The Little Rock City Board meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday and is scheduled to have three votes on the mayor’s desire to call a special election to increase the sales tax Jan. 1 by 1 percent, an increase of 5/8ths-of-a-cent in the current rate because a 3/8ths-of-a-cent capital improvement tax expires this year.

There is an ordinance to set a July 13 special election as well as an ordinance to levy the tax if voters approve.

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The city sales tax is currently 1.5 percent, but will drop by .125 percent at the end of the year.

The city also gets about half of the 1-cent county sales tax. The state collects 6.5 percent on sales in the city. At restaurants, bars and hotels, other sales taxes add to the total.

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A third item on Tuesday’s agenda is a resolution on how the new sales tax money would be spent.

The distribution outlined in the resolution on file remains the same as a division first put forward by Mayor Frank Scott Jr.

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The City Board departed from custom and held separate readings on the two ordinances to move slowly to a final vote, rather than suspending the rules and having all readings the same day.

 

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