Written by Lauren Bucher
Registered voters will decide whether or not to retain the controversial Advertising and Tourism Promotion Tax, or the A&P tax, in a special election Tuesday, April 13 at the Carmichael Community Center.
The A&P tax affects Searcy’s hotel and tourism industry. Businesses selling prepared food, such as restaurants and convenience stores, are taxed by 1 percent. Overnight rentals or any short-term accommodations, such as hotels and campgrounds, are taxed by 3 percent.
The A&P commission estimates that the tax will bring in $800,000 per year of additional revenue for the city. The revenue generated will be invested back into the city, improving parks and recreational facilities.
The Searcy City Council approved the A&P tax in May 2009, and on July 1, 2009, the tax began. The tax’s debut has sparked controversy. As a result, the tax revenue is frozen.
The city council passed the tax without a public vote, a move allowed by state law. Some citizens felt the council overstepped its bounds, and in response signed a petition to dissolve the tax. However, there was some confusion about how soon the petition had to be submitted after the tax was passed. City law requires that a petition be turned in within 30 days after the tax was passed; state law, on the other hand, allows 30 to 90 days to submit the petition for referendum after the tax was passed. A lawsuit was filed to make the vote public to determine the tax’s future.
“The city council voted against it [the public vote] numerous times,” said Carl Nutter, a Searcy City Council member. “I’ve always been for letting the people vote, always felt that the people rule.”
The proponents of the tax contend that the majority of the tax revenue would come from visitors, not the citizens of Searcy. Those in favor of the tax say, in effect, that the revenue from homecoming and Spring Sing visitors would fund the improvement of local parks.
Attorney-at-law Greg Niblock represented the Friends of Searcy voters when they sued the city over the tax. As a result of their winning the lawsuit, Searcy’s citizens will determine the future of the tax.
Niblock is part of a group of citizens that strongly oppose the tax. He said he is particularly concerned about instating a new tax during a recession.
“That bill gives too much power to the officials of the new A&P commission, who are unelected,” Niblock said. “I am concerned that the commission will be self-perpetuating. Once the tax is active, it will be difficult to get rid of.”
Niblock foresees the vote going either way. The result, he said, is contingent on voter turnout.
“I hope that every single citizen who is registered to vote will show up and vote,” Niblock said. “If everybody does that, then it [the tax] will be discontinued. If very few people show up, it’s very likely that the measure will pass.”
The A&P commission is comprised of seven members — four representatives from the hotel and tourism industry, two city council members and one member at large. Appointed by the mayor, the commission members’ terms are four years long and will be staggered initially. Only citizens who live in White County are eligible to become A&P commission members.
“What will be a challenge for its adoption is that this has historically been a low tax/no tax area. When people are given the option to say no, they usually take it,” Harding political science professor Lori Klein said. “I won’t be voting on this one- I live outside city limits, but I will, like many other non-citizens, be paying a tax if it passes.”
“Government works best when the people participate,” Nutter said. “I encourage everyone to come out to vote. It’s one of our greatest freedoms.”
The polls will stay open from 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. at the Carmichael Community Center, 801 S.Elm, Searcy, AR.
