The polls are open Tuesday for residents in the City of Mountain View to vote on refinancing bonds to fund sewer system improvements. The Stone County Leader reports the improvements are designed to correct issues causing the wastewater treatment plant to be out of compliance with regulations of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality.
City officials propose extending the one-cent sales tax dedicated to previous bond issues, which has been in place since 2005. Originally passed for sewer improvements, the tax was extended in 2011 to fund a water intake structure.
Mayor Roger Gardner tells the paper, “This is not a new tax.”
The ballot contains two questions, one to refund the 2012 and 2014 bonds and pledge the use of the one-cent tax and second to issue $6.55 million in bonds to finance improvements to the sewer system and to pledge the use of the one-cent tax.
Both measures must pass in order for bonds to be issued to finance additional work.
City officials refer to extending the current tax, which is how the proposal works in effect. The ballot wording refers to a new tax to replace the one currently being collected.
The tax will expire after the bonds have been paid. Gardner says the current temporary sales tax is projected to expire in 2042. Because of a savings in interest, the new bonds are projected to be paid by 2038.
In evaluating the project and city finances, CWB Engineers of Heber Springs advised the minimum work could be funded by a 32% rate increase, and engineers recommended a 5% rate increase for the next five years in addition to that to fund a depreciation account. City officials are lobbying for the tax extension as an alternative to steep rate increases.
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