Recently, an executive from Norwegian packaging manufacturer Elopak told city leaders the company chose Little Rock as its first U.S. site because Little Rock thought big and acted big.
It hasn’t always been that way. Fred Smith was big on Little Rock in the early 1970s until his growing entrepreneurial enterprise, then known as Federal Express, failed to get enough support from city leaders. Now FedEx, the Fortune 50 company, is headquartered just down the road in Memphis. Big thinking requires the commitment and vision Smith had in himself but Little Rock, for whatever reason, did not share at that time.
What’s changed in the last 50 years? Plenty. Groups like Fifty for the Future, the Downtown Little Rock Partnership, the Little Rock Regional Chamber, and our city’s Board of Directors are more laser-focused on Little Rock’s future by cultivating opportunities for our children and grandchildren. Little Rock is a growing, thriving city and a player on the world stage. The population gain and rapid job creation of the last few years attest both to the success and potential of a city that thinks big and acts big.
The Results for the Rock penny investment proposal reflects that paradigm shift and builds on our momentum as we focus on big, transformational ideas for Arkansas’s capital city. With the new penny tax, we will take a huge step forward with investments in public safety, infrastructure, quality of life and economic development.
Thinking big requires us to understand where we are as a city right now. As one of the few growing mid-size cities in the 2020 U.S. census, we estimate Little Rock has about 210,000 residents. That number swells to closer to 350,000 during the workday as tens of thousands of commuters benefit from our services. For example, residents of almost 50 counties commute to work at the Port of Little Rock from smaller communities across Arkansas. Acting big involves finding ways to make our bigger city a safer, more attractive and more advantageous place for them to call home.
To do that, we must first understand there is no perfect solution to the growing pains Little Rock now faces. Even so, this inclusive, fair and transparent tax proposal identifies and funds our most targeted and immediate needs. Rarely does Little Rock’s Board of Directors stand united. When they are joined by the Fraternal Order of Police, the International Association of Fire Fighters, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, and community leaders from every ward in the city, we know this must be the best solution at the right time.
Because of state law, a sales tax is one of very few options Arkansas cities can use to seek revenue. All of us dislike taxes, and regressive taxes are especially impactful to our low- and moderate-income residents. It’s not perfect, but at least a sales tax ensures that those commuters and visitors who take advantage of city services will take part in paying for them, too.
To be clear, despite all the misinformation and deceptive numbers from opponents, Little Rock’s sales tax will not double. The amount of sales tax paid to local merchants will go from 8.625% to 9.625%. We will create big, transformational changes to our city for the total per-person cost of a cup of coffee a day.
With the penny increase, Little Rock taxes will remain comparable to or lower than most Arkansas cities and lower than places like Chicago, Birmingham and Memphis. Put simply, we will get better results at less expense than most other places.
We don’t live in a high-tax city now, and we won’t when voters endorse the Results for the Rock proposal. Other types of taxes are comparable or better than similar communities, too. The Tax Foundation ranks Arkansas as 39th in property taxes and 26th in overall tax burden. Little Rock’s penny wouldn’t change that. Instead, it will change the trajectory of Little Rock in a big way by doing the following:
Supporting 21st Century approaches to crime prevention through $30 million for police technology. The Real-Time Crime Center is a game changer for how we tackle crime and the perception of crime in the capital city.
Paying for new patrol cars, fire trucks, code enforcement trucks and apparatus to enhance public safety.
Establishing a permanent fund to fix the potholes on our streets and providing more money for street, sidewalk and drainage needs in every part of Little Rock.
Re-imagining our already world-class parks system with new designs for War Memorial Park and Hindman Park while committing long-term money to the upkeep of Little Rock’s 63 parks.
Funding an outdoor sports complex and indoor sports/entertainment facility to serve our youth and support parents and grandparents sick and tired of going out of town every weekend to watch their kids play ball.
Creating even more reasons for residents and guests to visit the Little Rock Zoo, Arkansas’s only accredited zoological park and a magnet for schools and families.
Supporting economic development at the Port of Little Rock with money directed toward finishing out the next industry “super site” or attracting the next possible FedEx to a more welcoming Little Rock.
The plan would fund even more investments than these, such as upgrades to our downtown urban core. It would devote dollars to take us farther than ever before in the effort to end homelessness. As the nation faces an affordable housing crisis, this plan would put $20 million towards 350 affordable housing units in Little Rock.
This is thinking big and acting big.
If we invest in this plan, we set ourselves on a path to be the next Nashville or Charlotte. Rather, in 20 years, it’s likely another mid-sized city will want to be the next Little Rock.
There’s precedent for thinking big and acting big. Just look to our west, where Oklahoma City has transformed itself through four iterations of its MAPS tax plan. Because residents were willing to invest in themselves, that city has grown from 444,000 in 1990 to over 700,000 now. Plus, an NBA team. Plus, downtown revitalization and a new community spirit.
Yet our aspirations can only go as far as our investment. We know our city continues to do more with less, as seen through significantly lower crime rates, community development initiatives, strong recoveries from a global pandemic and a major tornado, and effective use of one-time federal money to move Little Rock forward.
City leadership is on the front lines for Little Rock, and we should join them. It’s time to think big and act big, because we are big. We were named one of the top 25 cities in the South by Southern Living last year. Forbes lists Little Rock as a top 10 place for young professionals. We are Arkansas’s largest city, its capital, and the regional hub for health care, commerce, finance and distribution.
Let’s take a stand for a better Little Rock, and let’s vote big. Let’s pass both parts of the Results for the Rock proposal. Vote “for” twice on Election Day.