Lincoln Calls Sales Tax Election

NEW REVENUE WOULD GO INTO GENERAL FUND

LINCOLN — Lincoln City Council voted 6-1 last week to call a special election in November to ask voters to approve a .75 percent sales and use tax that would go into the city’s general fund.

The Council also voted 6-1 on an ordinance to levy the new local sales tax if the question passes at the ballot.

The Council suspended all rules so that both ordinances could be adopted in one meeting.

The special election will be held Nov. 6, in conjunction with the general election.

Mayor Rob Hulse said the new revenue would go into the general fund and could be used for any expenses paid from that account. Council members specifically talked about hiring police officers with the money.

Lincoln Police Department has one vacancy and will have a second position open in a few weeks, Hulse said. Officer Tony Lee has resigned from the department.

That leaves Lincoln with three full-time officers and three parttime officers.

“We’ve got to find the revenue for the police,” Hulse said.

Council member Bobby McDonald responded that the city needs to be able to retain officers.

The problem, said Council member Doug Hutchens, is not just the wages but it is the amount of overtime that police officers are having to put in because of the staff shortage and because the city needs more officers.

The only no vote came from Gary Eoff. After the meeting, he said he did not believe the money should go into the general fund for other purposes.

“I think it’s great if it’s spent for the police department,” Eoff said, adding that putting the money

into a pot opens it up to be used in other avenues.

Rhonda Hulse, city business manager, estimated a .75 percent sales tax would bring in about $170,000 for the year, enough, she said, to hire two police officers.

Rob Hulse said he supports a new sales tax because “it is the fairest tax I think we can have.”

Hutchens noted the Council also is “pushing hard” on cleaning up the city and that takes money.

“The only way we can get it done is if we have the revenue,” Hutchens said.

A case in point, is that the Council last week also approved a bid of $42,500 to tear down a dilapidated apartment building in Lincoln. The city plans to place a lien on the property to try to recoup its costs but has been told not to expect to get its money back.

Rob Hulse said more officers on the street creates a safer environment. Safer streets and cleaning up the community are ways to attract people to want to live in Lincoln or open businesses in Lincoln, Hulse said.

The city currently collects a 2 percent sales tax rate but revenue is dedicated for specific purposes. Of this, 1 percent goes to capital improvements and 1 percent is divided between the public library (80 percent) and parks and recreation (20 percent), with part of this being used to pay off the library construction loan.

In other business, Rhonda Hulse said the Town House Apartment building cannot be demolished until it is surveyed for any asbestos, as required by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.

If asbestos is found, it will have to be removed before demolition can start. Hulse said she may have to come back to the City Council to approve paying for the asbestos removal if it exceeds $20,000.

The city filed a complaint against the owner of the building, alleging multiple violations and unsafe conditions, all issues identified by the city’s fire department and building inspector. A court order to allow the city of Lincoln to demolish the complex took effect July 6.