Arkansas county residents to vote on casino revenue allocation

Pope County is one of four where voters statewide legalized casinos in 2018, though voters in Pope there did not approve.

On March 3, residents will vote on whether to allocate more than $80 million for improvement projects in the community, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

Lawmakers last year approved a measure that allows the four counties with casinos to allocate casino tax revenues toward improvement projects using bonds.

County Judge Ben Cross said a tax increase will be needed to fund a jail if the measure doesn't pass.

"Thankfully, some very progressive members of the Legislature had the forethought to craft legislation to provide immediate benefit to the four counties in Arkansas slated to have a casino through Amendment 100," Cross said.

Russellville Mayor Richard Harris said more information is needed before making a decision on issuing bonds, which is essentially a loan.

"It is difficult to support a bond issue authorizing the borrowing of such a large sum of money and tying up the tax revenue from the casino for many years to come without fully understanding the impact on city and county resources when a casino is built," Harris said.

A group called Pope County Majority supports the bond initiatives.

"I think it's a great thing to do. Input has been gathered from local residents and government agencies to identify real and present needs along with wants of the public for future amenities for our county," Russellville resident Michael Ford said. “This guarantees and gives the public trust that the net tax revenue from the casino resort will be spent on these needs and will not be wasted or changed by present or future officials.”

As a registered voter, Mark Tripp, a Russellville City Council member said he is not in favor of the bond initiative even though he recognizes there are "current and future needs" within the community.

"The potential casino gaming yearly revenue is estimated at $4 million. The total cost for the projects is almost $80 million. With this being the case, the bonding of 100% of the proposed projects would result in Pope County making payments for up to the next 20 years," Tripp said. “Ultimately, this commitment would affect a full generation of our community."