MORRILTON, Ark. (AP) - A special election is set for next month for voters in Conway County to consider a 0.25 percent sales-tax increase aimed at bringing new jobs to the area.
The tax proposal, set to go before voters March 11, would generate an estimate $4.25 million over five years, officials said. Early voting begins March 4.
“Every penny raised will be used to bring new jobs into the county,” said Brandon Baker, president of the Morrilton Area Chamber of Commerce and chief executive officer of the Conway County Economic Development Corp.
Conway County has about 22,000 residents, and economic development officials say the county has lost about 2,100 jobs since 1984. Most of those job losses have been in the manufacturing sector, Baker told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (https://bit.ly/1jKYDRv ).
The job losses are reflected in unemployment statistics. In December 2003, the county’s jobless rate was 5.6 percent. In December 2013, the rate had risen to 7.9 percent.
County officials said the tax increase would pay for incentives aimed at luring new businesses to the area. A five-member board, appointed by the Conway County Quorum Court, would administer the funds.
“If (company leaders) want to create 100 jobs in Conway County, but we do not have the resources to build (such) a building, they will go to a community that will build them a building,” Baker said. “This happens every day over the United States.”
The tax money could also pay for workforce training to make a community more attractive to a potential employer, Baker said.
“We can say we have the resources and funding to start a program catered to your company through the local college,” he said.
No organized opposition has emerged to the proposal.
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, https://www.arkansasonline.com
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