Three 1% prepared food tax forums scheduled

Let the forums begin. Ditto for the organized opposition to the 1% prepared food tax.

Forward Fort Smith, a group formed to support passage of the 1% prepared food tax, has scheduled two forums on the issue. The first is set for 6 p.m., Oct. 12, at the Elm Grove Community Center at Martin Luther King Jr. Park. The second is set for 6 p.m., Oct. 19, at the Community Room of the main branch of the Fort Smith Public Library.

The Leadership Fort Smith Alumni Association will hold its “Food Tax Forum” beginning at 5:30 p.m., Oct. 13 at the Riverfront Glass Pavilion in downtown Fort Smith. The forum is scheduled to end at 7:15 p.m.

Clay McKinney, a member of the alumni association, said the group wanted to host an event to help people gather information on the issue. He is not sure the association will take a stance on the issue.

“I’m not sure about taking a position but LFS wanted to host a balanced, unbiased forum to help inform the community of the details surrounding the Food Tax,” McKinney explained in an e-mail note.

BRIEF TAX HISTORY
A 1% prepared food tax was originally enacted by the board in February as a solution to an annual deficit with Fort Smith Convention Center operations predicted to occur when $1.8 million in annual state turnback money dried up. The state turnback program —which supported expansion or construction of tourism facilities — ended for Fort Smith in June 2010. The center has since operated on a reserve fund. A 1% prepared food tax is estimated to raise about $1.8 million annually.

The board changed direction on the tax after months of public uproar. In a July 28 special meeting, the board unanimously voted to repeal the original food tax ordinance, re-enact the tax, and send the measure to voters in a Nov. 8 special election. Fort Smith board members have said the tax, if approved Nov. 8, would be brought before voters again in five years to give them a chance to approve of how the effort is being managed.

OPPOSITION
Representing a group of restaurant owners and others opposed to the tax, Liz Berry Armstrong and former Arkansas Sen. Frank Glidewell, R-Fort Smith, have made numerous requests to the city for information about the convention center and its funding. The requests include:
• Audit of budget for the Fort Smith Public Library between 2004-2010;
• Documents to support economic impact calculations of the Fort Smith Convention Center;
• Notes on discussions during Ad Hoc Committee meetings related to a third-party operator for the convention center; and,
List of 2010 events at the convention center.

Armstrong said the info gathered will be pulled into a “detailed position paper with backup documents” that explains why the tax “should be defeated.”

“We are  confident that once the City of Fort Smith provides this information the voters will also realize that the 1% Prepared Food Tax is not the financially responsible option for funding the Convention Center,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong said the group also is encouraging those against the tax to attend the forums and be heard.