Pull up a seat to the city executive board room to weigh in on some big city-wide efforts! This month, we will have our first ever Downtown Master Plan AND a City fundraising effort to (hopefully) put some of that plan into action.
IMPACT FOR THE ROCK: SALES TAX DISCUSSION
The Mayor and the City Board of Directors will be talking to residents across the city to get buy-in on a penny tax. Back in 2021, it was expected to raise about $50M a year for the next ten years to invest in capital improvement projects and now it is projected to raise about $650M total. Given the 2024 budget of $257M for business as usual expenses, this could be a sizable investment for the city.
But how can we be sure it’s a good investment that will continue to create wealth for future years and generations? Strong Towns recommends taking a look at revenue and expenses across geographies to help make sound choices on future investments. High density, mixed use downtowns generate more revenue and have more shared expenses per acre. Looking at the image below, where would you choose to invest?
What questions should we be asking ourselves, knowing so much of our city is funded by sales tax? The full Strong Towns article is here.
An equity consideration on sales tax: Like the Arkansas Period Poverty Project that is working to exempt period products from sales tax on this year’s ballot, there may be other essential items to exempt in order to protect those living in low-income households from paying outsized expenses.
Other funding consideration: Public Improvement Fees (PIFs). These are developer specific for local area improvements. Funds raised by the city can multiply if used towards federal grants, like the Safe Streets for All or the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program, that require a 20% city match.
DRAWING CONNECTIONS TO THE DOWNTOWN MASTER PLAN
While the Downtown Little Rock Master Plan will be revealed on May 8, we took notes on the initial list of programs, projects, policies and partnerships recommended for Little Rock’s bolder, more strategic future.
Sales tax meetings start today (a bit ahead of the big reveal), so we want to offer a cheat sheet to help you organize talking points to show your support for your favorite Master Plan ideas and how it also supports the four impact areas the Mayor is advocating for: public safety, public infrastructure, port and economic development, and parks and recreation.
