Voters in Beebe oppose sales tax

Beebe, Arkansas – On Tuesday night, Beebe voters rejected a half-cent sales tax that would have funded a new recreational complex by just over 100 votes.

But by more than 100 votes, they also approved a bond issue that would have been used to fund the project.

The proposed facility will not be constructed in light of these findings, according to Beebe Assistant to Mayor Harley Spears, since one cannot exist without the other.

“If your friend didn’t have a job, that would be like pushing them to go buy a house and get a mortgage,” Spears explained. “Without that tax revenue, they have no way to support those bonds.”

According to Spears and Beebe City Councilman Matt Dugger, a lot of voters were perplexed at the polling station. They clarified that the tax and bond would have either passed or failed if voters had grasped the matter.

“Now that we think about it, we think we should have explained to people more clearly that the bond cannot pass without the tax,” Dugger stated. “Because the bond is necessary to pay the tax.”

“I believe there may have been some misunderstanding regarding voting for or against both issues,” Spears stated. “Because they sort of complement each other.” Without the tax, you can’t do anything with bonds, and vice versa.

One Beebe resident who favored the tax and the amenities it could have brought to the town, such as pickleball courts, walking trails, and softball fields, is AnnaMarie Sullivan.

We reside on one end near Cabot. Searcy is located to the north of us. However, there aren’t many eateries here at the moment. She clarified, “There aren’t many parks or kid-friendly activities here. “We already pay that tax, so why not pay it here since the majority of us travel to those other cities for those purposes?”

She does concede, though, that some people might not believe the city’s leadership, and that others who would have been persuaded might have simply been misinformed.

Sullivan stated, “I don’t think there was enough education on this tax proposal.” “And I believe that the fact that the bond passed but the tax failed demonstrated that.”

Despite the close outcome, Spears stated that to the best of her knowledge, the city has no immediate intentions to propose another tax. Even without the facility, she added, there are other things that may boost Beebe’s economy and eventually make the city better.

“We never give up. We’re concentrating on what is working rather than what didn’t. The city owns roughly 100 acres that front that new interstate, and yesterday we celebrated the dedication of Interstate 57,” she said. Therefore, we are quite eager to promote that to business developers.

Our city will earn more money as a result, and we will have more opportunities to make improvements across the board, including in our parks.