City plans relief-aid decision in August

LITTLE ROCK — The city of Little Rock may not pursue a resolution allocating money from the second tranche of American Rescue Plan Act funding until sometime in August, Little Rock City Manager Bruce Moore indicated.

Asked if officials were planning to bring to the Little Rock Board of Directors a resolution allocating some or all of the money before the citywide Aug. 9 bond referendum, Moore wrote in an email, “The plan would be to submit a revised resolution in August.”

The city recently received the second and final installment of $18.8 million in direct aid from the federal government; the first half was received in May 2021.

The federal covid-19 rescue package President Joe Biden signed into law in March 2021 allocated $350 billion in aid to states, counties, cities and other non-federal governmental authorities.

With roughly $ 37 million, Little Rock got the single largest allocation of aid among Arkansas cities.

In late May, Emily Jordan Cox, the city’s intergovernmental relations manager, presented the city board with a proposal to spend more than half of the second tranche.

Her presentation was then met with an alternative proposal sponsored by City Director Doris Wright of Ward 6.

Wright increased several categories of funding and eliminated others compared with the original proposal. Among the categories that would have seen increases were a senior center, as well as the West Central Community Center, specifically the community center’s baseball fields.

However, at a June 21 meeting, Wright voluntarily pulled her resolution from consideration for the time being.

“I feel that we need to focus on our upcoming millage election on Aug. 9, and I believe it’s a distraction so … as the author I am withdrawing it at this time,” Wright said.

During the Aug. 9 referendum, voters will be asked to approve an extension on 3 mills for capital improvements and an associated $ 161.8 million bond issue. This spring, city board members voted to pursue a stated term of 20 years with two bond issuances.

Voters will be presented with six ballot questions asking them to approve funding improvements for the following categories with the bond proceeds: streets, drainage, fire apparatus, parks and recreation (including the Little Rock Zoo), expansion of the Little Rock Port’s industrial park and construction of a new district court facility.

Approximately half of the money for projects is expected to fund street and drainage improvements.

During the last referendum that authorized an extension of the capital-improvement mills in September 2012, voters approved spending bond proceeds on street and drainage improvements. At that time the rate was reduced from 3.3 to the current rate of 3.0 mills.

A mill equals one-tenth of a cent, meaning each mill amounts to $1 in tax paid on every $1,000 of the tax-assessed value of a piece of property.