No regrets after failed millage, college says

BENTONVILLE — Northwest Arkansas Community College doesn’t regret seeking the millage increase that voters rejected last week, a college spokesman said.

The college proposed a 0.4-mill increase that would have raised its millage rate from 2.6 to 3. The college’s millage applies only to residents of its taxing district, which covers the Bentonville and Rogers school districts.

“College leadership will take some time to assess the results and consider the lessons learned, then, together with the trustees, we’ll decide on future steps,” said Grant Hodges, college chief of staff and executive director of communications.

“We don’t regret asking for the community’s support for the benefit of our students and employees, and we’re grateful to so many who did vote for the millage. While only about 1% of voters turned out, we recognize the need to educate the community about the value of education, what we do at the community college and why it’s worth investing in.”

The school respected the process and the vote, Hodges said.

The measure failed by a vote of 1,175 to 911 — 56% to 44% — on May 9. The millage was originally 3 mills when voters approved the ballot issue that established the college Aug. 15, 1989, Hodges said. However, the millage was reduced over time because of Amendment 59 of the Arkansas Constitution, which limits growth in property taxes by automatically reducing an institution’s mills when assessed property values rise.

“I think there is still some confusion about the millage and why it has been reduced over the years,” Hodges said. “We hope we can continue to inform the community about their local support, as well as the benefit for in-district students receiving almost 50% off of tuition at NWACC.”

Despite the millage rollbacks, the college has seen revenue from its millage rise steadily — from $10 million in fiscal 2018 to $13.3 million this fiscal year, according to information provided by the college. Officials project millage revenue will be $14.6 million for fiscal 2024.

The college puts onethird of its millage revenue toward capital expenses and two-thirds toward operating expenses. Two-thirds of the millage revenue is projected to be $9.7 million for fiscal 2024, or 21% of the college’s operating budget, according to figures recently presented to the board of trustees. Tuition, fees and state funding make up nearly all of the remaining revenue applied to operating expenses.

One person who voted against last week’s proposed millage increase was Bryan Aguiar, a professor at the college. Aguiar, in his 22nd year at the school, said he primarily teaches statistics and economics and is planning to retire at the end of this calendar year. His political background is Libertarian, so he isn’t a fan of taxes to begin with, Aguiar said.

“I think the overriding factor for me, considering the mixed emotions of me working there and retiring and all that, would be that I’m basically against tax increases,” Aguiar said. “If they had done this five years ago or 10 years ago, I still would have been pushing against it. I just don’t think it’s needed. I wasn’t 100% convinced it was actually necessary.”

The school didn’t do a great job on the campaign in support of the millage, he said.

“Since I was against it, I’m glad they didn’t,” Aguiar said.

Hodges said he found the millage was lowered from 3 to 2.7 in 1997. It was lowered again to 2.6 by 2005, he said.

“It’s been at this level since 2005, which is quite a while ago,” Aguiar said. “And we still managed to grow all these years without burdening the taxpayers.”

Restore Our Millage, the committee organized in December to campaign for the millage increase, reported spending $24,763 as of April 28, according to its latest financial report, filed May 4 with the Arkansas Ethics Commission. Of that amount, $22,017 went to 50+1 Consulting LLC of Little Rock for campaign services, benchmark surveying and consulting, financial reports state.

The committee reported a fund balance of $20,251 as of April 28. It was almost entirely funded by a $45,000 contribution from the Northwest Arkansas Community College Foundation in January, according to the committee’s financial reports. In its May 4 filing, total contributions received were listed at $45,019.

Amid the buildup to the millage vote, the school made moves regarding its sports program. The college voted to hire a full-time athletic director and posted the job in April. Officials visited Iowa Western Community College last month to see the athletic operation there and consider the best ways to possibly expand at Northwest Arkansas Community College, which currently offers one sport, cross country.

In March, the college board of trustees approved an activity fee of $4 per credit hour to fund athletics and other student activities. The 5-3 vote on the fee followed a spirited discussion about the role sports should play at the school.

“I don’t think the sports talk hurt the millage vote at all,” board Chairman Mark Scott said. “Voters were smart enough to know that students asked for intercollegiate sports and the Student Government Association voted in support of a student fee to pay for it. Our goal has always been to fund an athletics program without using taxpayer funds.”

Aguiar said the sports angle was one of the factors in his decision.

“We just raised tuition last year,” Aguiar said. “And then this year they added the $4 per credit hour for athletics. I’m still not 100% convinced we need to grow the athletics program.”

College officials estimated the millage increase would have brought in an additional $1.8 million per year in revenue. That money would have helped the school and the community in a number of ways, Scott said, including recruiting and retaining faculty and staff. He noted getting any tax hike approved is a challenge.

“There’s a significant portion of our community that is against any tax increase — even if it means directly benefiting people in our community who work as nurses and front-line health care workers,” Scott said. “I’m not sure it’s possible to pass a tax increase in Benton County if one so small and so meaningful like this one didn’t pass.”

Aguiar suggested trimming from the budget and exploring more private-public partnerships as ways to boost funding.

On May 8, the board of trustees unanimously approved the school’s operating budget of about $45.3 million for fiscal 2024, which begins July 1 — a 6% increase from the current fiscal year. Hodges said 60% of the increase will go to employees in the form of raises, benefits and bonuses.

Hodges said the budget plan for fiscal 2024 didn’t hinge on the results of the millage election. The tax increase, if it had been approved, wouldn’t have taken effect in time to impact the 2024 budget. College officials proposed the budget based on increased revenue from enrollment growth and the current millage.

“We will continue into the next fiscal year with the budget that has already been approved and does not raise tuition,” Hodges said. “The additional revenue from the millage would not have come for over a year, and while it would have been a welcomed boost for the college, we will continue to focus our efforts on enrollment and advocate when we can for additional local and state support.”

The college is the largest two-year college in the state, with 7,593 students taking courses for academic credit last fall semester.