By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
A tax implemented earlier this month won't affect garbage rates for area municipalities, county government and area businesses as much as originally thought.
Earlier this month, garbage collection was one of several items previously exempt from a state sales tax that were added to the new list of taxable items.
Joe King of King Disposal, said the tax was originally set to add an 8 percent tax on the collection of solid waste and an 8 percent tax on the disposal of solid waste. However, that was recently cut back to tax only the collection process.
The addition of the tax will mean higher garbage rates for the city of Forrest City and for St. Francis County government, which both contract with King Disposal.
However, according to Forrest City Mayor Larry Bryant and St. Francis County Judge Carl Cisco, residents won't feel the increase immediately.
In St. Francis County, solid waste collection is tied to a 1-cent sales tax which is used for solid waste. That sales tax will keep residential customers from directly seeing the rate increase because garbage collection is not placed as an additional item on water bills.
According to Bryant, city officials are taking a wait-and-see approach before determining what impact the new tax will have on services.
"Right now, we're just going to have to wait and see how it will affect us. We have the advantage of having all of the collections paid for through the 1-cent sales tax, and that keeps our citizens from directly seeing the increase in places like their water bill. In a lot of cities in the area, garbage collection is tied directly to a customer's water bill. That means that if you don't pay for the collection you could run the risk of having your water turned off. We don't have that because everything is taken out of the sales tax," Bryant said.
While residents won't feel the impact cost wise, they could see a change in services, in both Forrest City and the county.
According to Bryant, the increase could affect programs like the vacation month given to Forrest City businesses last year to entice them to utilize garbage collection. "As long as the funds are available we're going to continue with our programs," he said.
"The tax pays for our garbage collection and our city collection of yard material. The sales tax has been running in a surplus for quite a while, but increased rates of the last couple of years and other factors now have us pretty much at a break-even point. In the long run, we may not be able to continue programs like the vacation month that we gave to businesses last year, but right now we'll just have to wait and see," Bryant said.
Cisco said that the increasing rates, combined with misuse by contractors of roll-off dumpsters in St. Francis County, along with surrounding counties, may force the county to discontinue the use of the large garbage bins throughout the county.
"We're hoping that we can absorb the cost of the increase, but when this first started, collection rates were at around $8.50 per container. Now, it's up over $13.00 per container for pickup. We don't want to have to pass that on to the taxpayers through an increased tax, so we'll have to make adjustments in other areas to absorb the costs," Cisco said.
"The roll-off bins will be the area where we'll see the largest increase in cost, and that will be the area where we'll see the biggest impact. We're charged for every time that we have to have one of those dumped, and we've had a lot of problems with misuse of the bins," Cisco said. "Those were placed in the county so that residents would have somewhere to take their excess garbage if they were doing some spring cleaning or just needing to dump some things, but we've had a problem with contractors dumping at those sites.
"The contractors can do the same things that any other business does and pay to have a bin and have that bin taken to the landfill. Instead, we're finding more and more construction material in the bins, and it's not just from our local contractors. We've had instances where contractors from Lee County and Cross County have been caught dumping in one of the bins and it's a problem that needs to be fixed," Cisco said.
According to King, the change in rates will see the city's per-container fees increase by 80 cents from $10.05 per container to $10.85. In the county, the rate will increase to $14.07 from the current rate of $13.40. The costs for dumping large bins will increase by $16.64 from $208 to $224.64 and in the county the rate will increase by $19.60 from $245 to $264.60.
Area businesses using King Disposal will have their rates determined by the weight of the load, according to King. The tax will be added to that amount.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
St. Francis County Election Commissioners Florence Brown and Bettye Proctor agreed on list of 48 names for poll workers in the special election scheduled for Aug. 3.
Proctor and Brown reviewed the list Thursday during a meeting of the commission in its office at the St. Francis County Courthouse. While the list names workers, both Proctor and Brown agreed that some on the list will not actually work.
"We've been having a problem of people not showing up on election day or calling and telling us that they're not going to be able to work. A lot of folks don't understand that it's hard to get people to actually come out and work these elections, and it doesn't matter how much we pay," Proctor said.
According to Brown, the problem is compounded when the absentees are not identified until election day.
"At least if they call us before the election, we can make an effort to replace them and find someone willing to fill in. One of the larger problems that we have is with people just not showing up on election day. That leaves us with fewer options and not enough time to try to get someone else in here," Brown said.
Commissioners also agreed to polling locations for the upcoming election, which will give voters the option to transfer a portion of Forrest City's Solid Waste Tax income from solid waste to economic development. The move will not increase taxes.
The polling locations for the election will be:
Forrest City Civic Center All Forrest City Wards, Tuni/Bonair, Parrot/Newcastle and Courthouse East and West.
Hughes Community Center Hughes City and Country, Heth, Black Fish and Rawlison.
Madison Community Center Madison, Widener and Round Pond/Mosley.
Colt Community Center Colt, Caldwell, Pinetree (precincts 27-1, 27-2 and 27-4).
Palestine Twin Assembly of God Fellowship Hall Palestine City and Country, Wheatley City and Country, Goodwin and Pinetree precinct 27-3.
Early voting for the Aug. 3 election will open on Monday, July 19, in St. Francis County Elizabeth Smith's Office. Voting will take place during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
By ALAN SMITH
T-H Staff Writer
The ACE (Arkansas Community of Excellence) Beautification Committee and City of Forrest City is offering help to those who want to have nice neighborhoods even when their neighbors neglect their property.
Edwene McCollum, a member of the committee, said that citizens can help in the committee's efforts by cleaning up their property and reporting those who do not keep their property sanitary.
"The Beautification Committee is a group that was begun to help the city achieve the ACE designation," said McCollum. "The idea behind the committee is to improve the looks of the city, to make it more attractive. If everyone in the city just maintains their own property, it will help us in our efforts and give the people more of a sense of pride in their city. We are encouraging people to not only maintain their own property, but to report those who habitually violate city ordinances and create eyesores in the city."
According to information provided by McCollum and Forrest City Code Enforcement Officer Chester Crossen, there are several city ordinances that address a wide range of unsightly messes, from residents not mowing their property to storing appliances in their front yards. Included are some of the ordinances the city has adopted to help regulate the upkeep of property.
Ordinance No. 1777 is the most recent one adopted by the city.
The ordinance was approved at the July 6 meeting of the Forrest City Council. It amends two older ordinances. This ordinance states in part that "All property owners within the City of Forrest City, are required to cut weeds, grass, remove garbage, rubbish and other unsanitary and unsightly articles and things from their property... eliminate, fill up, or remove stagnate pools of water, or any other unsanitary things, places or conditions."
The ordinance then discusses placement of motor vehicles. "All residential property owners shall keep their residential property clear of wrecked, dilapidated or inoperable motor vehicles and/or parts thereof, any of which might become a breeding place for mosquitoes, flies, rodents and diseases harmful to the health of the community or which might otherwise pose a danger to the health and safety of the citizens of the community."
The ordinance also reveals that after the owner is notified of the problems on their property, they have seven days to clean it up. If the owner does not correct the ordinance violation, Crossen is authorized to remove the violation at the cost of the owner and place a lien on the property.
Another similar ordinance, No. 1429, covers the storage of furniture, fixtures, appliances or other materials on any front or side porch or yard in any residential zone. A seven day period is allowed for clean up before any action will be taken by the city.
Two other ordinances for which the Forrest City Police Department should be notified of violations are Nos. 1740 and 1741. Ordinance No. 1740 states that garbage cans placed on the side of the road for weekly pickup must be removed from the curb within 24 hours of pickup.
It is provided by Ordinance No. 1741 that dogs must be kept on the owner's premises or on a leash. They are not allowed to roam freely around the city. Five days are provided to register any dog in the city limits.
Businesses also have to adhere to ordinances that promote safety and prevent unattractive sites in the city.
Ordinance No. 1699 addresses provisions for the operation requirements of commercial motor vehicle parts, repair, sales and/or salvage establishments. The locations must have a fenced in area that not only encloses it for safety, but obscures the public's view of the facility. According to Crossen, provisions in the ordinance are addressed before a business license is issued, so if they are not up to code with the ordinance, they should not be issued a license.
There are many zoning requirements regarding the placements of these businesses and others. One is the requirement of a 20-foot landscape buffer between the business and a residential zone. The owner of the commercial property is responsible for providing the buffer and the maintenance of the buffer.
Those who are found in violation of the ordinances will be notified by the city and given the full amount of time allotted to correct the problems, according to Crossen. If the property owners do not comply with the notification, they will then be issued affidavits by the city and will be subject to fines.
Other than encouraging citizens to help clean up Forrest City, McCollum and the Beautification Committee is looking to place what they call "pocket parks" in the area.
"We are considering pocket parks around the city," added McCollum. "Those are small parks on unusable pieces of property. We are looking for places in the city to have these parks to give our city an improved appearance. Our committee is trying to make our city more attractive, and if anyone is interested in helping by having a pocket park on their property, please let us know."
For more information about the ACE Beautification Committee, about the pocket parks and other projects, contact McCollum at 870-633-3622.
City officials should be contacted for violations of any of the aforementioned ordinances.
By KENDALL OWENS
T-H Staff Writer
Members of the Colt City Council took no action Thursday after hearing a complaint against the city's police officer during the monthly meeting of the city council.
A Colt couple approached the council accusing City Police Officer Michael Hall of harassment, claiming that he had followed the pair on several occasions.
According to City Attorney Steve Routon, the council could take no action Thursday night due to a city policy requiring any complaints to be issued in a written format which would have to be given to either Colt Mayor Virgil Keeler or Colt City Manager Bobby Clarkson. The complaints are then to be turned over to Routon to review with Keeler, who then presents the complaint to the council.
In other business, council members adopted an ordinance rezoning a section of property owned by Roger Davidson as commercial property. Earlier this year, Davidson told council members that the property would be sold and would house a storage facility for a local lawn service.
Council members also heard the second reading on an ordinance establishing a law regulating transitory merchants. The ordinance would exempt businesses selling hay, produce, farm implements, vehicles and fireworks.
The Forrest City School Board is scheduled to meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 19, in the administration office.
Under new business, the board will review applicants for school choice, a proposed budget, funding for Special Olympics and student athletic insurance.
The leadership at Lincoln Middle School is not listed on the agenda.
The only personnel items expected to be discussed, according to the agenda, are resignations, retirements and classified new employment.
Also on Monday, the Palestine-Wheatley School Board will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the cafetorium in Palestine.
The Widener City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Monday at city hall.
About 1,500 Woodruff Electric Cooperative customers were without power for about an hour Thursday afternoon.
The outage was caused by an equipment failure in the substation behind the co-op office in Forrest City, according to Carl Horton, company spokesman.
Horton said Woodruff Electric employees worked with representatives of Arkansas Electric Cooperative Cooperation to restore the power at about 2:15 p.m.
Entergy customers have also suffered a power outage this week.
Power was out for about an hour Wednesday evening north of Dillard Street to near Interstate 40 in Forrest City, affecting about 1,250 customers.
Entergy Customer Service Representative Mike Davis said the outage was caused by a faulty piece of equipment.
"We were fortunate in that we had the repairs made in about an hour's time," Davis said.
All area lovers of video games now have their own store.
Danny Gleason opened Game Traders on Thursday, at 412 Cleveland (in the cul-de-sac beside Harvest Foods).
"We buy, sell, trade video games -- X-box, Playstation, any kind," said Gleason. "We have accessories -- controllers, memory cards. We have Gameboys and DVD's."
He said Game Traders can also repair scratched discs.
Gleason also added that Game Traders can order any new game.
The store is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.