By NAN SNIDER
Special to the
NEA Town Courier
William Harper, with Crews & Associates of Little Rock, met with the Monette City Council Monday evening to discuss the feasibility of possibly placing a one-cent city sales tax on the November 2023 ballot.
“The city is in need of a new fire station, lighting at the city ballpark and a multi-purpose community building, and the council is researching various means to secure funding,” Mayor Bob Blankenship said. “Our town is growing, and our needs are growing. Working this out is of great concern to our council, and we are examining every means possible to make improvements. We must decide what is most important for our city, then find a way to get it done.”
Passing a city sales tax would require defining city needs and funding, Monette voter approval, and sale of bonds. This tax would be a sunset tax, meaning it would end when the tax date limit expires.
The council agreed to use Friday, Eldredge and Clark of Little Rock for legal opinions concerning potential bond issue matters.
The city continues to work on completion of the FUN Park Grant application which is due on Aug. 25, 2023.
The council accepted the city’s 2021 legislative audit report as received.
Aldermen passed Ordinance 2023-2 which amends Ordinances 2007-1, 2012-1 and 2013-7. The ordinance describes in de-tail which animals can or cannot be kept within the corporate limits of the city of Monette. The ordinance also lists exemptions, maintenance, acreage required for certain animals, and penalties for those who are out of compliance. Anyone who has questions concerning the new ordinance is encouraged to pick up a copy at Monette City Hall.
The council passed Resolution 2023-7 which allows the addition of U.S. Highway 78 designation to portions of Interstate 55, Interstate 555, U.S. Highway 49, State Highway 18, from Memphis, Tenn., through West Memphis, Blytheville, and Jonesboro to future Interstate 57. The request for the addition came from the Arkansas State Highway Commission.
Two ordinances for fireworks and dog leashes were tabled until the August council meeting.
An executive session was called to discuss transfer and reassignment of employee positions. The council reconvened and voted to transfer David Newcom to work as an assistant to water and sewer superintendent Chad Williams, with full time benefits. Ethan Shirley will be working as a full-time employee with the sanitation department as well doing mowing and weeding. Williams and Shirley are versatile and work in other departments as well.
The council voted to advertise for sale several pieces of unused equipment and rotate the use of two trucks.