Reach full potential

I was grateful to work last week with a majority of the Little Rock Board of Directors to approve an amendment to the city’s 2019 budget (approved December 2018), an important step that right-sizes our government to ensure that we are living within our means.

The board’s action repairs a $7 million budget gap created by an effort to continue to provide services in the face of falling sales-tax revenue. We worked, throughout this process, to minimize the impact on taxpayers and city services, but program cuts are never perfectly painless. In the weeks ahead, we will cooperate to implement the changes we have approved, but there is no doubt this effort has put Little Rock on a more solid fiscal footing and positions us for future growth.

Serving as a responsible steward of public dollars is a foundational responsibility of my job as mayor. You can count on me, and my office, to be transparent and accountable. Our taxpayers deserve nothing less, but there is another very important reason for the city to maintain an unimpeachable reputation, particularly when it comes to our finances: Economic development prospects are always watching.

Companies value one characteristic above all others when it comes to new locations—consistency. Inconsistency in the budget and funding levels for investment and programs

sends a signal to prospects that a city might not be capable of living up to its promises. Little Rock has been and will remain a reliable partner to all businesses working within our city.

I look forward to continued work with the city board as we strive to unite Little Rock, expand our economy and give all members of our community the opportunity to reach their full potential.

FRANK SCOTT JR. Little Rock

Frank Scott Jr. is mayor of Little Rock.