Fayetteville Sales Tax renewal Election on October 11

SALES TAX RENEWAL INFORMATION FOR MEMBERS OF AFSCME 965

On October 11, an election will be held for Fayetteville voters to decide whether to renew the existing 1% sales tax to continue funding of City operations and the Capital Improvement Program. This provides more than 27% of our General Revenue budget, and it has funded our community’s needs for public safety, transportation, and programs that assure the quality of life that our citizens expect and deserve.

THIS IS NOT A NEW TAX. The existing 1% sales tax was approved by Fayetteville voters in 1993 and renewed by voters in 2002; it is again up for citizen approval before 2013. Due to the extensive time required to adjust budgets and city operations if this measure fails, the City Council decided to send the measure to the voters in a special election this year.

The October 11 election question will be stated on the ballot as follows:

[ ] FOR adoption of a 1% local sales and use tax within the City of Fayetteville to begin July 1, 2013 to replace the current 1% local sales and use tax. This replacement tax shall expire on June 30, 2023.

[ ] AGAINST adoption of a 1% local sales and use tax within the City of Fayetteville to begin July 1, 2013 to replace the current 1% local sales and use tax. This replacement tax shall expire on June 30, 2023.

The City’s 1% sales tax currently generates $9.2 million for General Fund operations and $6.2 million for the Sales Tax Capital Fund used for construction and equipment.

General Fund Operations include our obligation to provide fire and police protection that saves lives, the District Court, parks, streets, trails, sidewalks, library, and other essential public services. If the existing 1% sales tax is renewed, these public services will continue at current or expanded levels depending on actual collections.

If the sales tax is not renewed, public services will be cut significantly. Personnel Services constitutes 82% of the General Fund expenditures, so $7.5 million would have to be cut from personnel and 148 positions eliminated. Most of the positions (60%) funded by the General Fund are our Police and Fire personnel; therefore, without funds from this existing tax, approximately 55 Police personnel and 38 positions in the Fire Department would have to be eliminated. Without the Fire personnel to staff fire stations, some fire stations will have to be closed indefinitely. This would affect response time to fires and ISO ratings upon which your property insurance costs are based, but it would also put lives and property at risk.

Additionally, approximately 55 jobs would have to be cut from General Government and support areas such as the City Prosecutor’s Office, Fayetteville District Court, the City Clerk’s Office, Parks and Recreation, City Planning, Information Technology, and Accounting. Furthermore, existing funding for the contracts with the Boys and Girls Club, the Fayetteville Senior Center, the Fayetteville Public Library, and Ozark Regional Transit would be eliminated or drastically-reduced. Also, if the 1% sales tax fails, there would be a loss of $6.2 million in the Fayetteville Capital Improvements Program, meaning it would completely disappear. Included in the current Capital Improvements Program are the street resurfacing and major repair program, the trail system, the sidewalk program, technology upgrades, the Wilson Park swimming pool, and equipment replacement, including police vehicles and fire trucks.

Your union has endorsed renewal of the 1% sales tax. How you vote is your decision.