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Securities and Investment Advisory Services offered through Jim Stilwell as a Registered Representative and Investment Adviser Rep. of Nationwide Securities, LLC, P.O. Box 183137, Columbus, Ohio 43218, 888-752-7364. A Registered Investment Advisor. Member FINRA, SIPC. DBA Nationwide Advisory Services, Inc., in AR, FL, IL, WV. DBA Nationwide Advisory Services in MA, NY, OK. Rep. of Nationwide Life Insurance Company, affiliated cos. and other cos.
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Sixth time a charm for Benton?
Benton voters have not supported any special election initiative since 2004. They return to the polls to decide on a 'hamburger tax' renewal proposal.
Posted November 8, 2011
Early voter turnout for Benton’s proposed convention center tax was at best lukewarm. But then again, support for any local initiative hasn’t been so hot since an increasingly dubious electorate approved a city sales tax hike more than seven years ago.Only 8 percent of Benton’s more than 17,500 registered voters bothered to visit the two early voting sites during the five-day period that ended Monday. Nearly 95 percent of the 1,447 early votes were cast at the Vote Here Building in Downtown Benton. Fewer than 100 voters visited the Bryant First Pentecostal Church polling site, where voting ended Friday.Polls for the special election are open until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Thirty-four polling sites are open throughout Saline County because voters statewide are deciding the fate of a $575 million bond issue to finance improvements to the state's interstate highways. Only 298 county residents voted early on the bond issue, which is expected to attract fewer than 10 percent of the state's registered voters. That raised the early voting total to 1,745 in Saline County for both ballot initiatives.At stake in Benton, where rainy weather could further cripple voter turnout, is the renewal of the city’s 1.5 percent Advertising and Promotion Commission tax. Ironically, the original tax -- it is levied against restaurants, motels and other local hospitality industry businesses -- was enacted by a vote of the City Council and not the residents. That occurred in 2006 when it became apparent to city officials that any effort to gain voter approval for the so-called “hamburger tax” would probably be an exercise in futility.The idea behind the original tax was that Benton could finally realize a community center facility. Each proposal, however, morphed into a plan that residents found too far-fetched and costly. That was never more evident than in August 2010, when the proposed Central Arkansas Fairplex at Saline County tax initiative went down harder than the unfortunate recipient of an uppercut from the late boxing great Joe Frazier. The proposal, which outgrew Benton voters’ pocketbooks, was put before Saline County voters in a special election. Opposition to the plan was as sweltering as the summer heat. The penny tax proposal, which attracted a record 22.47-percent voter turnout, was met with a 74-percent disapproval rating and was defeated at all 34 polling sites in the county -- yes, including the ones in Benton.Fallout from that election, and the perceived lack of transparency exhibited by fairplex organizers and proponents, led to major changes within the A&P Commission: Personnel were laid off, the A&P office was closed and commission members decided that at least 80 percent of any future revenue would be dedicated to both construction of a community center facility and ensuing costs for maintenance and operation. Problem was, much of the A&P tax revenue had been eaten up with the two-year-long fairplex effort and the tax was scheduled to expire at the end of 2011. Commissioners asked the City Council to vote to renew the tax until enough money could be raised for a community center facility. The council decided, this time, that any voting that needed to be done could be handled by the public.The convention center would be built at a cost of between $7 million and $8 million. It would be located at Hickory Square shopping center next to the Tinseltown movie theater off Interstate 30. The 28,000-square-foot facility reportedly would seat 700 people for a banquet and 1,000 people for a lecture-style event. Mark Fikes, a local restaurant owner and chairman of the A&P Commission, said an unnamed hotel chain is interest in linking a facility to the convention center.The A&P tax currently generates more than $800,000 annually in revenue.Mayor David Mattingly, a leading proponent of the proposed convention center facility, reportedly said he expects between 3,000 and 4,000 voters to visit the polls Tuesday. That would boost overall turnout to between 25 percent and 30 percent, which seems highly unlikely for a couple of reasons: Early voting was low and stormy weather is predicted Tuesday.Here's how special election initiatives involving Benton issues have fared since 2004:June 2004 -- A 1.5 percent city sales tax increase was approved by 78.5 percent of the voters. Turnout was 11 percent. The tax expires at the end of 2016.December 2005 -- A proposal to extend the terms of Benton aldermen from two to four years was defeated by 73 percent of the voters. Turnout was 12 percent.April 2007 -- A proposal to build a community center facility in flood-prone land off Interstate 30 was defeated by 87 percent of the voters. The city asked for a .375-percent tax hike to fund the proposed $26.5 million facility. Turnout for the so-called "swamp land" proposal neared 22 percent.October 2008 -- Benton sought to annex land in the Northlake Road area, but 66 percent of the voters said no. Turnout was 4.5 percent.October 2009 -- A half-cent public safety tax proposal was defeated by 62 percent of Benton voters. Turnout was 17.5 percent. The tax proposal was the result of lengthy research conducted by the Citizens Public Safety Committee. Mattingly chaired the committee.August 2010 -- The aforementioned fairplex proposal went down in flames.The age of miracles really isn’t over. Not in Benton anyway.One-fifth of registered city voters -- leery and weary from having to tolerate more than a decade of impractical, costly and mostly special interest-serving proposals -- finally found a community center plan they could live with, and they embraced it heartily.Residents will eventually gain the use of a community center-like facility, in the form of a convention center, following the renewal Tuesday of Benton’s Advertising and Promotion Commission tax. The special election initiative was approved by 72 percent of voters (2,485 to 968).Revenue from the so-called “hamburger tax” will be used to construct and then operate the community center, which will be built next to Tinseltown movie theater in Hickory Square shopping center off the Interstate 30 access road. City officials have said that a hotel chain was interested in hooking onto the center if the measure was approved."The main thing we had going for us is Mayor David Mattingly," said Terry Benham, co-chairman of Go Benton, a grassroots organization that promoted passage of the tax initiative and formulated a campaign strategy."From the first day, he reached out to everyone with a stake in this and listened to them. He offered them vision, transparency and leadership and they responded overwhelmingly with a mandate: They want their city to be economically competitive."The 1.5-percent A&P tax is levied against restaurants, motels and other hospitality industry businesses locally. The tax generates more than $800,000 annually. City officials said the new tax will expire when the commission has accumulated between $7 million and $8 million for the 28,000-square-foot convention center facility, which will seat between 700 and 1,000 people depending on the event. The original A&P tax was scheduled to sunset at the end of this year.Turnout was 19.7 percent for the special election -- a respectable figure considering that the tax measure attracted only 8.4 percent of voters during the five-day early voting period that ended Monday. Another 1,976 residents (11.3 percent) visited the polls Tuesday.The initiative appeared well on its way to victory early Tuesday night. The measure enjoyed an 85-percent head start (2,019 to 358) after Saline County Election Commission officials tabulated early and absentee ballots at the Vote Here Building in Downtown Benton.Proponents of the tax initiative were confident of its passage, Benham said, but he admitted surprise at the margin of victory."I never really saw 72 percent coming," he said, "even though we felt comfortable that we would win. Our polling showed we had a lead and it showed our message was working as our lead began to grow. The only thing I wasn't comfortable with is the uncertainty of voter turnout in a special election. Fortunately, we had a good plan, we were disciplined about following it and the voters responded."The A&P tax renewal is the first special election initiative supported by Benton voters since residents approved a 1.5-percent city sales tax increase in June 2004. Five ensuing ballot measures included three tax proposals, the latest of which was the Central Arkansas Fairplex at Saline County proposal that was bludgeoned by county voters in an August 2010 special election. The penny sales tax initiative was defeated by 74 percent of the voters, who stated emphatically that they wanted nothing to do with the $55 million proposal that was spawned by the A&P Commission."Going from losing the fairplex 74-26 (percent) to winning this election 72-28, in about a year's time, is a statement win," Benham said. "I believe the voters said clearly that if you bring us a responsible plan and answer our questions about it in a transparent way, we will respond."What they also said clearly," he added, "is 'We want our city to start winning.' That's the most rewarding part of this campaign. Winning is a choice. It requires sacrifice, determination and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Go Benton challenged our city to invest in themselves, to work hard to win, and to embrace a vision for economic development and job creation."Benham, of Benton, is a political strategist and public relations executive. He is a founding partner of Little Rock-based Impact Management Group Inc. Benham's firm offered early on to assist fairplex organizers with their campaign but the fairplex folks opted to keep their efforts largely in-house.Jasen Kelly, director of the Boys & Girls Club of Saline County, co-chaired Go Benton with Benham. Mark Fikes, a local restaurant owner and chairman of the A&P Commission, took a leading role in promoting the tax renewal effort. Ron James, executive director of the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce, also was among the numerous people instrumental in touting the need for the tax renewal.Kelly offered a succinct response to Tuesday's election outcome."We, the citizens, drew a line in the dirt," he said. "We will no longer regress, we will only move forward."No organized opposition surfaced during the campaign effort, which was noticeably quiet and behaved compared to various controversies that arose during last year's fairplex campaign.Also on Tuesday, a sampling of Saline County voters favored an Arkansas highway bond initiative for improvements to the state’s interstate highways. The measure passed comfortably statewide, and gained 79.4 percent approval (4,724 to 1,228) from Saline voters. Turnout countywide was only 9.7 percent.By Whit Jones, insidesaline.com
Posted November 9, 2011
Precinct Voting
Voting by precincts
in special election:
Calvary Baptist
Turnout: 32.5%
Election Day
For .......................................... 238
Against ..................................... 82
Early/Absentee
For .......................................... 201
Against ..................................... 42
TOTAL VOTES
For ............................. 439 (78%)
Against ..................... 124 (22%)
First Baptist
Turnout: 17.5%
Election Day
For .......................................... 142
Against ..................................... 87
Early/Absentee
For .......................................... 171
Against ..................................... 62
TOTAL VOTES
For ............................. 298 (64%)
Against ..................... 166 (36%)
First Christian
Turnout: 27.5%
Election Day
For .......................................... 103
Against ..................................... 23
Early/Absentee
For .......................................... 120
Against ..................................... 27
TOTAL VOTES
For ............................. 223 (82%)
Against ........................ 50 (18%)
First Pentecostal
Turnout: 4.5%
Election Day
For .......................................... 109
Against ..................................... 27
Early/Absentee
For ............................................ 23
Against ..................................... 15
TOTAL VOTES
For ............................. 132 (76%)
Against ........................ 42 (24%)
Curtis Fire Sta.
Turnout: 11.9%
Election Day
For .......................................... 141
Against ..................................... 70
Early/Absentee
For .......................................... 112
Against ..................................... 41
TOTAL VOTES
For ......................... 253 (69.5%)
Against .................. 111 (30.5%)
Highland Heights
Turnout: 20.5%
Election Day
For .......................................... 340
Against .................................. 155
Early/Absentee
For .......................................... 244
Against ..................................... 78
TOTAL VOTES
For ......................... 584 (71.5%)
Against .................. 233 (28.5%)
Johnson St. CofC
Turnout: 20.4%
Election Day
For ............................................ 39
Against ..................................... 17
Early/Absentee
For ............................................ 23
Against ....................................... 7
TOTAL VOTES
For ............................... 62 (72%)
Against ........................ 24 (28%)
Sharon Baptist
Turnout: 23.6%
Election Day
For .......................................... 253
Against ..................................... 96
Early/Absentee
For .......................................... 191
Against ..................................... 47
TOTAL VOTES
For ............................. 444 (76%)
Against ..................... 143 (24%)
Trinity Baptist
Turnout: 14.4%
Election Day
For .......................................... 110
Against ..................................... 80
Early/Absentee
For ............................................ 72
Against ..................................... 37
TOTAL VOTES
For ............................. 182 (61%)
Against ..................... 117 (39%)
'Statement win': A&P tax vote a no-doubter;
Benton to get center via 'burger' extension
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