PINE BLUFF -- Voters overwhelmingly approved a seven-year, five-eighths percent sales tax Tuesday that some say will make Pine Bluff a destination choice for new jobs, tourism and a robust community.
The tax, which will fund the Go Forward Pine Bluff initiative, is expected to generate $32 million and will be added to another $20 million in private donations promised to the program.
According to an unofficial ballot count, vote totals were:
For 3,831
Against 1,708
The current city sales tax of 9.750 percent will increase to 10.375 percent. The increase is expected to cost the average Pine Bluff household about $15 per month.
Jefferson County Election Commission member Michael Adam said there were only minor problems at the polls, such as a man thinking his vote had been switched. Poll workers verified the machine had been working correctly.
Election Commissioner Stu Soffer said the election was "very smooth."
Poll workers were lined up around the corner at the Jefferson County Election Commission office on Main Street shortly after the polls closed at 7:30 p.m. Two auditors set up shop in a back room as they manually counted votes. Simultaneously in a glassed-in office, Soffer and Adam fed ballots into the computer system.
Tallying the votes presented some problems. In one instance, precinct votes had to be retabulated when auditors read the wrong line on the printout. To verify the totals, Soffer manually counted signatures on the poll sites' sign-in sheets to see whether the total number of votes matched the auditors' totals.
At one point, Soffer and Adam helped one of the auditors interpret the ballot printout.
A final, unofficial tally was not reached until 10:20 p.m. Soffer said an electronic voting specialist as well as an auditor will be in the office today to recount the votes.
Soffer had a sheriff's deputy sent to the election office at one point because he believed Will Fox -- who was hired by the county as an election coordinator, but whose services were rejected by the commission -- was being too disruptive to the process.
Both men raised their voices numerous times during the evening, but it did not escalate to a physical altercation.
The tax was a divisive one, with some claiming it will be the savior of this Delta community of about 49,000 that has seen declines in population and economic development over the years and has a reputation for high crime.
Others, including three council members, said the Go Forward Pine Bluff project has provided neither a specific budget nor a plan for the proposed initiatives. Furthermore, the organization takes power away from the people and creates a government of secrecy, they said.
Go Forward Pine Bluff, which began in late 2015, is focused on four interconnected areas: education, economic development, infrastructure/government and quality of life.
About 100 community members worked for a year on the plan, ironing out details and working on funding. To do so, the volunteers had to fill out an application and sign nondisclosure agreements.
Go Forward Pine Bluff is governed by an independent committee, of which the mayor is a member. Tax revenue will flow through the city and will have to be approved by the City Council before it is routed to the initiative.
A coalition of Pine Bluff pastors called Faith Community Coalition Ministerial Alliance came out in support of the plan early in the campaign.
The Rev. Jesse Turner said the group stands with Mayor Shirley Washington and citizens who want the city to grow and thrive despite opposition.
"We strongly support Mayor Washington's vision of a stronger Pine Bluff working together," Turner said. "However, today her vision is being tested and her leadership skills are called into question and challenged by many, which created an environment of distrust among black and white citizens to slam Go Forward Pine Bluff."
The mood inside the commission office was jovial as votes were transferred by a black marker to a total sheet displayed in the main meeting room. The lead was clear from the beginning with early voting coming in at 1,635 for the tax to 571 against.
State Desk on 06/14/2017