PINE BLUFF, Ark. — After being supported by tax dollars for seven years, Go Forward Pine Bluff (GFPB), a group aimed at revitalizing the city, will have to find another funding source.
In 2017, Pine Bluff voted yes to a 5/8 cent sales tax to support GFPB.
Former city councilman of 22 years Bill Brumett said he remembers the process well and favored it.
"Pine Bluff needed to show people that we were going to put our money where our mouth is,” Brumett said.
GFPB CEO Ryan Watley said the group has made significant strides with that money.
According to Watley, projects GFPB has worked on include transforming an old community center into a state-of-the-art boys and girls club, the city aquatics center, removing blight from city neighborhoods, education stipends for teachers to get master’s degrees, and more.
“We’ve done so much,” Watley said. “Our team here, I’m just proud of their work, and we've made a legacy impact on Pine Bluff."
But in 2023, voters disagreed and said they hadn’t seen enough progress to continue funding the group.
They voted no on a new sales tax, and the original one from 2017 expired on Sept. 30, meaning GFPB will no longer be getting taxpayer dollars.
"I was disappointed,” Brumett said of the 2023 vote. “I supported it and actively tried to get people involved in continuing it because I felt progress was being made, but some people didn't feel like they were getting their say."
But Watley said just because the tax is over, it doesn’t mean the group suddenly has no money, and it also doesn’t mean they plan to stop in their mission.
“There has been money accruing over time,” Watley said. “There are sales tax dollars in the account to pay for those projects."
GFPB has also received grants totaling millions of dollars this year, which Watley said will help with projects like the 6th and Main development, bringing four new restaurants and a bar to the city.
"It is not consistent revenue as with a tax,” Watley said. “When you're able to get a grant, it is great, and I'm thankful for the multitude of grants and philanthropic gifts we've gotten over the years."
But as Watley said, it’s not a consistent source of money—grants must be applied for and can only be awarded to very specific projects.
For Brumett, he said this would lead to the group's demise or at least parts of it.
“With the defeat of the five-eighth cent tax,” Brumett said. “Go Forward, effectively, is no longer going to exist based on the funding of the tax. Now, I hope they will find a way to continue to get funding through the private sector to keep some of the program going.”
Watley said the GFPB does not plan to push for another sales tax. He said the process became too political for his liking last time.