Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Government Tax topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Marion County committee refers three sales-tax ordinances, including half-cent bond measure, to Quorum Court
Summary
The Procedures and Management Committee voted to refer three ordinances to the Quorum Court on Dec. 9: a permanent 0.25% county sales tax, an ordinance calling a special election on that 0.25% tax, and a 0.5% sales-tax bond proposal to finance park and recreation facilities and a new community center. Legal counsel explained how the two taxes could be pledged together and what would happen if only one passes.
Justice Tommy Dorsey presided over the Marion County Procedures and Management Committee meeting on Nov. 20, 2025, where members reviewed wording for three related ordinances and voted to refer all three to the Quorum Court for consideration on Dec. 9.
The first ordinance the committee reviewed would levy a permanent one-quarter of one percent (0.25%) county sales tax. During discussion, legal counsel explained that, under state law, the ordinance levying the tax does not take effect until voters approve a ballot measure. "This ordinance shall not take effect until an election is held on the question of levying the sales and use tax," counsel said, summarizing the text of Article 4 in the draft ordinance.
A second ordinance would call a special election on the question of levying the countywide 0.25% sales and use tax. Counsel told the committee that the quarter-cent is separate from the half-cent proposal and, if approved by voters, could be pledged to bond payments alongside the half-cent. "The half-cent tax can only be used to pay debt service on the bonds," counsel said, "and the quarter cent, if separately approved, can also be pledged to the payment of bonds."
The third ordinance calls a special election on issuing bonds under Amendment No. 62 to the Arkansas Constitution and levying a new one-half of one percent (0.5%) sales tax to retire those bonds. Committee members asked whether the ordinance title should reflect combined rates if both measures pass; one member suggested the title appear to show 0.75%, but counsel clarified the ordinance levies only a half-cent and that the quarter-cent reference in the text is conditional on a separate voter approval. Counsel also noted the previously referenced "maximum aggregate principal amount" and that the voters had earlier approved a figure of $16.5 million as a not-to-exceed amount for the project.
Committee members pressed for clarity about contingency scenarios. Counsel said the bonds could be issued even if the quarter-cent failed, but that bondholders would have less pledged coverage and the scope of the financed project would likely need to be scaled back. Counsel outlined typical debt-service timing: interest payments twice a year and principal payments typically annually, with exact structuring handled by the county's underwriting firm.
Each ordinance was moved, seconded, and approved by voice vote to be "passed on" to the Quorum Court for its December meeting. The meeting record shows voice votes and short verbal responses; the transcript does not contain a full roll-call tally in the record provided.
An unnamed judge who spoke at the start of the meeting said he supported putting a half-cent sales-tax question on the ballot so voters could decide. "I want you all to know where I stood with that," the judge said. The committee adjourned after referring all three ordinances to the Quorum Court.
Next steps: the Quorum Court will consider the draft ordinances at its meeting on Dec. 9, 2025; if placed on the ballot, voters will decide whether to approve the proposed taxes and the bond issuance.
