Hope voters may change form of government

Hope, Ark., voters will choose in a special election July 10 whether to change from a city board and manager form of government to an elected mayor and council structure.

The special election was called based on a petition with 78 valid signatures.

The ballot entry states: “FOR the proposition to organize the City of Hope, Arkansas under the Mayor-Council form of government.

“AGAINST the proposition to organize the City of Hope, Arkansas under the MayorCouncil form of government.”

“The election is going to be between the upper class in Hope and the rest of us,” said Hope attorney Blake Montgomery, one of the people seeking the change.

“Hope has been struggling for 20 years. The wealthy have become wealthier, and the poor have become poorer,” he said.

U.S. Census Bureau reports show Hope’s population has declined from 10,597 in the 2000 census to an estimated 9,790 in July 2017.

“People have been dying, moving away and not coming back. We’re having population shrinkage. The poverty level is out of control. The city of Hope has 27 percent of the population living in poverty. The state average is 17 percent. We’re going in the wrong direction,” Blake Montgomery said.

“We’re driving down the wrong road, and at some point in time, we need to look at the warning signs and our economics indicators. The city of Hope can do better, and I believe the city deserves better,” he said.

Hope’s government has been the city manager form since 1958, said Hope Mayor Steve Montgomery, who is not related to Blake Montgomery.

The mayor believes Hope needs a professionally trained city manager.

Steve Montgomery said Hope manages a public municipal utility with Hope Power & Light and a landfill, and the town also has 12 departments directed by the city manager.

Steve Montgomery said the utility company increased the rates and angered citizens, contributing to the petition.

The mayor wants residents to educate themselves about the type of government and listen to all sides of the issue.

“After that election is conducted, if the citizens vote to retain the current form of government, nothing further on that question would happen,” a news release stated.

If the citizens vote to change to a mayor-council government, then another election would be held to choose a mayor, city council members, city attorney and city clerk, it states.

Currently, the mayor is appointed by the city Board of Directors and not voted on by the public. The mayor and board members receive no pay.