Fayetteville sales tax ballot drafted, council to discuss election date
Posted on Tuesday, June 13, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/News/41683/
Fayetteville aldermen will have their first chance today to discuss the ballot for the upcoming vote on a one cent sales tax to repay $110 million in bonds.
The City Council will discuss setting the election at its agenda setting session, which is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. in Room 326 of the City Administration Building.
The city is seeking approval for the one cent tax to finance most of the excess cost of the $183 million Wastewater System Improvement Project and $62 million in transportation projects. The one cent would fund three bond issues, which would be finally paid off in 2018.
The ballot includes four questions: the first is for $25 million which would pay for a part of the outstanding debt on the sewer project, the second would give the city authority to use the sales tax to repay up to $17 million in sewer rate-backed bonds that may be taken out to pay for the rest of the excess cost of the sewer project, the third is for up to $65.9 million in street improvements, and the final question is for $2.1 million in trail improvements.
Aldermen are hoping voters will approve extending the sewer tax to finance the cost overruns of the sewer project so they don’t have to increase monthly sewer rates for that purpose. Voters approved the tax in 2001 to repay up to $125 million for the project, which at the time had a price tag of $120 million and an estimated completion date of September 2005.
To keep the project on its current 2008 completion date the council must finance the overrun at a set schedule, which is why it may have to borrow the $17 million before the second scheduled sales tax bond issue. Some of the excess cost will come from other areas of the budget, some from impact fees and other sources, leaving $38.4 million to be financed.
The Transportation Improvement Program originally included $162 million worth of projects, which would have required voter approval of around $170 million, but was reduced to allow for the sewer tax to be extended to pay for the overruns. The transportation project was always discussed in phases, though now the additional phases will also require voter approval.
The trail improvements are part of the overall transportation program, but City Attorney Kit Williams has stated his opinion that there should be a separate vote for trail projects, based on his interpretation of the state law that allows the city to seek a sales tax for the projects. Some aldermen, however, have indicated they want only one question for the transportation program.
More information on the transportation program can be found on the city’s Web site, www. accessfayetteville.