Sports Complex Being Paid Off In December

FARMINGTON — A special 1- cent sales tax to pay for the Farmington Sports Complex will go off the books at the end of the year.

Jimmy Story, city finance director, said the city will have enough funds to pay off a $1.75 million bond issue in December, nine months early. Bank of the Ozarks serves as the city’s bond trustee.

“I’m excited about it,” Mayor Ernie Penn said last week. “Number one, the tax is going to leave. Number two we paid it off early like we projected and at this point in time, we plan to stay with the revenues we are receiving from our businesses in town and operate our city with those revenues.”

Farmington City Council passed an ordinance Monday night to abolish the temporary tax after the bond debt is paid off in December. The last day to collect the tax would be Dec. 31.

Farmington voter s approved a special 1- cent sales tax May 18, 2010, and the city issued construction bonds July 23, 2010. The city began collecting the new tax in October 2010. At the time, the temporary tax was projected to last six years based on current collections but city officials thought it would be paid off in five years due to expected revenue growth.

In 2010, the city of Farmington collected $ 385,405 from the 1- cent sales tax, said Kevin Faught with Stephens Inc., investment firm in Fayetteville. In 2013, this increased to $452,601. Sales tax revenues for 2014 are running ahead of 2013.

“They are up every month in 2014, compared to last yeart,” Faught said.

Monday night, Penn said, “This is an historical event,. It should make our citizens very happy.”