Voting will begin this Tuesday and continue through Election Day on May 9 for Pine Bluff voters to decide whether to renew the “Go Forward” five-eighths-cent sales tax for another seven years and to consider adding a brand-new and permanent three-eighths-cent sales tax for public safety. I will be voting NO against these measures on the ballot this special election. Only with the addition of a Pine Bluff Promise scholarship opportunity as well as transparency and accountability standards will I be able to support the ballot measures in the Primary Election next March.
Like so many Pine Bluffians who want to support Go Forward and who do support Mayor Shirley Washington, I have concerns that are founded in data and fact that must be addressed if we are going to be successful and if we are to ever become “One Pine Bluff, Stronger Together.” I know we can get there with a rewritten measure on the ballot during the Primary Election next March, still in plenty of time to renew the current tax before it sunsets on September 30, 2024.
The people of Pine Bluff are desperate to recapture the growth and prosperity so steeply ingrained in our history. From the diversity, opportunity and inclusion that Rep. John Grey Lucas (my predecessor of 137 years ago) describes in an 1886 Boston Daily Globe article, to the booming economy and rich culture that defined the city a century later, Pine Bluff is its own legacy and blueprint. Unfortunately, the last 30 years of industrial shifts and decline, population loss, and terrible press have caused Pine Bluff to focus on what we had rather than to remember who we are.
We are resilient. Not a war nor a flood held Pine Bluff back from standing on the foundation of education, infrastructure and entrepreneurship. We must not depart from that formula of success. While the Go Forward initiative was patterned after the 2007 El Dorado strategic planning and tax initiative that resulted in a one-cent tax and the El Dorado Promise scholarship, Pine Bluff students were not afforded the same incentive that El Dorado students were. In eight years, El Dorado netted 70 new full-time jobs and achieved huge improvements in higher-education attainment, along with numerous other measurable improvements. With the strains that depopulation, fiscal/academic distress and state takeover have had on Pine Bluff schools, a Pine Bluff Promise scholarship component must become a part of Pine Bluff’s plan for growth and development.
A Pine Bluff Promise education initiative could uniquely address our students’ needs along with the workforce needs of the city. Imagine an education initiative that supports high quality Pre-K education as well as scholarships for four-year and technical college degrees. As Pine Bluff is home to Simmons and Relyance banks, Jefferson Regional Medical Center, Central Maloney, Saracen Casino, Good Day Farm and an industrial park full of successful companies, who needs a Murphy Oil?
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
We are integral. Since 1839, Pine Bluff has been integral to the economy and identity of the state. From UAPB and SEARK, to Bayou Bartholomew and other natural resources, to our transport infrastructure that includes interstate, rail, river and air, we matter. And we matter big. Just ask GTL Americas. The possibilities are boundless!
Before the first vote in 2017, Go Forward shared the results from initial meetings in a publication and outlined lots of great ideas and hopes, but no timeline, no budget and no deliverables promised to the voters asked to tax themselves for seven years. With so many challenges, opportunities and priorities on deck for the city to address and with the estimated tax revenue increase resulting from the casino and cannabis cultivation farm that opened since, we need a projected budget, timeline and project priorities.
Voters deserve to know what direct and indirect deliverables have resulted from the $25 million in tax dollars spent so far. For example, we have a beautifully renovated innovation space that houses The Generator that about $400,000 of the current sales tax supports annually. However, how can voters be expected to renew the tax without any report of jobs or new businesses resulting from this investment? Or clarity as to what outcomes The Generator will actually generate moving forward?
Most key to the proposed tax increases passing, with widespread and active support from “One Pine Bluff,” are transparency and accountability. Incorporating transparency and accountability standards is a must. [Freedom of Information Act] authority over the expenditure of public dollars and contracts, along with consistent website reporting of city tax dollars, should be incorporated into the language of the ballot measures. This level of transparency will go a long way to engendering the good will and trust of many who want to support Go Forward, and serve as a benchmark for setting priorities and timelines for regular public reporting and feedback.
Furthermore, the three-eighths-cent sales tax for public safety must be re-written in a way to ensure that the funds are evenly split and designated for specific public safety needs of the Pine Bluff Police and Fire Departments. As of right now, no law enforcement or fire department unions or associations are in support of this tax because they do not trust that the funds will reach the rank and file.
We can again lead the way without the Urban Renewal Agency or public-private partnership as we have before and just like El Dorado did. Or with a transparent, accountable Go Forward tax that provides a Pine Bluff Promise scholarship, we can forge ahead in support together next March. Anything less will be unacceptable. I’m a NO FOR NOW. Please vote No on May 2nd-9th.
Vivian Flowers is a Democratic state representative who represents Pine Bluff.