Proposed Garland County ballot measure would nix property tax that funds local library

Garland County residents are circulating a petition for a countywide ballot measure that would eliminate the property tax funding the local library.

If successful, it would be Arkansas’ second county in two years to reduce its library system’s tax revenue with a public vote.

The 1.6-mill tax has been in place since county voters approved it in 1998. It brings in roughly $3.6 million annually for Garland County Library maintenance and operations, library executive director Adam Webb said.

Reggie Cowan, an advocate for the petition, wrote in a letter to the editor in Sunday’s Hot Springs Sentinel-Record that eliminating the tax would “improve oversight of library spending and overall budget management” and that the library would still be able to operate due to its millions set aside in cash reserves.



https://arkansasadvocate.com/2024/07/09/proposed-garland-county-ballot-measure-would-nix-property-tax-that-funds-local-library/