Editor, The Commercial:
The Pine Bluff City Council is considering keeping the 5/8th sales tax, set to expire. The Council is scheduled to vote on March 20, 2017, to determine if this tax is put on the ballot. This tax is being pushed by the Simmons Go Forward Pine Bluff initiative.
If the residents of Pine Bluff do not end this tax, you can expect to pay about $32.5 million dollars in taxes over a seven year period. All funds collected from this tax will go to the Simmons First Foundation. The Pine Bluff City Council nor the mayor will have no jurisdiction over how the money is spent. Why should the Pine Bluff City Council and mayor approve of this tax collection with no jurisdiction over spending?
Also, we do not have enough higher income individuals to afford this tax. We should not expect the population of Pine Bluff to increase substantially over the next seven years, so you can expect that those of us who live here now will be the ones feeling the financial burden.
You should attend the meeting or call your City Council representative and the mayor to express your opposition.
Earl and Ora Mays
Pine Bluff