PB will ask voters for higher sales tax to help rebuild city

Supporters praise public-private plan; opponents say it hinders City Council

Early voting will begin Tuesday for Pine Bluff residents to decide if a seven-year, five-eighths percent sales tax will help revive their city.

The issue is a divisive one in the Delta community, where some claim the Go Forward Pine Bluff initiative that will be funded by the projected $32 million tax revenue and $20 million in private donations is taking power away from the people and creating government secrecy.

But proponents say the tax is needed to save their city from blight and crime and transform it into a destination choice for new jobs, tourism and a robust community.

“As a lifelong educator and advocate for young people in our community, I believe that Go Forward Pine Bluff’s recommendations will help ensure that our youth receive the best education possible,” Mayor Shirley Washington said in endorsing the initiative. “Go Forward will spur economic development, improve our community’s quality of life, and provide our city with the resources we need to implement our vision for a stronger Pine Bluff.”

Early voting begins Tuesday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Jefferson County clerk’s office and continues through Friday, then again on June 12. The special election will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. June 13 at select polling locations for each ward.

The city’s current sales tax — including state and county taxes — is 9.750 percent. The tax increase to 10.375 percent is expected to cost the average Pine Bluff household about $15 per month.

Go Forward Pine Bluff began in late 2015 through a donation from the Simmons First Foundation. It’s focused on four interconnected areas: education, economic development, infrastructure/government and quality of life.

A group of about 100 people from all areas of the community worked for about a year honing the plan, getting input and organizing the nonprofit that will manage the initiative.

Multiple community meetings were held during the planning phase, but critics said that phase excluded a large portion of the city’s residents and took away the power of the city council they voted into place.

To participate, members had to fill out an application and sign a nondisclosure agreement. Meetings were also held during the day when working community members could not attend.

The plan is governed by an independent committee on which Washington serves. The tax revenue will flow through the city and will have to be approved by the City

Council before it is routed to Go Forward Pine Bluff.

“I am 100 percent totally against it,” Alderman Steven Mays said. “It sends us in the wrong direction. It’s actually creating a new government on top of our existing government. It’s not a good idea for our citizens, now or in the future.”

Mays said the plan is business “taking money from the poor people and making the rich richer.”

Mays and two other aldermen, Bruce Lockett and Thelma Walker, have voiced their opposition to the proposed tax.

“I’ve been encouraging people to vote against it,” Walker said. “People ask me my opinion on it and I tell them what I think. It’s only fair, because they voted for me and have confidence in me.”

Walker doesn’t like how much control is taken out of the city’s hands.

“I don’t like the way that it’s set up,” Walker said. “They’re using our tax dollars, and there’s

not a thing the city can say about how and what’s going to be done. The plan is just too vague.”

Go Forward Pine Bluff Chief Executive Officer Ryan Watley said the organization is a public-private partnership, which is illustrated by the matching of tax dollars with private donations.

“This is our best opportunity to move Pine Bluff in its rightful direction,” said Watley, the assistant director of development for athletics at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. “We have many issues. Our city’s and its citizens’ plan is a comprehensive approach to addressing the specific areas that impact city revenues.”

Washington said she is hopeful voters will recognize the value in the plan and pass the tax.

“I am confident that when our state sees a united Pine Bluff, they will rally to join forces with us to rebuild our great city,” Washington said. “This is a critical moment for our community. But this election is about more than just Go Forward Pine Bluff. It is about unity and bringing people together for our aroundcity’s future.a positive vision “I am supporting Go Forward Pine Bluff because I feel it is a significant step in uniting the citizens of our community.”