City director writes of support for LR mayor’s tax proposal
Antwan Phillips, city director at-large, in an open letter released Thursday said he will vote for Mayor Frank Scott Jr.’s proposed 1 percentage-point tax increase.
But Phillips took a swipe at fellow board members when he said he disagreed with the mayor’s decision to defer to Tuesday a final vote that had been scheduled for this past Tuesday on whether to send the “Rebuild the Rock” package to voters in a July 13 special election.
In spite of “ample opportunity and multiple meetings to discuss the merits of the proposal,” Phillips wrote that “many members of the City Board decided not to fully discuss this issue until April 27, 2021.”
“In my opinion, these conversations should have happened earlier and as a result, any changes to the proposal would have happened earlier,” Phillips added.
Phillips in his letter also said the decision to defer the vote “only legitimizes the City Board not discussing issues among each other and could encourage further delay and division.”
In his March 25 State of the City virtual broadcast, Scott renewed a push for a sales-tax increase after a previous attempt was abandoned during the coronavirus outbreak last year.
The tax increase is estimated to generate $53 million annually.
Because of the city’s decision to let a three-eighths percent (0.375%) sales tax for capital improvements expire at the end of December, if voters approve the increase, the overall rate in Little Rock would rise to 9.625% beginning in January.
Under the original package, revenue from the tax increase would go toward new exhib
its at the Little Rock Zoo, early-childhood education initiatives and major investments to upgrade parks and recreation offerings.
But the proposal was received without much enthusiasm from most members of the city board.
Motions supported by Phillips and Ward 2 representative Ken Richardson that were meant to speed the sales-tax package through the board’s l e g i s l a t ive process failed repeatedly.
During a lengthy meeting April 27, city directors raised questions and concerns about the proposal, many of them having to do with constituents’ focus on public safety.
As a result, Scott announced Tuesday that he would delay a final vote and unveiled several changes to the package that he attributed to feedback received from city directors.
Among the revisions: more funding allocated for community-oriented policing and infrastructure, but less for the zoo and early-childhood education.
In his Twitter post Thursday, Phillips provided a copy of an April 27 memo to the Arkansas Zoo Foundation from the consulting firm inVeritas, which purported to show that a recent poll found 69% support citywide for the increased sales tax.
The memo did not say how the poll was conducted.
Phillips, an attorney, is the newest member of the city board. He was elected last year and replaced Gene Fortson, who opted not to run for reelection.
Scott will need at least five of the 10 city board members to vote to call the special election because the mayor has the power to vote only in case of a tie among board members.
Phillips ended his letter by explaining that although he understands that not everyone agrees with the proposal or all of its elements, he has resolved to vote yes.
“I’m voting yes, because I think this proposal makes Little Rock better tomorrow than it is today,” he wrote. “More importantly, however, I’m voting yes, so you can decide whether you think this makes Little Rock better.”