LITTLE ROCK — Saline County voters rejected all but one annexation proposal on this election's ballot, halting much of Benton's and Bryant's plans to stretch their boundaries and grow tax bases.
One stretch of mostly commercial property along Arkansas 5 and near Longhills Road will be incorporated into Benton's city limits after voters narrowly approved the measure.
Four proposals in Bryant failed. They were for properties at Springhill Road, Midland Road, North Lake Road and Wilkerson Road.
Bryant was expected to nearly double in land size if it took in each of the four sections of land it was seeking, including a patch of mostly residential property off North Lake Road that Benton voters recently rejected annexing.
The complete but unofficial results were:
Ordinance No. 2008-18
For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,370
Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,834
Ordinance No. 2008-19
For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,286
Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,523
Ordinance No. 2008-29
For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,155
Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,352
Ordinance No. 2008-30
For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2,380
Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,792
Benton sought to annex land in three swaths along Arkansas 5, hoping to cash in on tax revenue from several businesses in those areas.
Proposals to take in land at Mulberry Salem Road and Salem Road failed.
Benton Mayor Rick Holland has said voters may have been confused about annexation proposals on which they were voting because there have been so many annexation discussions in Saline County this year.
The complete but unofficial results were
Ordinance No. 2008-47
For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,343
Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,970
Ordinance No. 2008-48
For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,912
Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,520
Ordinance No. 2008-49
For. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,555
Against . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,805
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 11/06/2008