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Little Rock leaders respond after voters say 'no' to sales tax increase

Little Rock voters once again rejected a sales tax increase. Now, the mayor and vice mayor are discussing what's next for the city.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — After a long election season, we have the results for all local races.

In Little Rock, voters once again rejected a sales tax increase. The city is returning to the drawing board as it plans funding for next year.

"I'm disappointed that it didn't pass," Little Rock Vice Mayor Kathy Webb said. "We had a lot of good things in there. Things we need."

After having unanimous support from the board of directors, city directors, and police and fire unions, Little Rock residents voted against a 1% sales tax increase.

Two questions were on the ballot: a 3/8ths tax and a 5/8ths tax. Both were voted down by a similar margin of about 60% to 40%.

"I'm disappointed in the sales tax results, but I totally respect the Little Rock voters during this time," Littel Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said.

Scott said he had heard from some people why they hadn't voted for it.

"As I was out and about at the polling locations, I had several voters I know who are strong supporters of me who came up to me and gave me a hug and talked about how good they believed the city is going in the right direction," Scott said. "They couldn't fathom another penny at this time because of the economy."

City leaders said the tax would have generated $65 million over 10 years.

Now that the city lacks that additional funding, it is readjusting, but will it try again to introduce a tax increase to the people of Little Rock?

Webb said it would take some work before that could be considered again.

"[We'd need] to go to our residents now," Webb said. "Have some deep conversations about why they didn't support it, what they would want to support, and I think we need to look back at the last time we were able to pass a sales tax and say, 'How did they do that?'"

The City of Little Rock will form its budget for 2025 on Friday. After that, we will know more about how it plans to allocate funds for next year.

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