Pulaski Faces Big Payback

Pulaski County must develop a process to return to taxpayers a year’s worth of revenue from an improperly approved property tax hike after the Arkansas Supreme Court last week said it would not reconsider its ruling overturning the levy.

Voters approved a 20-year, 1-mill increase in the property tax to support $32 million in library bonds in November 2007. The election came after the 2008 property tax rate, which did not include the increase, had been approved by the county.

Pulaski County Judge Buddy Villines issued an executive order in January 2008 that amended the adopted tax rate to include the library tax. However, the court said last month that the tax should not have been levied until it could be included in the 2009 tax rate was adopted.

The bonds were rated AA by Standard & Poor’s and issued in May 2008. Proceeds were used by the Central Arkansas Library System to build two new libraries in Little Rock. The system may be required to refund the $1.5 million of the 2008 tax revenues that have been spent.

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