or her own signature or to any document to which the notary is a party,” the Arkansas Secretary of State said in a statement. Handbook for Notaries.
George Pritchett, a spokesman for supporters of the measure, said he believes only Thomas’ signature on the petition will be invalidated by his notarization, not all 10 signatures on the page in question.
Another notary, Tori Anna Marrin, signed the petition and certified 40 signatures, but the pages she certified did not contain her own signature.
Pritchett expressed frustration with the upcoming county meeting, saying county officials were “playing with numbers” and “trying to waste the time” they have available to get the bill on the ballot.
Amendment 38 states that an application to change the library tax must be submitted to the county at least 30 days before the election, which this year is November 5th.
Supporters of the measure are asking for more signatures in case they need to submit another petition to county authorities, Pritchett said.
“They’re going to use up a couple of weeks, but we’re going to regroup now knowing they’re going to try to use up 19 days in August and four in September,” he said. “…The process and procedure is very clear and we’ve followed it to the letter.”
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Expected impacts
Pritchett and Reggie Cowan, who also supports the measurehave said that the Garland County Library receives too much tax money and can survive on its cash reserves. They have also said that the library’s funding is in the hands of the county’s quorum court.
The library’s executive director, Adam Webb, said in a July article Writing in the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record, he said the library had set aside $5 million in “nontax accounts,” but said the notion that the library could rely on its reserves was untrue.
The current tax rate brings the Garland County Library about $3.6 million annually for maintenance and operations. The proposed 0.6 percent tax cut would cut the library’s budget by $1 million and could force it to reduce its hours or cut back on its more expensive services, Webb said in July.
On 17 JulyMahoney shared a Facebook post from the library with a statement from Webb explaining the potential negative impacts of the proposed ballot measure.
The Garland County Library Budget 2024 expected revenue of $4.1 million and expenses of $3.9 million, leaving about $200,000 left. Webb said it was important to have some money left over “to make sure we have enough to pay the bills between tax payments.”
If the measure passes, Garland County would be the second county in Arkansas in two years, after Craighead County, to vote to reduce tax revenues from its library system. Pritchett said Garland County’s efforts are based on those of Craighead County, a narrowly approved 2022 measure that halved library funding and forced the system to reduce the number of hours And staff.
Library systems in other Arkansas counties, including neighboring Saline County, have recent examination from the public about how much money they have and how they spend it.
