Voters approve Sebastian County tax renewal (Updated)

Sebastian County voters have overwhelmingly approved renewal of the 1% countywide sales tax, with 78.87% voting for the tax to be in place for another 10 years.

According to results from the Sebastian County Clerk’s office, there were 6,002 votes cast, or 8.58% of eligible voters. Of those, 4,704 votes were for renewal of the tax, and 1,260 opposed renewal.

Leaders from across Sebastian County had urged voters to renew a 1% sales tax that funds operations in 11 cities across the county, as well as providing county services, such as funding for the county jail.

Sheriff Bill Hollenbeck praised the tax renewal on Tuesday night, saying the overwhelming approval of the tax renewal exceeded his expectations.

"Yeah, it certainly did. I think it's just an excellent vote of confidence that the citizens of Sebastian County, they understand how important that this sales tax was. They understand that their elected officials and their government officials are using this money the way that they want it to be used, primarily for public safety. It's a good thing for Sebastian County. Our voters, they are educated. They understand, so we're very proud of (how) they voted, to help public safety and law enforcement to protect them, to protect this penny."

Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders said education efforts by himself, Judge David Hudson, Fort Smith City Administrator Ray Gosack and others was key to passage, even if voter turnout was low.

"I think overall, voter turnout is less than what any of us would like in our country, but I think that the fact that such a large percentage of those who did vote understood the issues, they understand how the funds have been used in the past, they understand it goes to public safety, primarily – police, fire, sheriff, those kinds of services – they understood the importance of those and have demonstrated that understanding is critical to how they want to see our cities and (county) continue to operate."

During the campaign to renew the county-wide sales tax, the Sebastian County Quorum Court was in the middle of a detailed review of county revenues and expenditures at the urging of some members of the Court.

Asked whether there was concern beforehand that the financial review could have impacted the vote, Hudson said he was always confident in the tax's renewal all along, echoing Sanders' comments on voter education.

"This represents a success in the county and all of the city government officials working well with the news media to help the public understand. And an educated voter understanding what services are involved and how the funds are being used is a big key. The turnout is somewhat disappointing. We wanted to see more people voting, but the fact is we feel like the news media helped us get the word out. We did have a campaign, but there wasn't a whole lot of money in the campaign, so all form of media really helped us. That as much as anything has helped us with the margin of people voting for it."

Hudson continued by saying that a review of county finances was the right thing to do.

"The discussion of the county finances was overall a very positive process we went through. I'm encouraged by it, by the amount of work that we put in and all of the different cash flows that we did and what they're showing and what that's going to do for the rest of this year's budget and as we approach next year's budget, so I see that as a big positive and I think that the average voter out there probably did not register that much with what we were doing with our detailed financial analysis. Internally, it was very significant and I was very encouraged by it. I think it was a good exercise for me and the comptroller to go through with the Quorum Court."

Fort Smith public safety leaders also expressed their excitement about the sales tax renewal. Countywide, the tax brings in more than $22 million, with the city of Fort Smith collecting about $15 million of that, 76% of which goes directly into public safety funding.

"I'm very happy that the voters offered to renew the one cent county-wide sales tax. As everyone should know by now, it means a lot to all public safety agencies across Sebastian County and we're very grateful for the continued support for our citizens," said Fort Smith Police Chief Kevin Lindsey, adding that layoffs and other cost-cutting measures would have been nearly inevitable had the tax renewal not passed.

Fort Smith Fire Chief Mike Richards thanked Sebastian County voters and expressed his joy, just as Lindsey did.

"(I am) absolutely thrilled. The voter confidence in everything we've done and what we've promised to (do)… we're just real blessed (that they have) supported us like they have and we'll do everything each day to keep good trust and maintain what we're doing."

The sales tax was first approved by voters in 1994 and must be renewed every 10 years. The tax was renewed in 2003 with 64% of the vote.