Conway voters OK sales tax for streets

CONWAY – Residents on Tuesday approved a 0.375 percentage-point sales-tax increase aimed at financing street repairs in Conway.

The increase will raise the total sales tax rate within the Faulkner County city to 9.125 percent and is expected to generate an additional $5.1 million annually. It will expire March 31, 2023. The only way it can be extended would be if voters approve an extension.

Mayor Bart Castleberry has said that the revenue will go for work on arterial and collector streets and that none of the money will be used to build new streets. The $1.4 million the city gets annually in state turnback funds will finance repairs on neighborhood streets, he said.

With all precincts reporting, unofficial vote totals, according to the Faulkner County Election Commission, were: For . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,094 Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,484

In a prepared statement shortly after the votes were counted, Castleberry said, “Whether you’re a family looking for a new place to call home or a small business owner looking for opportunity, tonight’s [Tuesday’s] results leave us better prepared to keep our promise to be the best city in central Arkansas.”

Castleberry said he wanted to thank all of the voters, those who voted for the measure and those who opposed it, for they were exercising “one of our great freedoms.”

The city has obtained a software program that rates streets most in need of repairs. As a result, Castleberry has said, street selection won’t be “done politically.”

Lists of streets recommended for repairs and improvements are available on the city’s website, cityofconway.org.