LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Wednesday night, Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. spoke before a packed house in the final public meeting for his sales tax proposal.
This was the last meeting that Little Rock residents could speak to the mayor in person about their thoughts on his proposal.
In Mayor Scott's final push after a month of meetings, he broke down how the one-cent sales tax would fund $60 million in capital improvements.
Those funds would be broken down towards public safety, infrastructure, parks and rec, and the port.
Then on Thursday morning, Scott issued a statement describing his conversations with residents over the past few weeks and stating that "the people of Little Rock agree that our City needs and deserves the projects and programming that make up our tax proposal."
Scott continued that it would be in the "best interests" of Little Rock and its voters if the proposal was held in November 2024. He cited voter education and continued discussions regarding the tax framework for improvements to the city.
"To minimize our growing pains and invest in our future, we must fully fund our ongoing obligations and make long-term upgrades. We can accomplish those goals, and more, with a sales tax increase," Scott said.
The mayor stressed the importance of funding crime reduction strategies as well as fixing streets and sidewalks. Scott also said some of the tax money would go to city parks and new "recreational opportunities" like a sports complex that "will generate revenue and give Little Rock a real home-field advantage in youth sports."
"We must enhance our crime reduction strategies to incorporate state-of-the-art technologies and better vehicles. We must repair our city’s streets and sidewalks and re-invest in our 63 city parks. We must create new recreational opportunities for all generations, like a senior activity center and an indoor/outdoor sports complex that will generate revenue and give Little Rock a real home-field advantage in youth sports."
Scott claimed that since 2019 his administration has helped create over 10,000 jobs and the city is experiencing what a "downtown resurgence."