Shortage of cash, tight budget influence council decisions

Police car purchase delayed, new tax sought

Photo by Randy Moll Highfill police department’s Dodge Charger, no longer running, was parked beside the city’s police department building, which also has problems with peeling walls, a leaky roof and mold.
Photo by Randy Moll Highfill police department’s Dodge Charger, no longer running, was parked beside the city’s police department building, which also has problems with peeling walls, a leaky roof and mold.

— A shortage of funds and a tight budget were key factors in decisions made at the Highfill Council meeting on July 12. A police car purchase was put on hold and an ordinance was passed in an effort to increase funding for road upkeep and repairs in the city which is large in size but small in population.

The council delayed replacing a police car for the Highfill Police Department when its 2008 Dodge Charger with 170,000 miles on it quit running due to major engine problems. The cost to repair it by replacing the engine would likely be in the neighborhood of $8,000 to $10,000, according to an estimate presented to the council by Blake Webb, the city's police chief. He recommended against repairing the vehicle and suggested replacing it with a new or used police SUV because the car is worn out and cars don't do well on the dirt and gravel roads in the city.

"The car is worn out in more ways than one," Webb said, adding that running it could be a "matter of public safety."

The police department has three full-time officers and one part-time officer to provide coverage for the city. It has three other vehicles: a 2014 Chevy Tahoe with 55,000 miles, a 2010 Dodge Ram pickup truck with 120,000 miles, and a 2007 Dodge Durango with 188,000 miles, Webb said. The Dodge Durango was currently not in service because of problems with its light bar -- a water leak had caused it to operate sporadically -- but a replacement light bar had been ordered, Webb said. Because of its age and high mileage, the Durango had also been set aside for use only in special situations in which 4-wheel drive is needed.

Webb said his department really needed to have four vehicles so that backup and on-call officers would be able to respond in a timely fashion when needed to assist the on-duty officer.

Stacy Digby, Highfill's mayor, said the city really needed to take a close look at where it stands in regard to the budget before authorizing a major expenditure like purchasing a new or used patrol vehicle and further depleting the town's savings.

"We need to take a look at the budget," Digby said. "If we ain't got it, we ain't got it," he said.

Digby suggested not scheduling shifts for the part-time officer until the vehicle shortage is resolved. He also scheduled a working council session to review the city's budget for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 21.

Council members suggested a second opinion on the Dodge Charger to see if it might be repairable, just to be sure. Councilman David Williamson, a mechanic, volunteered to take a look and see if he thought the engine was repairable or needed to be replaced.

Michelle Rieff, council member, suggested Webb prepare a plan for regular vehicle replacement to be submitted to the council for use in budget planning. Suggested by the council, without any indication it was not already being done, was a police department policy requiring officers to do maintenance and check fluid levels regularly.

Also mentioned in the discussion was the department's station which has a roof leak, peeling walls and mold. Possibly relocating the police department into city hall or the fire station addition was suggested. The department was located for a brief period in city hall.

Sales Tax Increase

Passed on three readings with a single vote, and with an emergency clause, were two ordinances seeking to raise sales and use taxes within the city by 1/2 of 1 percent. The tax would be temporary, sunsetting after being collected five years, and all money raised from the tax would be used for street and road maintenance and equipment and supplies used to do that maintenance work. The first ordinance was for the tax increase itself and the second was to put the matter before the voters on the November ballot.

The ordinance states that the tax "shall be used to pay the costs of new, and improvements to existing, streets, roads and bridges, including any curb, gutter and drainage improvements, equipment and land acquisition to accomplish such improvements, and street lighting, utility adjustments, sidewalks and traffic signals related thereto ... the levy of the sales and use tax proposed herein will expire on March 31, 2022."

Highfill's voters will have opportunity to vote for or against the temporary tax increase in the November election. The council votes for the ordinances were unanimous on July 12.

The reason for the proposed tax increase would be to make needed repairs and do maintenance work on the streets and roads in Highfill and get the city caught up on work until projected new growth begins to offset the cost for road maintenance. The increase, if approved by voters, would generate approximately $175,000 per year for the duration of the tax, enough, Digby said, to make some noticeable road repairs and get the city in better shape before the tax sunsets.

In previous meetings, Digby had reported complaints about the city's roads and not having the money to make the repairs.

Encompassing just over 18 square miles but having a population of just over 600 doesn't create a lot of taxes to pay the costs of maintaining all the city's streets and roads or even fully equipping the town's police department. The location of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport within the city provides a good portion of the town's sales tax revenue, but the incoming revenue fluctuates, making it somewhat difficult to budget expenditures.

The city has its own water and sewer system, a real benefit to living in the mostly-rural city, but the slowdown in housing growth which occurred almost 10 years ago has left the city to pay the bonds for the new system with fewer-than-anticipated new residents and water and sewer customers.

"Tax revenue is not consistent year to year," Digby said. "It cycles up and down, yet business at the airport is good and increasing."

"We are on a down cycle and we are still battling the cost of a sewer with a few customers," Digby added. "I think we are close to seeing new growth soon. The Silver Meadows subdivision could make a big difference in our situation by bringing in much-needed sewer customers."

"My concern at the council meeting was not that we are in a crisis, but I wanted to review our budget before making additional big expenditures that are beyond what we budgeted and would deplete savings," Digby explained.

Because Highfill does not have its own post office and its own zip code, tax revenue which should be paid to Highfill often is mistakenly sent to other surrounding cities with mailing addresses within Highfill.

According to Digby, Jay Williams, the city attorney, sent a letter to the state requesting that it check to be sure taxes collected from businesses within Highfill's city limits were being credited to Highfill because, when new businesses open, there is sometimes confusion as to which city's taxes are to be collected. A similar problem often occurs when products and supplies are delivered to destinations within Highfill.

"We know we miss out on tax revenue every day," Digby said, "but have not found a perfect solution to the multiple zip codes in town. Things delivered inside the city are often taxed on the basis of their address being that of a city [other than Highfill]."

General News on 07/20/2016