Written by Sarah Kyle
After much discussion and conflict at Searcy’s December city council meeting, the decision was made to hold a special election regarding the Advertising and Promotion Tax.
The issue was brought to council when Alderman Jim Dixon made a motion to allow J.D. Yingling, a Parks and Advisory Board member and Harding University professor, to read a written statement regarding the tax.
According to Yingling, the tax was originally suggested by the Parks and Advisory Board in order to help improve the city’s recreational facilities, including ball fields and athletic programs for both children and senior citizens. Yingling also said that the tax has proven to be useful in other Arkansas cities.
“The proposal was created after months of studying other cities surrounding Searcy,” Yingling said. “After much researching the tax and visiting many other cities where residents have enacted the tax, we believe that it [was] in the best interest of Searcy to put the tax in place.”
Yingling stated that while the board believes the tax was enacted legally by the council, opposition from the group Searcy Friends of the Voters has made the council a spectacle.
He added that the ongoing court dates and hearings have only hurt the citizens, since proceeds from the tax are currently frozen, making them unusable for city improvements.
“In an effort to expedite this process and provide closure for the issue, the Parks and Advisory suggests that the Searcy City Council sets a special election for the A&P tax,” Yingling said.
Dixon made a motion to hold a special election for the tax, but Carl Nutter added an unanticipated amendment to suspend the collection of the tax until such an election is held.
After much discussion regarding the legality of halting or continuing the tax’s collection, which has been a prime source of conflict in the courtroom, the council narrowly voted to add Nutter’s amendment to the motion.
The council then debate about when the elections would be held, a discussion that seemed more controversial than the issue at hand.
Attorney-at-law Greg Niblock, who represents Searcy Friends of the Voters in the A&P lawsuit, twice addressed the council with phrasing traditionally used in the courtroom, an action that city council attorney Buck Gibson described as inappropriate.
“Litigates shouldn’t address matters at the council meetings,” Gibson said. “[But] Mr. Niblock is an advocate of his cause, and I appreciate that.”
However, Niblock said he is merely trying to represent the will of the people.
Niblock was opposed by Alderman Mike Chalenburg, who said that halting the tax’s collection would be against the will of the people, should they vote to keep the A&P tax. But Nutter said he believes that it is impossible to know the will of the people until the election.
“For the people to rule, [their representatives] got to know what their will is,” Nutter said. “It’s not, ‘We’re just going to do this because we think it’s the will of the people.'”
After an hour of discussion and conflict, the council voted to uphold Dixon’s motion and Nutter’s amendment, ironically without Dixon’s support.
“I’m opposed to the amendment to allay the tax,” Dixon said.
“When there’s an amendment made, it changes the whole motion,” Alderman Steve Sterling added.
To determine the exact date of the special election, the council will hold a special meeting Dec. 21 at 5 p.m.
