3/4 cent sales tax to be on Nov. 5 ballot

PRESCOTT – At the June meeting of the Nevada County Quorum Court, the justices of the peace voted, 7-2, to place an issue on the Nov. 5 ballot seeking a 3/4 cent sales tax.

It’s being said this isn’t a new tax because it’s a continuation of the one-cent tax originally passed to build the Nevada County Jail. The original tax saw 3/4 of a cent going to pay off the jail with a sunshine clause to end when the jail’s paid off. The other 1/4 cent is a permanent tax to fund the jail.

Money from the proposed tax would be placed in the county general fund to be used as the county deems necessary. Collection of the tax would begin Oct. 1, 2025 as the original tax ends Sept. 30, 2025.

Justice Willie Wilson said people in his district don’t want a dedicated sales tax. He also voiced concerns about there being no public input before the court approved the measure. On the other hand, JP Herbert Coleman said with all the natural disasters the county goes through, it needs a cushion to help. A dedicated tax, he added, would mean the county would be stuck in the event of a disaster and have to wait for government assistance.

County Treasurer Ricky Reyenga pointed out all money from the sales tax, if passed, would go to the county general fund with the court to use as it sees fit. He added this won’t be a new tax, but a continuation of the existing tax.

JP Dennis Pruitt asked of the 1/4 cent sales tax would be enough to run the jail. He was told it doesn’t now. He added part of the 3/4 cent tax would have to be used for the jail as well, whether its earmarked or not, but could also be in reserve if needed otherwise.

Wilson and JP Brenda Stockton voted against the tax.

The court also passed an ordinance for the tax to be placed on the Nov. 5, general election. The vote was 7-2, with Wilson and Stockton again the dissenting votes on the issue.

According to the ordinance, the net collection of the tax would only go to the county, not to any incorporated city within the county. The other ordinance places the issue on the Nov. 5, 2024 General Election ballot, with will basically give voters the option to vote for or against it.

A third ordinance approved by the court was to amend the 2024 budget appropriating funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the 2023 ice storms with the funds being placed in the solid waste and road and bridge budgets. Overall, the amount involved is $818,890.43. Solid Waste will receive $117,418.96, while road and bridge receives $701,471.47.

The court was also notified its portion of an Arkansas Department of Transportation grant to level and seal county roads 37 and 42 will be $32,980.92. This is 10 percent of the total cost of $329,809.22. A letter to the county judge pointed out bids for these projects were opened on April 10.

In other business, Mary Godwin, executive director of the Prescott-Nevada County Economic Development Office, said there has been an update on the broadband issue, with the rebuttal phase ending. Now, the county is waiting to see if the challenges will be upheld, but there’s a 30-day waiting period to find out.

She had good news, saying Holcim received word from its home office to bring back 30 people who were laid off, or replace them if necessary. This will bring the plant to 75 percent of its former workforce. Godwin closed saying there have been two new prospects, one looking at the industrial park and the other at land inside the city limits.

The meeting closed with Reyenga apologizing for misspeaking in previous meetings when he said the Nevada County Sheriff has nothing to do with the collection of taxes. Reyenga said the sheriff makes all the decisions for the collector’s office. As to the combining of the collectors and treasurers offices, he said this can be placed on the 2028 ballot.